Dean Miller (broadcaster)
| Dean Miller | |
|---|---|
|
Miller and Frances Rafferty in December Bride, 1956. | |
| Born |
Dean C. Stuhlmueller November 1, 1924 Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died |
January 13, 2004 (aged 79) Grosse Pointe Woods, Wayne County, Michigan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Occupation | Film and television actor (December Bride); Broadcaster (TV and radio) |
| Spouse(s) | Ida Wagner Miller (1929-2014) (3 children) |
| Children | Antoinette, Dean Jr., and Mark |
Dean Miller (November 1, 1924 – January 13, 2004), born Dean C. Stuhlmueller, was an American actor and broadcaster, perhaps best known for his role as the son-in-law in the CBS sitcom December Bride (1954–1959). Thereafter, Miller was a co-host of the NBC celebrity interview program Here's Hollywood.
Early life
Miller was born in Hamilton, Ohio, and graduated from Ohio State University in Columbus. He worked first at a radio station in Albany, New York.[1]
Film career
He left for Hollywood and made his screen debut in 1952 as Archie O'Conovan in the film Skirts Ahoy! and followed up that same year with appearances as Ben Jones in Because You're Mine and as Monty Dunstan in Everything I Have Is Yours. In 1953, he played Mac in Small Town Girl and George in Dream Wife with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.[2]
Television career
In 1954, Miller was cast as 30-year-old Matt Henshaw, an architect, in December Bride, opposite Spring Byington as his widowed mother-in-law, Lily Ruskin, and Frances Rafferty as his television wife, Ruth Ruskin Henshaw.[3] Verna Felton and Harry Morgan also had recurring supporting roles in the series as Hilda Crocker, Lily's best friend, and Pete Porter, the wisecracking nextdoor neighbor who was an insurance agent. Most of the scenes were in the Henshaw's living room. The series was sufficiently successful that it spawned a spin-off, Pete and Gladys (1960–1962) starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams as Pete and Gladys Porter.[4]
After December Bride, Miller acted only twice in a television series, as "Millionaire Harry Brown" in a 1959 episode of CBS's The Millionaire fantasy drama, and as George Manville in the 1960 segment "Happily Unmarried" of NBC's short-lived sitcom The Tab Hunter Show. He then joined Here's Hollywood, where he often interviewed stars and singers in their own homes, including Cary Grant, Paul Newman, and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1963, Miller appeared as a guest on the NBC daytime quiz show Your First Impression, with Bill Leyden and Dennis James.[2]
Later life
Dean Miller hosted a talk show on WLW-C (now WCMH) in Columbus, Ohio in the early 1960's. In 1965, Miller purchased radio station WMVR-FM (105.5), then an AM outlet in Sidney, Ohio.[1] Miller later served as a news anchorman for WDIV-TV in Detroit.
Personal life and death
He died of cancer at the age of 79 in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, near Detroit. Survivors included his three children who still operate the radio station. Dean Miller is interred at Graceland Cemetery in Sidney, Ohio, alongside his widow Ida (the former Ida Wagner), who died on May 6, 2014. [1]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dean Miller (broadcaster). |
- 1 2 3 "Interviewer, '50s TV Star Dean Miller Dies". highbeam.com from Dayton Daily News, January 18, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- 1 2 "Dean Miller". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ↑ Miller and Frances Rafferty died three months apart in 2004.
- ↑ Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 298