Marilyn Suzanne Miller
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Marilyn Suzanne Miller (born January 3, 1950) is an American television writer and producer. She was one of only three female writers on the original staff of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' and was also a writer for such 1970s
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
s as ''
The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televis ...
'', ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...
'', ''
Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American sitcom television series created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974 to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The ...
'', '' Maude'', and ''
Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...
''.


Early life

Miller was born in
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,
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, the oldest of four daughters to Dr. Norman R. Miller, a psychologist, and Shirley M. Miller, a writer and editor. Her family moved to
Monroeville, Pennsylvania Monroeville is a Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments located about east of Pittsburgh. As of the 202 ...
near
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, where she attended Gateway High School, graduating in 1967. As an undergraduate at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, she pursued a degree in playwriting, graduating in 1972. She was accepted into the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
's writer's workshop, but she deferred enrollment in the
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
program there for financial reasons.


Television

After college, Miller worked as a fashion copy writer for a Pittsburgh department store. During that time she wrote the draft of a script for ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...
'', and cold-called executive producer
James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. He co-created the sitcoms ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', and ''The Simpsons'' and directed the films '' Terms of ...
at
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to pitch the script. Soon after sending Brooks the script, she was flown to Hollywood by
Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...
to be a junior writer for ''
The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televis ...
''. For Brooks, she wrote for ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...
'' and the spinoff ''
Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American sitcom television series created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974 to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The ...
''. She also went on to write for '' Maude'', ''
Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...
'', and ''
Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class nicknamed the Sweathogs. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the ser ...
''. For her work on the 1974
Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...
special, ''
Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...
'', Miller earned an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy, Variety or Music Special. One of the special's producers,
Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...
, was assembling the writing staff for ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', and he asked Miller to join. Though she at first declined, she was convinced to join the show's original writing staff at the age of 25. She was one of only three women on the staff, along with
Anne Beatts Anne Beatts (February 25, 1947 – April 7, 2021) was an American comedy writer. Early life Beatts was born in Buffalo, New York, to Sheila Elizabeth Jean (Sherriff-Scott) and Patrick Murray Threipland Beatts. She has described her parents as " ...
and Rosie Shuster, however, Miller did not join the staff until the
Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...
-hosted episode, as it was suggested to her by Michaels, since she had previously worked on the aforementioned ''Lily'' special. On ''SNL'', Miller's writing appeared in the "Judy Miller" and "Rhonda Weiss" recurring sketches, both for
Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian. She was one of the seven Saturday Night Live cast members, original cast members of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy series ...
. She collaborated with
Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...
and
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...
on the "Festrunk Brothers" ("Wild and Crazy Guys") sketches. She also wrote the classic "Dancing in the Dark" sketch for Radner and Martin in 1978. For her work on ''SNL'' she won two Emmys and received three other nominations, as well as winning several
Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...
s. Miller left the ''SNL'' staff in 1978 to work on Radner's one-woman Broadway revue and movie, ''
Gilda Live ''Gilda Live'' is a 1980 American comedy musical film starring Gilda Radner, directed by Mike Nichols and produced by Lorne Michaels. Radner and Michaels and all of the writers involved with the production were alumni from the television progr ...
''. After more theatrical work, including briefly returning to ''SNL'' for most of the 1981-82 season, when
Dick Ebersol Duncan Richard Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the ...
had taken over as producer of the show, and
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...
was the star of the show back then; Miller returned to weekly television as a producer on ''
The Tracey Ullman Show ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television sketch comedy variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, as the network's second original primetime series, following '' Married... with Children'', and ran fo ...
'', for which she won another Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1990. In 1991, she was the co-executive producer of the briefly revived ''
The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harv ...
''. Miller was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in 1992. She returned to the writing staff of ''SNL'' later that year, although she was not credited as a writer until the March 13, 1993 episode of season 18, by which point, Michaels had been back producing the show for several years by then. She has since talked about working with younger cast members such as
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
and
Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...
, and younger writers like Dave Mandel and
Steve Koren Steve Koren is an American writer/producer and screenwriter. Most notably, he has written for ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Seinfeld'', and '' Veep''. He also wrote or co-wrote the movies '' Bruce Almighty'', '' Click'', '' A Night at the Roxbury ...
. After seven non-consecutive seasons, Miller permanently exited the show at the end of the show's infamous 20th season in 1995, alongside most of the writing staff and cast. In 1998, she wrote an episode about breast cancer for ''
Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...
'', winning a
Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of ...
. In 2001, she won her third Writers Guild Award for ''SNLs 25th anniversary show, ''Saturday Night Live 25''.


Book

Miller is the author of ''How to Be a Middle-Aged Babe'' (published in 2007), "a bawdy, smart satire of earnest women's magazines and self-help books".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Marilyn Suzanne 1950 births Living people People from Neptune Township, New Jersey People from Monroeville, Pennsylvania University of Michigan alumni American humorists Screenwriters from Pennsylvania American television writers American women screenwriters American women television writers Primetime Emmy Award winners American women humorists Screenwriters from New Jersey 21st-century American women Writers Guild of America Award winners Comedians from Monmouth County, New Jersey Comedians from Pennsylvania Writers from Monmouth County, New Jersey