Sidney Miller(1916-2004)
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Sidney Miller was born Sydney L. Miller in Shenandoah, PA, on October
22, 1916, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, who already had two daughters.
When Sydney was 14 his father, a tailor, sold his business and moved
the family to Los Angeles. There Sydney got the acting bug, and his
first film was an uncredited bit part in
Penrod and Sam (1931). He worked
steadily, although uncredited, over the next few years, his persona
that of a brash and somewhat annoying street kid. His persistence paid
off, though, and in 1933 he got his first screen credit (changing his
first name from "Sydney" to "Sidney"). His big break came in 1938 when
he starred opposite Mickey Rooney
in Boys Town (1938) in which, unlike
many of Rooney's colleagues, Sidney actually got along well with the
star and the two became friends. Miller had an innate musical talent
and soon was writing lyrics for Rooney's musical compositions. He often
worked in front of or behind the cameras in many of Rooney's films in
the 1930s. His musical work continued after Rooney joined the army
during World War II, and his career began to shift from mainly acting
to mainly songwriting.
In the late 1940s he worked extensively in radio and wrote the musical
material for the nightclub acts of several Hollywood song-and-dance
men, such as Donald O'Connor (Miller also worked
onstage with O'Connor at times). O'Connor was picked to host the early
television variety series
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950),
and Miller went along as part of the show's writing team. After his
stint on that show ended, he joined Walt Disney Studios, where he
wrote, directed and composed music for many of Disney's TV series,
including
The Mickey Mouse Club (1955),
for which Walt Disney wanted a complete
revamping after the first season, and told Miller to change the show to
appeal more to teenagers than to the very young children at which it
was originally aimed. Miller brought in new writers and choreographers,
gave the Mousketeers more musical numbers and comedy skits and turned
the show into a sort of mini-variety show. Although that was what
Walt Disney wanted, it didn't go over
particularly well with the audience, and the numbers for the show went
down. In addition, Miller could be somewhat abrasive as a director,
which caused some friction on the set among the cast. Although there
was talk of Miller directing a remake of
March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) at
Disney in 1957, that film wasn't made until four years later
(Babes in Toyland (1961)) and
was directed by former song-and-dance man and choreographer
Jack Donohue, as Miller had left Disney by
that time.
Sidney Miller may well best be remembered for having directed
Lou Costello's only starring film
after his break-up with Bud Abbott,
The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959),
which unfortunately didn't do the careers of either man much good. In
the 1960s he directed many television series episodes, such as
My Favorite Martian (1963),
Get Smart (1965) and
The Addams Family (1964)
and played small parts in several films and TV shows. In the 1970s his
onscreen output declined and he did much voice-over work in animated
series.
Married three times, he is the father of actor
Barry Miller with first wife
Iris Burton. Sidney Miller passed away in
Los Angeles from Parkinson's Disease on January 10, 2004.
22, 1916, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, who already had two daughters.
When Sydney was 14 his father, a tailor, sold his business and moved
the family to Los Angeles. There Sydney got the acting bug, and his
first film was an uncredited bit part in
Penrod and Sam (1931). He worked
steadily, although uncredited, over the next few years, his persona
that of a brash and somewhat annoying street kid. His persistence paid
off, though, and in 1933 he got his first screen credit (changing his
first name from "Sydney" to "Sidney"). His big break came in 1938 when
he starred opposite Mickey Rooney
in Boys Town (1938) in which, unlike
many of Rooney's colleagues, Sidney actually got along well with the
star and the two became friends. Miller had an innate musical talent
and soon was writing lyrics for Rooney's musical compositions. He often
worked in front of or behind the cameras in many of Rooney's films in
the 1930s. His musical work continued after Rooney joined the army
during World War II, and his career began to shift from mainly acting
to mainly songwriting.
In the late 1940s he worked extensively in radio and wrote the musical
material for the nightclub acts of several Hollywood song-and-dance
men, such as Donald O'Connor (Miller also worked
onstage with O'Connor at times). O'Connor was picked to host the early
television variety series
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950),
and Miller went along as part of the show's writing team. After his
stint on that show ended, he joined Walt Disney Studios, where he
wrote, directed and composed music for many of Disney's TV series,
including
The Mickey Mouse Club (1955),
for which Walt Disney wanted a complete
revamping after the first season, and told Miller to change the show to
appeal more to teenagers than to the very young children at which it
was originally aimed. Miller brought in new writers and choreographers,
gave the Mousketeers more musical numbers and comedy skits and turned
the show into a sort of mini-variety show. Although that was what
Walt Disney wanted, it didn't go over
particularly well with the audience, and the numbers for the show went
down. In addition, Miller could be somewhat abrasive as a director,
which caused some friction on the set among the cast. Although there
was talk of Miller directing a remake of
March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) at
Disney in 1957, that film wasn't made until four years later
(Babes in Toyland (1961)) and
was directed by former song-and-dance man and choreographer
Jack Donohue, as Miller had left Disney by
that time.
Sidney Miller may well best be remembered for having directed
Lou Costello's only starring film
after his break-up with Bud Abbott,
The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959),
which unfortunately didn't do the careers of either man much good. In
the 1960s he directed many television series episodes, such as
My Favorite Martian (1963),
Get Smart (1965) and
The Addams Family (1964)
and played small parts in several films and TV shows. In the 1970s his
onscreen output declined and he did much voice-over work in animated
series.
Married three times, he is the father of actor
Barry Miller with first wife
Iris Burton. Sidney Miller passed away in
Los Angeles from Parkinson's Disease on January 10, 2004.