Larry Miller: from HBO, "The Tonight Show", Letterman, and the film "The Nutty Professor" September 19, 2008

From his initial "first break" at The Comic Strip in New York in the mid 1970's, Larry Miller has developed a sense of style not often associated with stand-up comedians or actors. His memorable cameo as the pretentious boutique manager "sucking up" to Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman left an impressionable mark on the industry and audiences alike as the film went on to become the smash hit of 1990.

In the best Hollywood tradition, one memorable scene turned into a series of larger roles, culminating with a co-starring role as Dean Richmond alongside Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. Not one to limit himself to just films, Larry has been successful in television as well, with recurring roles on two series: "Law and Order" and "Mad About You." He was also a regular on NBC's "Pursuit of Happiness" and ABC's comedy "Life's Work."

Larry's love for stand-up comedy continues with regular guest appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night with David Letterman" and two of his own critically acclaimed specials for HBO.

As a classically-trained musician (he began in his college years at Amherst), proficient on several different instruments, Larry's professors probably had an inkling of where he was really headed when he wrote, and had accepted, his music theory and compositions thesis in A Harmonic Analysis of Frank Zappa. After graduating, Larry played piano and drums in clubs in New York, did studio work, and then one night, decided to try his hand at joke-telling.

After stepping on stage for the first time, Larry said to himself, "I think I've just done something that I could do again." Larry still maintains, "The truth is that I loved it then and I love it now, the same as my first play and my first line in a movie."

In 1981, Larry packed his bags and headed for Hollywood where he slept on Jerry Seinfeld's floor for six weeks. With the help of another buddy, Jay Leno, Larry purchased a '63 Chevy for $600 and eventually got an apartment nearby. While performing one night at the Improv, Milton Berle caught his act and asked Larry to perform at SHARE, a star-studded annual charity affair. "Apparently, Nancy Sinatra was in the audience and really liked my act because the next day she called her father and before I knew it I was renting a tux and flying to Vegas to open for Sinatra for a week at Bally's." Not a bad way to break into Vegas!

Before long, Larry was requested to read for the movie Pretty Woman. Miller recalls, "I went in to read for the role and when I got there, there were no lines for that particular character. Garry Marshall told me I could have the job and 'to just show up, I'd know what to do!' That was one of the greatest compliments from a director I could imagine getting! I showed up not knowing what to expect and ended up improvising the whole thing!"

After Pretty Woman there was no stopping Larry Miller. Soon he was getting cast and co-starring in Necessary Roughness, Undercover Blues, Corrina Corrina, Dream Lover, The Favor, and Waiting For Guffman.

Larry currently resides in Southern California with is wife, Eileen Conn, a television writer, and his two sons.

Official Website: http://www.dcimprov.com/comic.php?id=12