Dick Miller

Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corman, including Joe Dante, James Cameron, and Martin Scorsese, with the distinction of appearing in every film directed by Dante. His turn in Dante's 1985 sci-fi drama Explorers earned Miller a nomination for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was known for playing the beleaguered everyman, often in one-scene appearances.

Miller's main roles in films included Not of This Earth (1957), A Bucket of Blood (1959), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), Piranha (1978), The Howling (1981), Gremlins, The Terminator (both 1984), Chopping Mall, Night of the Creeps (both 1986), The 'Burbs (1989), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Demon Knight (1995), and Small Soldiers (1998).

Early life Miller was born on Christmas Day, 1928, in The Bronx, New York, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Ira Miller, a printer, and Rita (Blucher), an opera singer. He served a tour of duty in the United States Navy. Miller attended the City College of New York, Columbia University, and New York University, eventually attaining a PhD in psychology. He was a writer before turning to acting.

Career While working as a graduate psychologist, Miller performed on Broadway and also worked at the Bellevue Hospital Mental Hygiene Clinic and the psychiatric department of Queens General Hospital.

His movie roles include White Line Fever, The Terminator, All The Right Moves, Night of the Creeps, Small Soldiers, It Conquered the World, A Bucket of Blood, The Little Shop of Horrors, the Tales from the Crypt movie Demon Knight, Amazon Women on the Moon, Chopping Mall, The Howling, Piranha and I Wanna Hold Your Hand. His best known role was in the movies Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch as Murray Futterman. He appeared in Pulp Fiction as Monster Joe, but his scene and a few others were deleted because of the film's length. He also appeared in Rod Stewart's video for the song "Infatuation" in 1984, with Mike Mazurki and Kay Lenz.

His television credits include as a Townsman on the 1963 TV Western Gunsmoke (S9E8's "Carter Caper"), in Combat!, as a young soldier in the 5th-season episode "The Outsider"; Police Squad! (a 1980s crime spoof series with Leslie Nielsen); V: The Final Battle as Dan Pascal; three seasons as the generous bartender Lou Mackie on Fame; Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the season 1 episode "The Big Goodbye", as the newspaper stand man in the holodeck; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in the season 3 two-part episode "Past Tense", as Vin; Time of Your Life; as a prison guard in Soap (1979); and as the voice of the gangster Chuckie Sol in the animated feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. He also directed television shows, including "The Fix", a 1986 episode of the series Miami Vice. By 2011, the character name had actually appeared in Miller's acting credits six times, and twice more with other actors on stage and screen. The name first appeared in the Roger Corman film A Bucket of Blood, with a story centred on Paisley, a busboy who becomes an artist of sorts by killing his subjects and covering them in plaster. In 1976, Miller again portrayed a Walter Paisley — this time, a talent agent and former actor – in another Corman production, Hollywood Boulevard, directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante. In one scene of the film, Miller watches himself onscreen at a drive-in theatre showing of The Terror – along with the Paisley name, this was one of several Corman/American International references and in-jokes in the finished production.

Dante cast Miller as another Walter Paisley, the owner of an occult bookshop, in the 1981 film The Howling. Two years later, the name appeared again attached to another Miller role, this time as the owner of a diner in the third segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie. The 1986 horror film Chopping Mall featured a janitor named Walter Paisley; and the 1994 made-for-TV remake of Shake, Rattle and Rock! had Miller playing a policeman, Officer Paisley. Officer Paisley also appeared in Night of the Creeps. Miller played a variation on the role one last time in his final, posthumously released film, Hanukkah. Two other actors have portrayed the Walter Paisley from A Bucket of Blood: Anthony Michael Hall in the 1995 television remake; and James Stanton in the musical adaptation produced by Chicago's Annoyance Theatre.

Personal life Miller married Sheila Elaine "Lainie" Halpern (1941–2025) on October 6, 1959, and they had one child together, Barbara.

