Warren Miller

Warren A. Miller (October 15, 1924 – January 24, 2018) was an American ski and snowboarding filmmaker. He was the founder of Warren Miller Entertainment and produced, directed and narrated films until 1988. His published works include over 750 sports films, several books and hundreds of non-fiction articles.

Early years Warren Anthony Miller was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, to Helena Humphrey Miller and Albert Lincoln Miller. He had two older sisters, Mary Helen Miller and Betty Jane "BJ" Miller. As a young man he took up the hobbies of skiing, surfing, and photography. At the age of 18, with the U.S. ten months into World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific. On Christmas vacation in 1944, he first filmed skiing with a borrowed camera in Yosemite. Upon his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Miller bought his first 8mm movie camera, a Bell & Howell for $77 . He and a friend, Ward Baker, moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, where they lived in a teardrop trailer in the parking lot of the Sun Valley ski resort, and worked as ski instructors.

Career After Miller showed his skiing and surfing films to friends, with accompanying commentary, he began to receive invitations to show and narrate them at parties. In 1949, he founded Warren Miller Entertainment (WME) and began producing one feature-length ski film per year. He borrowed money to rent halls and theaters, and charged admission to his shows. He booked show halls near ski resorts so that he could film the next year's footage during the day, and show the current film in the evening. Before long he was showing his films in 130 cities a year.

Miller continued to head Warren Miller Entertainment until the late 1980s when he sold the company to his son, Kurt Miller. Kurt later sold the company to Time, Inc., which sold it in 2007 to Bonnier Corporation, and in 2013 Warren Miller was acquired by Active Interest Media. While transitioning out of his executive role, Miller still maintained his creative role as director and narrator for the films into the 1990s. The makers of later films, including Warren Miller's Higher Ground (2005) and Warren Miller's Off the Grid (2006), used Miller's narration from previous films rather than recording new narration. In 1998, Miller became Director of Skiing at The Yellowstone Club, a private resort in Big Sky Montana.

In late 2010, Miller presented 'An Evening with Warren Miller' to two sold-out audiences at Seattle's Benaroya Hall. In September 2016, Miller self-published his autobiography, Freedom Found: My Life Story.

Legacy Miller was inducted into the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame (1978), the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame (1995), and was awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards from the International Skiing History Association (2004) and the California Ski Industry Association (2008).

His former company has continued to produce a new film every year carrying on the brand legacy after Warren's passing in 2018 at the age of 93. In January 2023, Outside announced a two-year film project leading into the 75th anniversary of the films. Despite reports and internet hearsay including rumors from longtime Warren Miller collaborator, Chris Patterson, that in 2023 there would not be new Warren Miller film. Warren Miller films corrected rumors and released the 74th film "All Time" in October 2023 and included both historical footage and newly filmed segments shot in Palisades Tahoe, California and Park City, Utah.

Personal life Miller's first wife, Jean, died of cancer in 1953, when their son was one year old. Miller married Dorothy Marion Roberts in 1957. They had two children. They were married for twenty years and lived in Hermosa Beach, California, where Warren Miller Entertainment was located. Miller then married two other people before marrying Laurie Penketh Kaufmann in 1988. With Laurie, Miller lived on Orcas Island, Washington, from 1992 until his death on January24, 2018.

Filmography

Movies released since 2004, while bearing Warren Miller's name, were not directed by Warren Miller, nor was he involved in their production in any way. Year Title 1950 Deep And Light 1951 California Skis 1952 Wandering Skis 1953 Ski Fantasy 1954 Symphony On Skis 1955 Invitation To Skiing 1956 Have Skis, Will Travel 1957 Anyone For Skiing? 1958 Are Your Skis On Straight? 1959 Let's Go Skiing 1960 Swinging Skis 1961 Many Moods Of Skiing 1962 Around The World On Skis 1963 The Sound Of Skiing 1964 The Skiers 1965 The Big Ski Show 1966 Ski On The Wild Side 1967 The Ski Scene 1968 No Boundaries 1969 This Is Skiing 1970 Sound Of Winter 1971 Any Snow, Any Mountain 1972 Winter People 1973 Skiing's Great 1974 The Color Of Skiing 1975 There Comes A Time 1976 Skiing On My Mind 1977 In Search Of Skiing 1978 Ski A La Carte 1979 Winter Fever 1980 Ski People 1981 Ski In The Sun 1982 Snowonder 1983 Ski Time 1983 Hot Yachts, Cold Water 1984 Ski Country 1985 Steep And Deep 1986 Beyond The Edge 1987 White Winter Heat 1988 Escape To Ski 1989 White Magic 1990 Extreme Winter 1991 Born To Ski 1992 Steeper And Deeper 1993 Black Diamond Rush 1994 Vertical Reality 1995 Endless Winter 1996 Snowriders 1997 Snowriders 2 1998 Freeriders 1999 Fifty 2000 Ride 2001 Cold Fusion 2002 Storm 2003 Journey 2004 Impact