IMDB

Actor

1934-04-25 · Bloomington, Indiana, USA · Male

51 series in the catalog

Denny Scott Miller (born Dennis Linn Miller; 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

Miller was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Bernard "Ben" Miller (1909–1999) and Martha Alice Miller (née Linn, 1911–2010). The 6'4' Miller was a basketball player for the UCLA Bruins at UCLA, where his father was a physical education instructor.

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.

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. MGM had Miller under contract for twenty months; in that time, he worked only eight weeks as Tarzan.

Miller had 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.; Rockford Files and V, He appeared in over 200 television series and, for 14

years, he played the Gorton's Fisherman in TV commercials. He also portrayed Superman in an Air Force recruiting PSA.

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 published an autobiography, Didn't You Used to Be...What's His Name?, as well as a book about obesity in the United States, Toxic Waist?... Get to Know Sweat!

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.

Entry for Denny Miller at Brian's Drive-In Theater