Dennis Miller is an American comedian
and television personality.
Miller studied journalism and graduated from Pittsburgh's
Point Park College. In the early 1980s he would host
The Trolley Show, a Saturday-afternoon newsmagazine
for teenagers, on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV.
Miller rose to fame from 1985 to 1991 as a regular
on Saturday Night Live, where he served as a "Weekend
Update" anchor, the longest any one performer
has held that position in the history of the show.
From 1994 to 2002, he was the host of Dennis Miller
Live, a half-hour talk show on HBO characterized by
its stark simplicity. The show had no set, band, or
even much lighting. It mainly consisted of Miller speaking
to the largely unseen studio audience on a darkened
stage. There would be one guest per show, whom Miller
would quiz on the topic of the day. At one time the
show also featured callers, but this was phased out
in later seasons. Miller won five Emmy Awards while
hosting the show, which aired 215 episodes during its
nine-year run.
The highlight of the show were Miller's "rants" on
various political issues. The rants always began with
the catch phrase "Now I don't want to get off
on a rant here..." and ended with the phrase "Of
course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."
Miller has a reputation for being very scholarly
and intelligent, and his distinct style of humor reflects
this. His rants and stand-up routines often feature
elaborate metaphors and references to obscure historical
and political events. This has prompted some accusations
of intellectual snobbery, especially from those who
don't "get" the jokes.
In 2000, Miller became a commentator on Monday Night
Football. Some feared his style of humor was a little
too highbrow for football fans. His style was probably
more suitable for those fans who watched Monday Night
Football more for its entertainment value than primarily
as a sporting event, but he demonstrated considerable
knowledge of the game and its personalities, although
at times he tended to lapse into sometimes obscure
analogy-riddled streams of consciousness similar to
his "rants". After two seasons, Miller was
replaced in 2002 by a figure more firmly associated
in the public mind with football, former Oakland Raiders
coach John Madden.
Miller has noted that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
changed him. He became more partisan, and turned to
political commentary. In 2003, he provided regular
commentary for the FOX News show Hannity & Colmes,
and began a prime-time political show on CNBC in early
2004 called Dennis Miller. The show contained a daily
news segment called "The Daily Rorschach",
which was reminiscent of his "Weekend Update" segments.
The Nielsen ratings for his new program remained quite
low, and claims have been made that people have been
paid by the producers to be in the show's studio audience.
CNBC cancelled his show in May of 2005.
Today Miller is a registered Republican and is now
known largely for his neoconservative and libertarian
beliefs. This, in addition to his being one of only
a few mainstream comedians to support the GOP, has
earned Miller a ride on Air Force One and catapulted
him to the top of the GOP's "celebrity" A-list.
Many in the GOP even called for him to run for U.S.
Senator from California against Barbara Boxer. |
