Rick Miller (comedian)

Last updated
Rick Miller
Born (1970-03-12) March 12, 1970 (age 53)
Canada
Genres Theatre, Musical comedy, Impressions, Observational comedy
SpouseStephanie Baptist
Website www.rickmiller.ca

Rick Miller (born March 12, 1970) is a Canadian director, actor, comedian, musician and playwright, currently living in Toronto. He has two architecture degrees from McGill University in Montreal, and has performed in 5 languages on 5 continents. Although primarily known as a solo theatre creator and performer, Miller is also known for hosting the television series Just for Laughs [1] and for performing a version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" during which he impersonates "twenty five of the most annoying voices in the music industry". His BOOM Trilogy of solo shows (BOOM, BOOM X, and BOOM YZ) examine 75 years of music, culture and politics, and have been performed over 600 times across North America, Europe and Asia.

Contents

Career

Miller has created and performed in many plays, BOOM , [2] BOOM X , [3] BOOM YZ , Bigger than Jesus , [4] MacHomer , [5] [6] HARDSELL 2.0 - VENDU , [7] and Robert Lepage's Lipsynch. [8]

In an example of art imitating life imitating art, The Simpsons featured a segment in the episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure", in which Homer and Marge played versions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, respectively. This was an idea originally conceived by Miller for his one-man-show MacHomer. Matt Groening approved of the show and allowed Miller to use his characters.

Miller is also the co-creative director of the Kidoons Network, the Canadian multimedia company that has developed the family touring stage shows Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (premiered in 2015), [9] Jungle Book (premiered in 2018), [10] and Frankenstein (premiered in 2022). Kidoons also produces web series for families, featuring animated characters that connect to the Kidoons stage shows. [11]

When not on tour, Miller is the frontman for the Toronto party band TRAINWRECK, [12] also featuring his life partner of 25 years, Stephanie Baptist. In 2019, he released a compilation CD of 20 tracks from all of his solo shows called Rick Miller SONGS (from BOOM X and Other Shows). [13]

Bohemian Rhapsody skit

Miller is best known for his famous portrayal of the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody" "as performed by 25 of the most annoying voices in the music industry". However, the actual number of parodies in the sketch is 27, including a general parody of lead guitarists. A video of the performance was uploaded on YouTube in 2007, and has been seen over 1,000,000 times. [14] The list of parodies includes (in order): Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Michael Bolton, Corey Hart, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Jon Bon Jovi, Robbie Robertson, Neil Diamond, Aaron Neville, Dennis DeYoung, Barney the Dinosaur, Aerosmith, "Any Annoying Lead Guitarist", Meat Loaf, Crash Test Dummies, Tom Petty, Beck, The B-52's, AC/DC, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Julio Iglesias, Bobby McFerrin, Andrea Bocelli, and Guns N' Roses.

Voice work

Miller has also worked as a voice actor for numerous animated television shows and a video game.

Some of the characters he has voiced include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemian Rhapsody</span> 1975 single by Queen

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, A Night at the Opera (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack of a refraining chorus and consisting of several sections: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda. It is one of the few progressive rock songs of the 1970s to achieve widespread commercial success and appeal to a mainstream audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen (band)</span> British rock band

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, later joined by John Deacon (bass). Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock.

<i>Homestar Runner</i> American Flash-animated comedy series

Homestar Runner is an American Flash animated comedy series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by the titular character, Homestar Runner. It uses a blend of surreal humour, self-parody, satire, and references to popular culture, in particular video games, classic television, and popular music.

<i>"Weird Al" Yankovic</i> (album) 1983 studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic

"Weird Al" Yankovic is the debut studio album by American parodist Alfred "Weird Al" Yankovic. The album was the first of many produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Mostly recorded in March 1982, the album was released by Rock 'n Roll Records as an LP and on Compact Cassette in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Rist</span> American actor

Robbie Rist is an American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in The Brady Bunch, Martin in Grady and "Little John" in Big John, Little John. Rist is also known for voicing assorted characters in television shows, games and movies, including Stuffy, the overly-proud stuffed dragon in Doc McStuffins, Whiz in Kidd Video, Star in Balto, Maroda in Final Fantasy X, Choji Akimichi in Naruto, and Michelangelo in the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), and Casey Jones (2011). Additionally, he and director Anthony C. Ferrante provided music for the Sharknado film and the theme song for the Sharknado franchise. He played Ted Baxter's adopted son on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarface (Push It to the Limit)</span> 1983 single by Paul Engemann

