Warren Miller (director)

Warren A. Miller (October 15, 1924 – January 24, 2018) was an American ski and snowboarding filmmaker.[1] He was the founder of Warren Miller Entertainment and produced, directed and narrated films until 1988. His published works include over 750 sports films, several books and hundreds of non-fiction articles.[2] Miller was inducted into the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame (1978), the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame (1995), and was awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards from the International Skiing History Association (2004) and the California Ski Industry Association (2008).[3]

Warren Miller
Born(1924-10-15)October 15, 1924
Los Angeles, California, US
DiedJanuary 24, 2018(2018-01-24) (aged 93)
Orcas Island, Washington, US
Occupations
  • Skier
  • film producer
  • director
Years active1950–2004
Known forSkiing films, Warren Miller Entertainment

Biography

Early years

Warren Anthony Miller was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, to Helena Humphrey Miller and Albert Lincoln Miller. He had two older sisters, Mary Helen Miller and Betty Jane "BJ" Miller.[4]

As a young man he took up the hobbies of skiing, surfing, and photography. At the age of 18, with the U.S. ten months into World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific.[5] On Christmas vacation in 1944, he first filmed skiing with a borrowed camera in Yosemite.[6]

Upon his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Miller bought his first 8mm movie camera, a Bell & Howell costing $77 (equivalent to $1,160 today[7]).[8] He and a friend, Ward Baker, moved to Sun Valley, Idaho where they lived in a teardrop trailer in the parking lot of the Sun Valley ski resort, and worked as ski instructors.[5] In their free time, they filmed each other skiing to critique and improve their ski techniques. During the summers they shifted to the California coast where they filmed each other surfing.[9]

Later work

After Miller showed his skiing and surfing films to friends, with accompanying commentary, he began to receive invitations to show and narrate them at parties. In 1949, he founded Warren Miller Entertainment [WME] and began producing one feature-length ski film per year. He lent money to rent halls and theaters, and charged admission to his shows. He booked show halls near ski resorts so that he could film the next year's footage during the day, and show the current film in the evening. Before long he was showing his films in 130 cities a year.[10]

Miller continued to head Warren Miller Entertainment until the late 1980s when he sold the company to his son, Kurt Miller. Kurt later sold the company to Time, Inc., which sold it in 2007 to Bonnier Corporation, which was itself acquired by Active Interest Media in 2013.[11] The company continued to produce a new film every year until 2023.[12] In January 2023 longtime Warren Miller collaborator, Chris Patterson, announced that, for the first time in 74 years, 2023 would not see the premiere of a new Warren Miller film, stating, "Due to financial challenges at Outside, the executives have chosen to assemble the future movies entirely with “existing footage” – no need for a camera crew, plane tickets, lift tickets and for that matter, no need for athletes or snow."[13]

While transitioning out of his executive role, Miller still maintained his creative role as director and narrator for the films into the 1990s. The makers of later films, including Warren Miller's Higher Ground (2005) and Warren Miller's Off the Grid (2006), used Miller's narration from previous films rather than recording new narration.[14][15]

In late 2010, Miller presented 'An Evening with Warren Miller' to two sold-out audiences at Seattle's Benaroya Hall.[16]

In 1998, Miller became Director of Skiing at The Yellowstone Club, a private resort in Big Sky Montana.

Personal life

Miller's first wife Jean, mother of his oldest son Scott, died of cancer when her son was just one and half years old. Miller then married Dorothy Marion Roberts in 1955. The marriage produced two children, a daughter Chris Ann (1957) and Kurt James (1959). The two were married for twenty years and lived in Hermosa Beach, California[17] where the Warren Miller Production film company was located for almost 40 years.

Miller and his wife of 30 years, Laurie, lived on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle.

In September 2016, Miller self-published his autobiography, Freedom Found: My Life Story.[18] Andy Bigford, former editor-in-chief and publisher of Ski Magazine, co-authored the book, and Miller's wife contributed as well. After a sold out first printing, a second printing was released in December 2017.[18]

Miller died January 24, 2018, at his home on Orcas Island.[2]