Death Miller died at age 90 of a heart attack

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Director Notes 1955 Apache Woman Tall Tree 1956 The Oklahoma Woman The Bartender Gunslinger Jimmy Tonto It Conquered the World Sergeant Neil 1957 Naked Paradise Mitch Not of This Earth Joe Piper The Undead The Leper Rock All Night "Shorty" Sorority Girl Mort Carnival Rock Benny 1958 War of the Satellites Dave Boyer 1959 Walter Paisley 1960 Burson Fouch 1961 Atlas Greek Soldier Uncredited Capture That Capsule Ed Nowak Will Zens 1962 Premature Burial "Mole" 1963 Stefan X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes Heckler Uncredited 1965 The Girls on the Beach First Waiter William Witney Ski Party Taxi Driver Alan Rafkin Beach Ball Cop #1 1966 Wild Wild Winter Rilk Rigger 1967 MP At Hanging Uncredited The St. Valentine's Day Massacre Gangster Dressed As A Cop A Time for Killing Zollicoffer Cash 1968 The Wild Racers Pit Crew Mechanic Daniel HallerRoger Corman The Legend of Lylah Clare Reporter At Press Party Robert Aldrich Uncredited 1972 Night Call Nurses Mr. Jensen 1973 The Student Teachers Coach Harris The Slams Taxi Driver Executive Action Rifleman, Team B David Miller The Young Nurses Cop Fly Me Taxi Driver 1974 Truck Turner Fogarty Big Bad Mama Bonney Candy Stripe Nurses The Spectator Alan Holleb Summer School Teachers Sam 1975 Capone Joe Pryor Death Race 2000 Chicken Gang Paul Bartel Uncredited White Line Fever "Birdie" Corman Darktown Strutters Officer Hugo Crazy Mama Wilbur Janeway 1976 Hollywood Boulevard Walter Paisley Cannonball Bennie Buckman Moving Violation Mack Charles S. Dubin Vigilante Force The Pianist George Armitage 1977 Mr. Billion Bernie New York, New York The Palm Club Owner Game Show Models The Game Show Host David N. Gottlieb 1978 Starhops Jerry I Wanna Hold Your Hand Sergeant Brenner Corvette Summer "Mr. Lucky" Piranha Buck Gardner 1979 The Lady in Red Patek Rock 'n' Roll High School Police Chief 11th Victim Ned, Investigator TV movie 1941 Officer Miller 1980 New York Cop Used Cars Man In Bed Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype Irsil / Orson Charles B. Griffith 1981 Walter Paisley Smokey Bites the Dust Glen Wilson Charles B. Griffith Heartbeeps Factory Watchman 1982 National Lampoon's Movie Madness Dr. Hans Kleiner Segment: "Success Wanters" White Dog Animal Trainer Samuel Fuller Vortex Bit Part Beth BScott B The Aftermath Broadcaster Steve BarkettTed V. Mikels Voice 1983 Heart Like a Wheel Mickey White Twilight Zone: The Movie Walter Paisley Segment: "It's a Good Life" Space Raiders Mel "Crazy Mel" Howard R. Cohen Get Crazy Susie's Dad All the Right Moves Teacher In Auditorium Lies The Producer Jim WheatKen Wheat 1984 Swing Shift Wallflower At The Swing Shift Jamboree Jonathan Demme Uncredited Gremlins Murray Futterman Rob Garrett 1985 Explorers Charlie Drake After Hours Pete, Diner Waiter 1986 Chopping Mall Walter Paisley Night of the Creeps Walt Armed Response Steve 1987 Project X Max King Face Like a Frog Max Innerspace Cab Driver Amazon Women on the Moon Danny Clayton Various Segment: "The French Ventiloquist's Dummy" (TV cut & DVD only)Uncredited 1988 Under the Boardwalk Official Fritz Kiersch Angel III: The Final Chapter Nick Pellegrini Tom DeSimone Dead Heat Cemetery Security Guard Uncredited 1989 Vic, The Garbageman Far from Home Sheriff Bill Childers Meiert Avis Ghost Writer Club Manager Kenneth J. Hall 1990 Gremlins 2: The New Batch Murray Futterman Mob Boss Mike 1991 Motorama Horseshoe Player Barry Shils 1992 Evil Toons Burt Body Waves Mr. Matthews P.J. Pesce Unlawful Entry Impound Clerk 1992 Quake The Storekeeper 1993 Matinee Herb Denning 1993Batman: Mask of the PhantasmChuckie SolVoice 1994Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of SupermanMike LaneRobert SingerEpisode: "Church of Metropolis"1995Star Trek: Deep Space NineVin and Episode: "Past Tense"1999ERMr AckermanDavid ChameidesEpisode: "Double Blind"1999NYPD BlueCarl BodeDonna DeitchEpisode: "I’ll Draw You a Mapp"2005Justice League UnlimitedOberonVoice, episode: "The Ties that Bind"