Stephan Miller

Stephan K. Miller (May 6, 1968 – April 22, 2008) was an American animal trainer, wrangler and stunt double. Along with his cousin Randy Miller, Stephan was a trainer at Predators in Action, an animal training facility that trains wild and exotic animals for film and television appearances. Some of the films in which the animals trained by the facility have appeared include The Island of Dr. Moreau, Gladiator, The Postman, The Last Samurai, and Semi-Pro.

Predators in Action animals have also appeared on Discovery Channel and National Geographic Society programs in which they recreated famous animal attacks, including the mauling of Roy Horn by a white tiger.[1]

Death

On April 22, 2008, during a routine training exercise, Miller was mauled and killed by a 5-year old grizzly bear named Rocky.[2][3][4][5] Miller was not very familiar with Rocky and should play a casual ignorant role with him, in a moment Rocky stands up (trained wrestling position, they would start the stage attacked, which was not intended until later) and the bear was supposed to take him out or lick him again (Miller shows fear and raises his arm to the bear who take this to action).[6][7] The 7½ foot tall, 700 lb bear bit Miller on the neck once. An autopsy revealed that he died within minutes of the attack.[8][9]

Until Miller's death, Rocky was best known for appearing as Dewey the Killer Bear in a scene from the 2008 film Semi-Pro in which he wrestled Will Ferrell's body double Randy Miller.[3][5][10] Following Stephan Miller's death, the California Department of Fish and Game initiated a probe into the events of the attack with the intent to eventually decide whether Rocky would be euthanized.[9][11] People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other animal rights groups, who have long protested use of wild animals in films, called for Rocky to be spared and to be allowed to retire to a zoo or another similar facility.[12][13][14]

It was later revealed on the National Geographic Channel program Grizzly Face to Face that the coroner's office and the California Department of Fish and Game ruled Miller's death accidental and did not order the bear to be euthanized. However, Rocky resumed his life under restricted regulations.[15]

Other ventures

In addition to his work with animals, Miller was also a co-publisher for the first three print issues of Girls and Corpses magazine with publisher/editor-in-chief Robert Steven Rhine, as well as being actively involved in the launch of the ShareNow social networking website.[16]

References

External links