- Marvin Miller (actor)
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For other people named Marvin Miller, see Marvin Miller (disambiguation).
Marvin Miller 
Miller as Michael Anthony, hands check to Betty Perkins (Inger Stevens), 1956.Born Marvin Mueller
July 18, 1913
St. Louis, MissouriDied February 8, 1985 (aged 71)
Los Angeles, CaliforniaOccupation Actor, announcer Spouse Elizabeth Florence Dawson (1937 - 1965) Marvin Elliott Miller (July 18, 1913 - February 8, 1985) was an American film and voice-over actor. Possessing a deep, baritone voice, he began his career in radio in St. Louis, Missouri before becoming a Hollywood actor. Miller is best remembered for two of his roles, as Michael Anthony, the man who passed out a weekly check on the TV series The Millionaire and as the voice of Robby the Robot in the film Forbidden Planet.
Contents
Career
Radio and recordings
Born Marvin Mueller in St. Louis, Miller graduated from Washington University before he began his career in radio. When another Marvin Miller began singing on another St. Louis radio station, he began using his middle initial to distinguish himself from the other fellow. He narrated a daily 15-minute radio show for Mutual Radio, The Story Behind the Story, which offered historical vignettes. He also served as announcer on several OTR shows of the 1940s and 1950s, including The Whistler.[1]
He also won Grammy Awards in 1965 and 1966 for his recordings of Dr. Seuss stories: in 1967 for Dr Seuss Presents – If I Ran the Zoo and Sleep Book and 1966 for Dr Seuss Presents Fox in Socks and Green Eggs and Ham. He also read Horton Hatches the Egg and The Sneetches and Other Stories & Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Films
In films, the heavyset Miller was often cast as a villain, many times playing Asian roles. He portrayed a sadistic henchman in the 1947 Humphrey Bogart film Dead Reckoning, and as Yamada in the 1945 James Cagney effort Blood on the Sun. In Deadline at Dawn he plays Sleepy Parsons, a blind pianist. Miller did The Ant and the Aardvark as an unnamed tiger in Scratch a Tiger.
Television
From 1949 to 1950 he starred as Dr. Yat Fu on the short-lives ABC series Mysteries of Chinatown.[2] In 1961, Miller guest-starred as Johnny Kelso, with Erin O'Brien, in "The Marble Slab" episode of the Frederick Ziv-, United Artists-, and MGM-produced Bat Masterson, starring Gene Barry. Original air date was May 11, 1961.
Miller voiced "Hemo" in the AT&T educational film Hemo the Magnificent, part of a series featuring Dr. Frank C. Baxter and directed by Frank Capra, which was shown on American network television in 1957. Miller crossed paths with other prolific voice-over artists many times in his career including June Foray, playing "Deer" in Hemo the Magnificent and in the TV series Rocky and Bullwinkle along with Paul Frees, who voiced "Boris Badenov" in that program. Miller and Frees also performed in separate segments on the audio recording Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America Volume One The Early Years.
He was the voice of the arrogant alien "Zarn" in three episodes of the second season of Land of the Lost. Miller also lent his distinct voice to The Pink Panther Show, often talking with the feline offscreen and asking questions.
On The Millionaire, Miller played Michael Anthony, conveying the wishes of the "fabulously wealthy" John Beresford Tipton, voiced by Paul Frees.
Death
Miller died in 1985 at the age of 71 from a heart attack.[3] He is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
For his contribution to the television industry, Marvin Miller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Boulevard.
Selected filmography
Film Year Film Role Notes 1945 Johnny Angel George "Gusty" Gustafson 1946 Without Reservations Louella's radio announcer Uncredited
Alternative title: Thanks God, I'll Take It from Here1947 The Brasher Doubloon Vince Blair Alternative title: High Window 1951 Gerald McBoing-Boing Narrator Voice 1951 The Golden Horde Genghis Khan 1952 Red Planet Mars Arjenian 1953 Off Limits Vic Breck Alternative title: Military Policemen 1956 Forbidden Planet Robby the Robot voice 1957 The Story of Mankind Armana 1959 Sleeping Beauty Narrator Uncredited 1961 The Phantom Planet Introductory Narrator 1966 Gamera the Invincible Voiceover Uncredited 1970 MASH PA Announcer Uncredited 1977 American Raspberry Henry Wideman Alternative titles: Prime Time
Funny America1984 Swing Shift Rollo 1986 Hell Squad The Sheik Alternative titles: Commando Girls
Commando SquadTelevision Year Title Role Notes 1949-1950 Mysteries of Chinatown Dr. Yat Fu unknown episodes 1952–1954 Space Patrol Various roles 13 episodes 1959 The Danny Thomas Show Mr. Chow 1 episode 1961 The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet Man in Dream 1 episode 1963 Perry Mason F. J. Weatherby 1 episode 1966 Batman TV Announcer 1 episode 1966–1974 The F.B.I Narrator 117 episodes 1967 The Green Hornet On-the-scene Reporter 1 episode 1972 Mission: Impossible Smith 1 episode 1975 Land of the Lost Zarn (Voice) 3 episodes 1976 Electra Woman and Dyna Girl Narrator 15 episodes 1978 Wonder Woman Mr. Beamer 1 episode 1982 Police Squad Narrator 6 episodes References
- ^ Breesee, Frank. [yesterdayusa.com "Golden Days of Radio"]. Interview with Marvin Miller, Part I. American Forces Radio and Television Service. yesterdayusa.com. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. pp. 823. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
- ^ "Marvin Miller, Actor on TV; Appeared in 'The Millionaire'". The New York Times. 1985-02-10. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9905E3D81739F933A25751C0A963948260. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
External links
Categories:- 1913 births
- 1985 deaths
- Actors from Missouri
- American film actors
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- Deaths from myocardial infarction
- Grammy Award winners
- People from St. Louis, Missouri
- Radio and television announcers
- Washington University in St. Louis alumni
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