Larry Miller

Larry Miller, born Lawrence John Miller on October 15, 1953, in Brooklyn into a Jewish family, is an American comedian, actor, voice actor, podcaster, and columnist. He grew up in Valley Stream, New York, on Long Island, and studied music — including voice, cello, piano, and drums — at Amherst College.

Miller's first acting job was as an emcee on the television series Fame. He went on to accumulate more than 50 film appearances, with prominent supporting roles in films including Pretty Woman (1990), in which he played Mr. Hollister, a store clerk whose scenes with the main characters drew widespread attention. His subsequent film credits include Radioland Murders, Carry On Columbus, The Nutty Professor (1996) and its sequel Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), in which he played Dean Richmond, Walter Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Principal Elliot T. Jindraike in Max Keeble's Big Move (2001), and Paolo Puttanesca in The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). He reprised the role of Walter Stratford in the television series adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You, which ran from 2009 to 2010. Miller has also appeared as a recurring player in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films.

On television, Miller held series regular roles in Life's Work, The Pursuit of Happiness, and High School Cupid, a Cupid Inc. Story. He played Lou Bonaparte in Mad About You from 1993 to 1998 and voiced the Pointy-haired Boss in the animated series Dilbert from 1999 to 2000. He portrayed Edwin Poole in the ABC dramedy Boston Legal from 2004 to 2008 and played nightclub owner Michael Dobson in two episodes of Law & Order, titled "Coma" and "Encore," later appearing as himself in a third episode, "Smoke." He also appeared in 8 Simple Rules as Tommy, Kyle's father and a colleague of the character played by John Ritter. Among his guest appearances, he is recognized for playing a doorman in the Seinfeld episode "The Doorman." Miller is a personal friend of Jerry Seinfeld and once auditioned for the role of George Costanza.

In 2000, Miller appeared on Broadway in The Dinner Party, adding a stage credit to his extensive work in film and television.

As a stand-up comedian, Miller is particularly known for the monologue "The Five Levels of Drinking." From 2002 to 2004, he wrote a column for The Weekly Standard, typically published every two weeks, covering topics including politics and anecdotes from his own life. He later contributed to the Washington Examiner after The Weekly Standard ceased publication. Two of his 2002 columns were widely circulated as forwarded emails but were incorrectly attributed to other individuals — the first to retired Air Force general Richard E. Hawley, and the second to comedian Dennis Miller. A separate email purporting to contain "George Carlin's Views on Aging" was derived in part from a stand-up routine Miller performed in the 1990s.

Miller launched a weekly podcast, This Week with Larry Miller, on the Carolla Digital Network. He suspended it in April 2012 after a fall that resulted in a severe head injury, hospitalization, and a coma. He announced in January 2013 that he was convalescing and resumed the podcast on January 9 of that year. In February 2015, the podcast was retitled The Larry Miller Show and moved to direct distribution. It concluded on December 2, 2020, with Miller describing the final episode as a "grand finale"; the show's page noted difficulties producing the program safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miller married television writer Eileen Conn in 1993. The couple have two children.