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Denny Miller
Denny Miller
	Denny Miller in 2007
Born	Dennis Linn Miller; April 25, 1934; Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Died	September 9, 2014 (aged 80); Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, Author
Years active	1958–2014
Spouse(s)	Kit Smythe (divorced); Nancy Miller (at time of his death)

Denny Scott Miller (born Dennis Linn Miller;^{[citation needed]} April 25, 1934 – September 9, 2014) was an American actor, perhaps best known for his regular role as Duke Shannon on Wagon Train, his guest-starring appearances on Gilligan's Island and Charlie's Angels, and his 1959 film role as Tarzan.

Background

A native of Bloomington, Indiana,^[1] the 6'4' Miller was a basketball player for the UCLA Bruins at UCLA, where his father was a physical education instructor.^{[citation needed]}

In his senior year, while he was working as a furniture mover to pay for school, Miller was discovered on Sunset Boulevard by a Hollywood agent who signed him with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His screen test was directed by George Cukor.^[2]

Acting career

Miller became the first blond Tarzan in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959), a cheapie/quickie which lifted most of its footage from earlier Johnny Weissmuller movies. Miller had been recommended by someone else considered for the role, William Smith, later a star of the NBC Laredo western series.^[2] MGM had Miller under contract for twenty months; in that time, he worked only eight weeks as Tarzan.

Miller did guest spots on a number of television series, such as Northwest Passage and Overland Trail. In 1960, the 26-year-old Miller appeared as Wilkie, the son of a powerful rancher, in the "License to Kill" episode of Laramie. He also appeared on Have Gun – Will Travel and an episode of The Rifleman as a dimwitted gunfighter named Reuben Miles.

From 1961 to 1964, Miller was a regular on Wagon Train in the role of the scout, Duke Shannon. After the cancellation of Wagon Train in 1965, Miller starred as Mike McCluskey on the NBC sitcom Mona McCluskey (1965-1966).

He guest starred on such series as Gunsmoke; The Fugitive; The High Chaparral; Gilligan's Island; I Dream of Jeannie; The Brady Bunch; Alice; Death Valley Days; Hawaii Five-O; Emergency!; The Six Million Dollar Man; Quincy, M.E.; The New Adventures of Wonder Woman; Battlestar Galactica; Quark; Charlie's Angels; Buck Rogers in the 25th Century; The Incredible Hulk; M*A*S*H; Magnum, P.I.; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman;^{[unreliable source?]} V and Bordertown (1989-90).

Miller appeared in over 200 television series and, for 14 years, he played the Gorton's Fisherman in TV commercials.^[1]

His film career included roles in Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961), and the part of "Wyoming" Bill Kelso in The Party (1968), which he remembered as the part he most enjoyed. His other film credits included Making It (1971), Doomsday Machine (1972), Buck and the Preacher (1972), The Gravy Train (1974), The Island at the Top of the World (1974), The Norseman (1978), Caboblanco (1980) and Circle of Power (1981).

Books

Miller wrote an autobiography titled Didn't You Used to Be...What's His Name? on January 28, 2004^[1] and a book about obesity in the United States called Toxic Waist? ... Get to Know Sweat!.^[3]

Death

Miller was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in January 2014. He died in Las Vegas on September 9, 2014, at the age of 80.^[4]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Some Came Running	Dewey Cole	Uncredited
1959	Tarzan, the Ape Man	Tarzan
1961	Love in a Goldfish Bowl	Oscar Flegler
1968	The Party	William 'Wyoming Bill' Kelso
1971	Making It	Skeeter
1971	The Virginian (TV series)	Joe Terry	season 9 episode 15 (The politician)
1972	Buck and the Preacher	Floyd
1972	Doomsday Machine	Col. Don Price
1973	The Brady Bunch “Quarterback Sneak”	Tank Gates
1974	The Gravy Train	Rex
1974	The Island at the Top of the World	Town Guard
1978	The Norseman	Rauric
1980	Caboblanco	Horst
1981	Circle of Power	Uwe
1984	Dallas “Blow Up”	Max
2005	Hell to Pay	Horace the miner	(final film role)