By RON WAITE

Richard "Dick" Miller will be 75 this Christmas. Born in Brooklyn, New York on December 25, 1928, he is without a doubt the most recognized character actor of all time, having appeared on screen for half a century in one form or another.

His credits rival those of other notables like Ian Wolfe and Elisha Cook. He played opposite some of the biggest names in Hollywood and was the featured player in a classic Roger Corman film, his one and only top billing.

But who is Dick Miller?

To any true movie fan he's instantly recognizable as the rough 'n' tough, craggy-faced actor who plays second fiddle to some big name star.

He was Boris Karloff's servant Stefan in The Terror. His roles were as diverse as his career, and his small stature (5'5" tall) and rough voice (a Brooklyn native after all) didn't allow him to be a leading man and kiss the ladies. Instead he opted for the obscure, offbeat roles that earned him a reputation as well as a legion of fans.

Check your favorite Web search engine and you'll find Dick Miller fan clubs, tributes, biographies and more from the world over. Plagued by health problems in recent years--he had 40% of his lung removed because of cancer and a triple bypass on his heart--he is as active as ever and maintains that he will take any role and keep acting until he is no longer able to. 

But just who is this Dick Miller who is able to play these parts so well?

For that we have to look into his past and it will soon become obvious what makes him tick and how he can give life to those weirdo/psycho/obnoxious parts he plays. When he was still in high school he was an accomplished musician and played drums with a band. I understand he was quite talented and his love for music stayed with him through the years.

He was also an accomplished artist and at one time wanted to get into art as his chosen profession. He also loved writing and decided that well, maybe that's where life would lead him. 

Graduating from the New York School of Printing he also studied at New York University and City College in his quest to learn more and become more creative. He was interested in virtually everything and absorbed information from many sources. He joined the Navy after the end of World War Two and while there became a boxing champion for his weight and size. In short--no pun intended--a tough little guy from the Bronx.

Later, still in search of knowledge he received a degree in psychology from Columbia University. With his newly acquired Vet Benefits he was able to pursue more studies and because he was a "late sleeper" opted for night classes--at the New York School of Dramatic Arts where he studied under the likes of Jason Robards and others.

Finally, with enough background and life experience under his belt he landed a writing job in New York and eventually wrote scripts for such prestigious shows such as Playhouse 90. 

Around 1952, he headed for Hollywood thinking he could get into the movie industry as a script writer. He learned the hard lessons many such hopefuls learn, namely that Hollywood is a cold and unforgiving town. You literally have to know somebody to be somebody and that holds true to this day.

After two years of searching and trying he met Roger Corman and the rest, as they say, is history. He was excited and rightly so for here was his big chance to break into the movies. An actual production! Great! But when he told Corman he was a writer, Corman quickly informed him that he had enough writers and needed actors. Miller responded, "I'm an actor!"

He landed the roles--yes roles--in Apache Woman where he played an Indian and a cowboy. Yeah, like no one was supposed to notice. Typical Corman move and funnier still, a cowboy with a Brooklyn accent. 

For the next 50 years, Miller would give us many memorable performances. According to Zolar's Book of Dreams, if you take the letters in his name and transform them into numbers then add up those numbers it "means" something like this: Will treat things with contempt. How true!

With movie names like Rigger, Burson Fouch, the Leper, Shorty, Tall Tree, Buck Gardner and others he would give his characters that unique Miller touch. His most famous character was Walter Paisley from the 1959 film A Bucket of Blood.

It was so popular for him, as well as his only leading actor role, he used the name in Hollywood Boulevard in 1976 (directed by Joe Dante), The Howling in 1981 (also directed by Dante), Twilight Zone: The Movie, Chopping Mall, and Shake, Rattle And Rock! --a TV movie shown on Showtime in 1994. 

David Hogan has called him the eternal fall guy, a second banana, and "the sublime fall guy" in his Who's Who of Horror and Fantasy Films.  He's been a writer (including a Jerry Lewis flick called Which Way To The Front?), director (including an episode of Miami Vice), crew person, and more. He's one of those all around actors who never wanted to be an actor and sort of "fell into it."

There are those that say his performances are wooden, one sided, of no substance. But you can counter that each of his performances no matter how small or subdued was memorable. There was a time when he visited the home of Forrest Ackerman. Forry had several guests there that day and Miller did a reading from one of his favorite plays. Memory fails me now and I can't recall what he read, but I do know this: when he was doing it, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Never have I seen such an emotional performance! 

He is still acting and getting involved and recently lent his vocal talents to the Joe Dante feature Looney Tunes Back In Action (with voices from Brendon Frasier, Heather Locklear and Kevin McCarthy). Thanks to the likes of people like Joe Dante actors like Dick Miller and Kevin McCarthy have received new generations of filmgoers and gained new fans everywhere.

In a memorable scene from Matinee--the 1993 film based on the works of William Castle--Miller played a washed-up horror film actor who was featured in the pages of Famous Monsters magazine. A smart fan noticed it and approached him about it. Typical William Castle doings where anything went when it came to drumming up business for one of his movies! 

He's been on countless TV shows including Weird Science, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek The Next Generation and twice on Dragnet in 1967 and 1958. Over 100 feature films assured his place in the Hall of Fame.

Of course, he was hilarious--and not intentionally--as Karloff's servant Stefan in The Terror. The only thing funnier than his accent was that of Jack Nicholson who was supposed to be a French soldier, but was obviously calling from New Jersey. Look in any book about movie stars and 99% will mention his role as the vacuum cleaner salesman from Not Of This Earth.

 After all is said and done--excluding his Murray Futterman role in Gremlins--he will be fondly remembered as Walter Paisley in A Bucket of Blood. Star of the film this very low budget black and white Roger Corman masterpiece managed to capture the look and feel of the "beatnik" movement of the late Fifties more than any other big budget movie or TV show. Maynard G. Krebs was a beatnik.

Yes, in the minds of some to execs who didn't know a real beatnik from Dobie Gillis. They were dark times with these "drop-outs of society" in their own world of gloom and doom; a place where their world consisted of coffee and cigarettes and "crazy" music and sullen poetry and the nuclear holocaust that was coming at any time.

Miller captured that and also managed to convey to the audience the need to be accepted, a basic need in all humans. The world may end but he could not face the fact that he was a talentless slob with no artistic ability. They changed their minds when they saw his new skills in marvelous sculptures that wowed the critics and his friends as well.

Problem was while magnificent though they were, he was killing his "models" and covering them with clay creating a perfect likeness. As always, his evil deeds caught up with him and his career was ended abruptly.