Filmography

# Year Title
11950Deep And Light
21951California Skis
31952Wandering Skis
41953Ski Fantasy
51954Symphony On Skis
61955Invitation To Skiing
71956Have Skis, Will Travel
81957Anyone For Skiing?
91958Are Your Skis On Straight?
101959Let's Go Skiing
111960Swinging Skis
121961Many Moods Of Skiing
131962Around The World On Skis
141963The Sound Of Skiing
151964The Skiers
161965The Big Ski Show
171966Ski On The Wild Side
181967The Ski Scene
191968No Boundaries
201969This Is Skiing
211970Sound Of Winter
221971Any Snow, Any Mountain
231972Winter People
241973Skiing's Great
251974The Color Of Skiing
261975There Comes A Time
271976Skiing On My Mind
281977In Search Of Skiing
291978Ski A La Carte
301979Winter Fever
311980Ski People
321981Ski In The Sun
331982Snowonder
341983Ski Time
351983Hot Yachts, Cold Water
361984Ski Country
371985Steep And Deep
381986Beyond The Edge
391987White Winter Heat
401988Escape To Ski
411989White Magic
421990Extreme Winter
431991Born To Ski
441992Steeper And Deeper
451993Black Diamond Rush
461994Vertical Reality
471995Endless Winter
481996Snowriders
491997Snowriders 2
501998Freeriders
511999Fifty
522000Ride
532001Cold Fusion
542002Storm
552003Journey
562004Impact

Movies released since 2004, while bearing Warren Miller's name, were not directed by Warren Miller, nor was he involved in their production in any way. See the complete list for all films bearing Warren Miller's name.

Bibliography

  • On Film in Print (1994) Vail, CO: Ritem and Printem ISBN 978-0963614414
  • Lurching from One Near Disaster to the Next (1998) Deer Harbor, WA: Pole Pass Pub. ISBN 978-0963614421
  • Wine, Women, Warren, & Skis, (2001) Warren Miller Productions; 14th edition; ISBN 978-0963614407
  • Warren's World, (2002) Mountain Sports Press, ISBN 978-0967674780
  • "The Good New Days" Ski (Jan 2004) Vol 68 #5:152
  • "A Taste of Freedom" The Ski Journal (2010) vol 4.2 ISSN 1935-3219
  • Bigford, Andy and Miller, Warren (2016) Freedom Found: My Life Story Warren Miller Company ISBN 9780963614469

References

  1. "Warren Miller". U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum. U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame. n.d. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  2. Judd, Ron (January 25, 2018). "Pioneering, Inspiring Snow-Sports Filmmaker Warren Miller, 93, Dies at Orcas Island Home". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  3. "Pioneering, inspiring snow-sports filmmaker Warren Miller, 93, dies at Orcas Island home". The Seattle Times. January 24, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  4. Bigford and Miller (2016). Freedom Found: My Life Story. Warren Miller Company. ISBN 978-0963614469.
  5. "Whistler remembers filmmaking legend ". Pique Magazine, By Joel Barde. February 01, 2018
  6. Miller, Warren (2012) "Warren's World", The Ski Journal Vol 6 #3:22, theskijournal.com; accessed February 3, 2018.
  7. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  8. "A Legacy Will Live On". Warren Miller Productions. January 25, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2019. His first still camera was a Bakelite Univex, bought for 39 cents; in 1946 he bought a Bell & Howell 8-mm camera for $77.
  9. Lund, Morten (March 2004) Warren Miller profile, Skiing Heritage Vol 16 #1:8-14
  10. Fry, John (2010) The Story of Modern Skiing Hanover: University Press of New England ISBN 978-1584658962 pg 278-280
  11. Blevins, Jason (2013) "The Balance Sheet", The Denver Post; retrieved June 3, 2014.
  12. Chuba, Kirsten (January 25, 2018). "Warren Miller, pioneering ski filmmaker, dies at 93". Variety. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  13. Snowbrains (January 24, 2023) There Will Be No New Warren Miller Ski Movie Next Year for the 1st Time in 74 Years Snowbrains.com
  14. "Warren Miller's Off the Grid: The world's largest winter sports movie announces 2006 U.S. tour", Skinet.net; retrieved August 19, 2007.
  15. "Warren Miller's Higher Ground", PR Newswire, 2005-08-31, via highbeam.com; retrieved August 19, 2007. Archived May 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  16. Thompson, Neal (2011) "Ski Movie Mogul Warren Miller Refuses to Go Downhill" Seattle Met; retrieved August 6, 2018
  17. Dorworth, Dick (1974) “Warren Miller: Making It on Film” Skiing vol 26#7 pg 70
  18. "Warren Miller's autobiography to be available in second printing this fall". Ski Racing. July 22, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
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