Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political/sports commentator, and a television/radio personality. He rose to fame as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s and subsequently hosted several of his own talk shows on HBO, CNBC and in syndication. He currently hosts a daily, three-hour, self-titled talk radio program.
Miller was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was raised by his mother after his parents separated. In the 1970s, while working as a standup comedian in Pittsburgh’s emerging comedy club circuit, he submitted a winning joke for Playboy’s “joke of the year.” In the early 1980s, Miller began performing standup in New York City comedy clubs as well as in Los Angles at The Comedy Store.
Miller’s big break came in 1985 when he was discovered by Lorne Michaels at The Comedy Store and landed a spot on Saturday Night Live succeeding Christopher Guest as the Weekend Update anchor. In 1988, Miller released a standup comedy CD, The Off-White Album, based on an HBO special, and left SNL in 1991. In 1992, he launched a late night TV talk show, The Dennis Miller Show, featuring cutting-edge musical groups and other groundbreaking guests not seen on other late night programs of the time. It was canceled the same year it premiered due to poor ratings. Beginning in 1994, he hosted Dennis Miller Live, a half-hour talk show on HBO that ran until 2002. In 2000, he was a color commentator on ABC’s Monday Night Football for two seasons and known for his obscure popular culture references.
