Dennis Miller Live
Dennis Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American comedian and television personality. Miller rose to fame from 1985 to 1991 as a regular on Saturday Night Live, where he served as a "Weekend Update" commentator.
From 1994 to 2002, he was the host of Dennis Miller Live, a half-hour talk show on HBO characterized by its stark simplicity. The show had no set, band, or even much lighting. It mainly consisted of Miller speaking to the largely unseen studio audience on a darkened stage. There would be one guest per show, who Miller would quiz on the topic of the day. At one time, the show also featured callers, but this was phased out in later seasons. Miller won five Emmy Awards while hosting the show, which aired 215 episodes during its nine-year run.
The highlight of the show were Miller's "rants" on various political issues. The rants always began with the catch phrase "now I don't want to get off on a rant here..." and ended with the phrase "of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."
Miller has a reputation for being very scholarly and intelligent, and his distinct style of humor reflects this. His rants and stand-up routines often feature elaborate metaphors and references to obscure historical and political events. This has prompted some accusations of intellectual snobbery. For example, on The Simpsons there was this exchange:
- LISA: (after hearing obscure joke) Ha, only one person in a million would find that funny!
- PROFESSOR JOHN FRINK: Yes, we call that the "Dennis Miller Ratio."
In 2000, Miller became the co-host of Monday Night Football. Some feared his humor style was a little too highbrow for football fans, but his new role was actually very popular, and he remained with the show for several seasons.
After his role ended with Monday Night Football and Dennis Miller Live, he turned to political commentary. In 2003, he provided regular commentary for the FOX News show Hannity & Colmes, and began a prime-time political show on CNBC in early 2004 called Dennis Miller. His first guest on the program was California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Miller is a registered Republican and is known for his conservative beliefs. This, in addition to his political interests and style of humor has led for many in the GOP to call for him to run for the U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer.
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