Harry M. Miller
Encyclopedia
Early career
Born in New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Miller grew up in Grey Lynn
Grey Lynn
Grey Lynn is an inner residential suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand, located three kilometres to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914....
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, and moved to Australia in 1963, where he established a company called Pan Pacific Productions with Keith and Dennis Wong, owners of the noted Sydney nightclub "Chequers". During the 1960s, Pan Pacific promoted many concert and theatrical tours of Australia and New Zealand, including Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
.
In 1969, Miller discovered 16-year-old American singer Marcia Hines
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and cast her in the Australian stage version of Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
which he was producing. Hines flew to Australia, unaware that she was already six months pregnant, and Miller acted as her legal guardian in Australia until she turned 21. Miller went on to produce the acclaimed and highly successful Australian productions of Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
in 1972 and The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
in 1974, both of which used many of the production staff from Hair.
In 1970, Miller joined the council of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
, and was elected chairman of the gallery's society after his opponent for the position, art patron Mervyn Horton
Mervyn Horton
Mervyn Emrys Rosser Horton AM was an Australian art editor, art collector and philanthropist.-Early life:Mervyn Horton was born and grew up in Sydney, attending Newington College , Stanmore and the University of Sydney where he studied engineering.-Working life:He was a Director of the Katoomba...
was filmed by the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
commenting on Miller's Jewish background. As chairman, Miller was instrumental in revitalising the gallery from an austere, staid Sydney institution to a modern, welcoming venue.
Computicket and fraud charges
In 1978, Miller started a ticketing company called Computicket, which went into receivership within six months. On 30 April 1982, Miller was found guilty of fraudFraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
which lead to the collapse of the company, and he served ten months in prison at Long Bay
Long Bay Correctional Centre
Long Bay Correctional Complex is located in the suburb of Malabar in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Long Bay comprises six institutions, four maximum security and two minimum security.-History:...
and Cessnock Correctional Centre
Cessnock Correctional Centre
Cessnock Correctional Centre is a minimum and maximum security Australian prison for males, located in Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia. It is the reception prison for the Newcastle and Hunter Region.-Notable prisoners:*William MacDonald...
s.
Celebrity agent and manager
Miller is the founder and director of the Harry M. Miller Group, based in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He has a varied client base, representing a number of well-known figures in Australia including:
- Lindy ChamberlainLindy ChamberlainAlice Lynne Chamberlain-Creighton was at the centre of one of Australia's most publicised murder trials, in which she was convicted of killing her baby daughter, Azaria. The conviction was later overturned.-Early life:...
, whose daughter Azaria was taken by a dingoAzaria Chamberlain disappearanceAzaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl, who disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip to Uluru with her family. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo... - all contestants for some months after their eviction from Big BrotherBig Brother (Australia)Big Brother Australia is the Australian version of the international Big Brother reality television series. Big Brother Australia was produced from 2001 and ran for 8 seasons before it was cancelled in 2008. It has been renewed in September 2011 for a 2012 season. All eight seasons were produced by...
- Judy Moran, wife of slain Melbourne underworld figure Lewis MoranLewis MoranLewis Moran was an Australian organized crime figure and patriarch of the infamous Moran family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Notable for his involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings, Moran was shot dead in a Melbourne hotel The Brunswick Club in 2004...
- Gai WaterhouseGai WaterhouseGai Waterhouse is a Scottish-born, Australian resident horse trainer, businesswoman and a former actress-Career:...
, horse racing trainer
Miller gives advice and manages all communication, negotiations and media attention surrounding an individual or company that finds themselves under intense public spotlight for example, Stuart Diver
Stuart Diver
Stuart Diver is a ski instructor and was the sole survivor of the 1997 Thredbo landslide.At 11.35pm on 30 July 1997, 3500 tons of rock and mud slid down the side of Thredbo taking two ski lodges with it. The landslide killed 18 people, one of whom was Diver's wife, Sally...
, the only survivor of the 1997 Thredbo landslide
1997 Thredbo landslide
The Thredbo landslide was a catastrophic landslide that occurred at the village and ski resort of Thredbo, New South Wales, Australia, on 30 July 1997. Two ski lodges were destroyed, and a total of 18 died.- Landslide :...
.
External links
- Harry M. Miller Group website
- Papers of Harry Maurice Miller, National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
. - Interview: Harry M. Miller, Enough Rope with Andrew DentonEnough RopeEnough Rope with Andrew Denton is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC Television in Australia...
, Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, 30 October 2006.