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Lawrence John Miller (born October 15, 1953) is an American comedian, actor, voice actor, podcaster, and columnist. He is primarily regarded as a character actor, with The A.V. Club noting that he "can be counted upon to improve every film or television show he appears in". His better known roles include Lou Bonaparte in Mad About You (1993–1998), Pointy-haired Boss in Dilbert (1999–2000), Edwin Poole in Boston Legal (2004–2008), Mr. Hollister in Pretty Woman (1990), Dean Richmond in The Nutty Professor (1996) and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Walter Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Principal Elliot T. Jindraike in Max Keeble's Big Move (2001), and Paolo Puttanesca in The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). He reprised his role as Walter Stratford in the television series 10 Things I Hate About You (2009–2010).
Miller has also served as one of the regular players in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films.
Early life and education
Miller was born in Brooklyn into a Jewish family, and grew up in Valley Stream, New York, on Long Island. He studied music (voice, cello, piano, drums) at Amherst College.
Career
Miller's first acting job was as the emcee on the TV series Fame. He gained mainstream attention for his part in popular scenes of Pretty Woman involving him as a store clerk for the main characters.
His film roles include Walter Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You as well as several characters in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films. He has held prominent supporting roles in Carry On Columbus, Radioland Murders, The Nutty Professor, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and Max Keeble's Big Move. He has over 50 film appearances.
He was part of the main cast of Life's Work, The Pursuit of Happiness, and High School Cupid, a Cupid Inc. Story. He is also a frequent guest actor on television, most notably as the nasty doorman on Seinfeld in the episode "The Doorman". He played Edwin Poole in the ABC dramedy Boston Legal. He played nightclub owner Michael Dobson in two Law & Order episodes, first in the episode "Coma" and then later in "Encore". Miller appeared as himself in a third episode, "Smoke". He was also in 8 Simple Rules, where he played Tommy, Kyle's obnoxious father and Paul's (John Ritter) colleague.
Miller is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, and once auditioned for the part of George Costanza.
Other work
As a stand-up comic, he is best known for his monologue "The Five Levels of Drinking", which Vulture hailed as "masterful, well-written, and influential".
From 2002 to 2004, Miller wrote a column for the magazine The Weekly Standard that usually ran once every two weeks. Since then, he continued to occasionally contribute to the magazine, and to the Washington Examiner, which absorbed The Weekly Standard when it ceased publication. His subject matter has included politics as well as reminiscences about fellow entertainers and anecdotes from his own life. The second was an April 2002 column defending Israel in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which was attributed to fellow comedian Dennis Miller. Another email which also began to be forwarded in 2002, purporting to offer "George Carlin's Views on Aging", was derived in part from a stand-up routine that Larry Miller performed in the 1990s.
Miller began a weekly podcast on the Carolla Digital Network, This Week with Larry Miller, suspending it after falling and injuring his head severely in April 2012. After hospitalization and a coma, he said in January 2013 that he was convalescing. Miller resumed the podcast on January 9, 2013. In February 2015, the podcast was retitled The Larry Miller Show with direct distribution. The podcast ended on December 2, 2020. Miller referred to it as the "grand finale" after not broadcasting a new show in the previous six months. The show page cited issues with producing the show safely during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Personal life
Miller married television writer Eileen Conn in 1993. The couple have two children.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"|1989
| Three Fugitives
| Street Cop - Second Officer
|
|-
| Out Cold
| Plumber No. 2
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1990
| Pretty Woman
| Mr. Hollister
|
|-
| Almost an Angel
| Teller
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|1991
| L.A. Story
| Tom
|
|-
| Suburban Commando
| Adrian Beltz
|
|-
| Necessary Roughness
| Dean Phillip Elias
|
|-
| Frankenstein: The College Years
| Professor Loman
| Television film
|-
| rowspan="2"|1992
| Carry On Columbus
| The Chief
|
|-
| Frozen Assets
| Newton Patterson
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1993
| Undercover Blues
| Halsey
|
|-
| Dream Lover
| Norman
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|1994
| The Favor
| Joe Dubin
|
|-
| Corrina, Corrina
| Sid
|
|-
| Radioland Murders
| Herman Katzenback
|
|-
| 1995
| The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
| Dean Al Valentine
| Television film
|-
| rowspan="3"|1996
| The Nutty Professor
| Dean Richmond
|
|-
| Waiting for Guffman
| Mayor Glenn Welsch
|
|-
| Dear God
| State Judge
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1997
| For Richer or Poorer
| IRS Inspector Derek Lester
|
|-
| Bayou Ghost
| Reverend Carmichael
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1998
| Chairman of the Board
| Bradford McMillan
|
|-
| Carnival of Souls
| Louis Seagram
|
|-
| rowspan="5"|1999
| The Minus Man
| Paul
|
|-
| 10 Things I Hate About You
| Walter Stratford
|
|-
| Runaway Bride
| N.Y.C. Bartender Kevin
| Uncredited
|-
| The Big Tease
| Dunston Cactus
|
|-
| Pros & Cons
| Ben Babbitt
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2000
| Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
| Dean Richmond
|
|-
| Best in Show
| Max Berman
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|2001
| What's the Worst That Could Happen?
| Earl Radburn
|
|-
| The Princess Diaries
| Paolo
| Uncredited
|-
| Max Keeble's Big Move
| Principal Elliot T. Jindraike
|
|-
| 2002
| Teddy Bears' Picnic
|
| rowspan=2|Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2"|2003
| A Guy Thing
| Minister Ferris
|-
| A Mighty Wind
| Wally Fenton
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2004
| Raising Helen
| Car Buyer
| Uncredited
|-
| The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
| Paolo
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|2005
| Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
| Dabney Shaw
|
|-
| The Aristocrats
| Himself
| Documentary
|-
| Uncommon Sense
| Larry
| Television film
|-
| Life of the Party
| Dr. Trent
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|2006
| Keeping Up with the Steins
| Arnie Stein
|
|-
| Lance is a Jerk
| Ron DeLuca
|
|-
| The Ant Bully
| Fred Nickle
| Voice
|-
| For Your Consideration
| Syd Finkleman
|
|-
| rowspan="6"|2007
| The Pre Nup
| Daniel
| Short
|-
| Chasing Robert
| Peter Vondra
|
|-
| Bagboy
| Pike
|
|-
| The Final Season
| Roger Dempsey
| rowspan=2|Voice
|-
| Bee Movie
| Buzzwell
|-
| Second Act
| Weiskopf
|
|-
| 2020
| Love, Weddings & Other Disasters
|
| Story only
|-
| 2021
| More than Miyagi, The Pat Morita Story
| Himself
| Documentary
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1982
|Fame
|The Emcee
|Episode: "But Seriously, Folks"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1984
| Late Night with David Letterman
| rowspan="3" | Himself
|Episode: "October 4, 1984"
|-
| The Bob Monkhouse Show
|Episode #1.7
|-
| 1986–1989
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
|3 episodes
|-
| rowspan="4" |1995
| Seinfeld
| Doorman
|Episode: "The Doorman"
|-
| Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
| Himself
| Voice, episode: "Everybody's Got a Tushy"