Peter Miles (American actor)

Peter Miles
Peter Miles and his sister Gigi Perreau in Enchantment (1948)
Born
Gerald Richard Perreau-Saussine

(1938-04-01)April 1, 1938
Tokyo, Japan
DiedAugust 3, 2002(2002-08-03) (aged 64)

Peter Miles (April 1, 1938 – August 3, 2002) was the stage name of American child actor Gerald Richard Perreau-Saussine.[1][2] After his film career ended, he turned to writing under the pen name Richard Miles.[1][2]

Early life

Born in Tokyo, Miles was the son of Eleanor Alfrida (Child) and Robert Henri Perreau-Saussine,[3] and the older brother of actresses Gigi, Janine, and Lauren Perreau.[2] He was educated at Beverly Hills Catholic School and graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles, California.

Acting career

His first screen appearance was as the uncredited son of Humphrey Bogart's character in Passage to Marseille (1944).[2] Other notable film credits include Enchantment (1948), The Red Pony (1949), and Quo Vadis (1951).

With then began appearing on television, guest starring in episodes of Father Knows Best, The Lone Ranger, and 77 Sunset Strip, among others, and he was a regular on The Betty Hutton Show with his sister, Gigi Perreau, for a year. In 1959, he guest-starred (under the name "Richard Miles") on Perry Mason as defendant Jimmy Morrow in "The Case of the Spanish Cross" and in 1962 on Straightaway as Vernon in the episode "The Drag Strip."

Post-acting career

As Richard Miles, he wrote novels, poetry, and two screenplays.[1] In 1963, he entered his first novel, That Cold Day in the Park, in a Dell Publishing contest; it did not win, but was considered worthy of publication (in 1965); it was made into a film of the same name in 1969.[2] Samuel Goldwyn and his wife personally presented him with the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for his novel Angel Loves Nobody, while he was attending UCLA.[1] His third novel was The Moonbathers.[1]

He was also a schoolteacher and president of the Burbank Teachers Association.[1]

In the art world, he compiled catalogs of works of various artists and curated shows from the 1980s to 2001.[1]

Death

Miles died of cancer in Los Angeles.[1] He was survived by his mother, sisters Gigi, Janine and Lauren, and his partner Brian Quarch.[1]

Complete filmography

As actor

As screenwriter

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rebecca Cohen (August 16, 2002). "Gerald Perreau-Saissine (Peter Miles/Richard Miles)". Variety.
  2. ^ a b c d e James Auer (April 20, 1969). "Second Career Launched at Young Age by Miles". The Post-Crescent – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon Article printed on three pages: 2nd page, third page
  3. ^ Who's who in the West. Marquis-Who's Who. 2002. ISBN 9780837909332.

Bibliography

  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 208.
  • Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen (South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 187–191.