I ENTERTAINMENT I Comic, Actor Miller Is Making A Name We Wish Our Customers and Friends The Very Utmost Of Health, Joy and Prosperity In The New Year RITA CHARLESTON Special to The Jewish News W Otarley's • Clamdiggers • Bloomfield Charley's • Northville Charley's • Fairlane Charley's • Meriwether's • Southfield Charley's • Livonia Charley's • Toledo Charley's 1/4 Heartiest Wishes To Our Customers and Friends For A Healthy and Happy New Year LELLI'S INN 7618 Woodward 871-1590 Detroit's Finest Italian-American Cuisine Since 1941 ■ MIINI=1 ■ 11161=1•111111111111 ■ MINEWIlille .151111 126 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1990 hen versatile actor/ comedian Larry Miller graduated from Amherst University with an honors degree in music theory and composi- tion, he moved back home to evaluate his options. But while Mr. Miller wor- ried about his future, not sure which artistic path to follow, his parents had faith. They knew their only son was strong and centered, and that eventually he would find his way. Raised in an Orthodox home in suburban Long Island, in an area Mr. Miller likes to call the "Norman Rockwell Estates," he says his parents were extremely sup- portive. And when he finally announced that he would like to try his hand at show business, they were neither shocked nor annoyed. "They knew I was a strong guy, that they had given me all the right values and that I wasn't doing this frivolous- ly," Mr. Miller explains. "It wasn't like saying, 'Oh, look, he's going to spend five years experimenting with drinking heavily. Then I'm sure he'll straighten himself out.' Or, `Oh, look, he works in a lot of strip joints and dates only strippers.' "It wasn't that I was ex- hibiting some sort of pathological behavior. So given that, and knowing that I was working hard, they were confident that I would wind up doing something creative?' And indeed he has. From first playing piano and drums around New York in what he calls "the kind of bars filled with guys who've been in prison as recently as that morning," to eventually deciding to try his hand at ac- ting, writing and standup, Mr. Miller's star has been on the rise. He has appeared in numerous feature films, in- cluding Out Cold, Fugitives, and most recently, Pretty Woman, in which he plays the hilarious suck-up store manager. A popular and regular performer on the "Tonight Show" and "Late Night With David Letter- man," Mr. Miller was also recently signed by HBO for his own half-hour comedy special, and has co-written an as yet untitled TV sitcom. Larry Miller: Seeing differences. The pilot is scheduled to air sometime this fall. "I like trying to do it all," he says during a recent telephone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "Some of my friends have suggested that I stay in one gear and keep pounding away at standup. But, to me, that would be like working wit: just one arm out and not the other. lb me, it makes more sense to try everything — the standup, the writing, the music, the acting. It keeps all my creative juices flowing." Mr. Miller credits his IvT League education and, most of all, his parents, for his sense of style on stage, and off. He says his father, a suc- cessful trial attorney in New York, and his mother, an educator for emotionally disturbed children, always believed in him and made those beliefs known. "I've been very lucky in a lot of things in my life," Mr. Miller says. "I've had many( blessings and I don't say that lightly. One of those blessings is the fact that I've had great; parents who were very loving and very supportive my whole life. That would help any child grow up to be the very best they can." Often referred to as one of today's brightest "thinking" comedians, Mr. Miller arrives on stage impeccably dressed, armed with a slow and easy style that immediately fits in with audiences everywhere. Then he discusses topics of in,- terest to us all, ranging from aging, politics, health and fitness, to the gap beween generations.