Harry M Miller
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Harry Maurice Miller (6 January 1934 – 4 July 2018) was a New Zealand Australian promoter, publicist and media agent.


Life and career

Born on 6 January 1934 in New Zealand, Miller grew up in the
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
suburb of
Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...
. He 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 Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
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Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...
,
the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
,
Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein Order of the British Empire, KBE OMRI (; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.
,
Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English rock and pop group formed in 1963 in Manchester and formerly fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous tra ...
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the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
,
the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
(during the surfing 1964 tour),
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
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Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...
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Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
,
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
,
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
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Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...
,
Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...
and
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
During the mid-1960s, Pan Pacific was in competition in the pop tour market with rival promoter Aztec Services Ltd in Melbourne headed by promoter
Kenn Brodziak Kenneth Leo Brodziak OBE (31 May 19133 June 1999), known early in his career as Richard R. Raymon and nicknamed "Mr Show Business", was an Australian entrepreneur, theatre and concert promoter, producer and artist manager. His career lasted fro ...
, but by the late 1960s Miller and Brodziak had become friends and colleagues and subsequently collaborated on many concert and theatrical promotions. During this period Miller also expanded into personal management; his first client was pioneering TV chef
Graham Kerr Graham Victor Kerr (born 22 January 1934) is a British cooking personality who is best known for his television cooking show ''The Galloping Gourmet,'' which aired from 30 December 1968 to 14 September 1972. Early life Kerr was born in Bron ...
, already a household name in New Zealand, who became a national TV star in Australia before launching a successful international career. As a talent manager, Miller served as the manager of numerous Australian personalities including
Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...
,
Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy Order of Australia, AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, radio and television host as well as a personality and actor of theatre, television and film. He wa ...
,
Maggie Tabberer Margaret May Tabberer (; 11December 19366December 2024) was an Australian fashion, publishing and television personality. She was a dual recipient of the Gold Logie award for her television work. Tabberer founded her own fashion label and PR c ...
,
Stuart Wagstaff Stuart Wagstaff (13 February 192510 March 2015) was an English-born Australian entertainer who was active in all genres of the industry including theatre, television and film, and music and stage management. Early life Wagstaff was born in ...
and
Carmen Duncan Carmen Joan Duncan (7 July 1942 – 3 February 2019) was an Australian-born stage and screen actress and activist, with a career locally and internationally in the United States that spanned over 50 years. She was nominated for the AFI Award ...
. In 1969, Miller discovered 16-year-old American singer
Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines AM (born July 20, 1953) is an American-born Australian singer and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalen ...
in
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, while casting African-American performers for the Australian stage version of ''
Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...
'', 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 Australian productions of ''
Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
'' in 1972 and ''
The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...
'' in 1974, both of which used many of the production staff from ''Hair'' including director
Jim Sharman James David Sharman (born 12 March 1945) is an Australian director and writer for film and stage with more than 70 productions to his credit. He is renowned in Australia for his work as a theatre director since the 1960s, and is best known in ...
. In 1970, Miller joined the council of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...
, and was elected chairman of the gallery's society.


Legal issues

In 1978, Miller started a ticketing company called Computicket, which went into
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
within six months. On 30 April 1982, Miller was found guilty of aiding and abetting the misappropriation of $728,000 in funds and sentenced to three years in jail. The verdict led to the collapse of the company, and he served ten months in prison at Long Bay and
Cessnock Correctional Centre Cessnock Correctional Centre, an Australian minimum and maximum security prison for males, is located in Cessnock, New South Wales. It was opened in 1972 under the name Cessnock Training Centre. The centre is operated by Corrective Services NSW ...
s.


Celebrity agent and manager

Miller was the founder and director of the Harry M. Miller Group, based in Moore Park, Sydney. His agency represented a varied client base of well-known figures in Australia, including all contestants on '' Big Brother,''
Lindy Chamberlain Alice Lynne "Lindy" Chamberlain-Creighton (''née'' Murchison, born 4 March 1948) is a New Zealand–born Australian woman who was falsely convicted in one of Australia's most publicised and notorious murder trials and miscarriages of justice. ...
,
Stuart Diver Stuart Diver (born 14 January 1970 in New South Wales, Australia) is a ski instructor and was the sole survivor of the 1997 Thredbo landslide. Thredbo landslide At 11.35pm, on 30 July 1997, 3,500 tonnes of rock and mud slid down the side of ...
(the only survivor of the
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 18 people died. Stuart Diver was the only survivor. Lands ...
),
Judy Moran Judith Maryanne Moran (née Brooks; born 18 December 1944) is the matriarch of the Moran criminal family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, involved in the Melbourne gangland killings. Personal life Moran was born in Victoria on 18 December 194 ...
(wife of slain Melbourne underworld figure
Lewis Moran Lewis Moran (7 July 1941 – 31 March 2004) 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 d ...
), and
Gai Waterhouse Gabriel Marie "Gai" Waterhouse (née Smith; born 2 September 1954) is an Australian horse trainer and businesswoman. The daughter of Tommy J. Smith, a leading trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, Waterhouse was born and raised in Sydney. After ...
(a horseracing trainer). Miller gave advice and managed communication, negotiations and media attention surrounding individuals or companies that found themselves under intense public spotlight.


Family

Miller had 4 wives and 5 children. He had a relationship with Deborah Hutton, 27 years his junior from the 1980s for 10 years. Anh's Brush with Fame interview with Deborah Hutton


Death

Miller died at age 84 in Sydney, Australia, on 4 July 2018, after a
vascular dementia Vascular dementia is dementia caused by a series of strokes. Restricted blood flow due to strokes reduces oxygen and glucose delivery to the brain, causing cell injury and neurological deficits in the affected region. Subtypes of vascular dement ...
diagnosis in 2011. He died with his long-term partner Simmone Logue, daughters Justine, Brook and Lauren, and their mother Wendy by his side.


References


External links


Harry M. Miller Group websitePapers of Harry Maurice Miller
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Harry M. 1934 births 2018 deaths Talent agents Australian white-collar criminals New Zealand emigrants to Australia People from Sydney New Zealand people imprisoned abroad Deaths from vascular dementia