February 4, 2008
Lyon College News Bureau

An actor and comedian who has appeared in several films, television shows and stand-up specials is slated to speak before Lyon College’s President’s Council on March 7 at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock.

Larry Miller is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, having appeared in more than 50 films and numerous television shows. He has been in films including “Pretty Woman” and “The Nutty Professor” as well as television shows such as, “Law and Order,” “Mad About You” and “Desperate Housewives.”

From his initial first break at The Comic Strip in New York in the mid-1970s, Miller has developed a sense of style not often associated with stand-up comedians or actors. Miller’s love for stand-up comedy continues with regular guest appearances on “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman” and two of his own critically acclaimed specials for HBO.

As a classically trained musician (he began in his college years at Amherst), Miller’s professors probably had an inkling of where he was really headed when he wrote, and had accepted, his music theory and compositions thesis in “A Harmonic Analysis of Frank Zappa.” After graduating, Miller played piano and drums in clubs in New York, did studio work, and then one night, decided to try his hand at joke-telling.

In 1981, Miller packed his bags and headed for Hollywood where he slept on Jerry Seinfeld’s floor for six weeks. With the help of another buddy, Jay Leno, Larry purchased a ’63 Chevy for $600 and eventually got an apartment nearby.

While performing one night at the Improv, Milton Berle caught his act and asked Miller to perform at SHARE, a star-studded annual charity affair.

“Apparently, Nancy Sinatra was in the audience and really liked my act because the next day she called her father and before I knew it I was renting a tux and flying to Vegas to open for Sinatra for a week at Bally’s,” he said.

The Lyon College President's Council – co-chaired by Doyle W. Rogers Sr. and Josephine Raye Rogers of Batesville – is composed of distinguished business and civic leaders from across the state and nation who provide support and counsel to Lyon College President Dr. Walter B. Roettger, the college's Board of Trustees, administration and faculty.

Established in 2004, the President's Council is a by-invitation-only group whose mission is to "engage leaders in their professions and communities who share Lyon College's belief in the transforming value of a liberal arts education of highest quality." The President's Council now has more than 235 members.

Larry Miller