"Scarface (Push It to the Limit)" is a song written by record producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte and recorded by American musician Paul Engemann. It appeared on the soundtrack for the 1983 motion picture Scarface. The song appears in the film in the montage sequence that demonstrates Tony Montana's rise in wealth and position after he kills Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) and takes over as the head cocaine trafficker in Miami. In the film, the song appeared in a slightly longer version, featuring a guitar solo during the instrumental break. This version was eventually released on a 12-inch single LP with the guitar solo included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rami Malek</span> American actor (born 1981)

Rami Said Malek is an American actor. He is known for portraying computer hacker Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series Mr. Robot (2015–2019), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and as Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), for which he won the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and British Academy Film Award for Best Actor. He has received many other accolades, and is the first actor of Egyptian heritage to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Time magazine named Malek one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.

The Kevin Bishop Show is a sketch comedy written by and starring English comedian Kevin Bishop, part of the Star Stories team. The show was commissioned by Channel 4 for a six-part series starting on 25 July 2008 at 10 p.m. A pilot was broadcast on 23 November 2007 as part of Channel 4's Comedy Showcase and the programme soon earned interest for its incredibly fast pace; 42 sketches were shown in 23 minutes. The show was nominated for Best New Comedy at the 2008 British Comedy Awards. The show started its second series on Friday 31 July 2009 at 10 p.m. on Channel 4.

The A Day at the Races Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting their late 1976 album A Day at the Races.

"Big Man on Hippocampus" is the tenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 3, 2010. The episode features Peter after he suddenly begins suffering from amnesia, and can no longer remember anything about his life, including his own family and friends. His wife, Lois, then attempts to reintroduce Peter to his surroundings, but he soon discovers partying, and having sex with other women is much more entertaining. Frustrated, Lois decides to leave her husband, causing her neighbor, Quagmire, to attempt to win her over.

<i>Annoying Orange</i> American YouTube web series

Annoying Orange is an American live-action/animated comedy web series created by Dane Boedigheimer. The series follows an anthropomorphic orange who annoys fruits, vegetables, and various other objects by telling crude jokes and puns until their demise. In addition, the show satirizes and parodies pop culture, including television programs and commercials, anime series, films, music, celebrities, politicians, fairy tales, video games, and internet culture, with a touch of off-color humor, surreal humor and gross-out humor.

MacHomer is a one-person play by Rick Miller which blends William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth with the animated television series The Simpsons. Miller conceived the idea in 1994, when he was performing in a production of Macbeth. The first performance of MacHomer was at the Montreal Fringe Festival in 1995. MacHomer has been re-written a number of times. The early version of the play was more of a stand-up comedy routine, but in 2000, it was expanded into a theatrical production. In 2006, for the 10th anniversary tour, Miller further revamped the play, adding new songs and characters, and incorporating videos.

Jason Paige is an American singer, writer, record producer and actor best known for singing the first theme song for the English version of the Pokémon television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen + Adam Lambert</span> British-American musical collaboration (2011–)

Queen + Adam Lambert is a collaboration between the remaining active members of the British band Queen and American vocalist Adam Lambert. As with all other Queen performances since 1997, longstanding bassist John Deacon has declined to participate in the project due to his retirement. This is the first long-term collaboration of Queen since the Queen + Paul Rodgers project ended in 2009. Like the previous project, it was made clear that Lambert would not be replacing Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, but rather that he would be featured with the band's active members.

"Looking for Mr. Goodbart" is the twentieth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 616th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Carolyn Omine. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 30, 2017, and the United Kingdom on Sky 1 on May 14, 2017.

<i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i> (film) 2018 biographical musical drama film

Bohemian Rhapsody is a 2018 biographical musical drama film that focuses on the life of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the British rock band Queen, from the formation of the band in 1970 to their 1985 Live Aid performance at the original Wembley Stadium. It was directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, and produced by Graham King and Queen manager Jim Beach. It stars Rami Malek as Mercury, with Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, and Mike Myers in supporting roles. Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor also served as consultants. A British-American venture, it was produced by Regency Enterprises, GK Films and Queen Films, and was distributed by 20th Century Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six13</span> New York-based Jewish all-male a cappella group

Six13 is a New York-based Jewish all-male a cappella singing group. Formed in 2003, the six-voice group is known for parodying contemporary pop songs by adding Jewish themes and lyrics. It also sings cover versions of pop hits and Yiddish and Israeli classics, and produces original compositions based on traditional Jewish prayers. Relying solely on vocals, the group achieves the effects of guitar, bass, drums, and electronic music through beatboxing and multiple layering of vocal tracks on its music videos. The group performs regularly for universities, synagogues, public and private groups, and in music festivals. It has released eight albums and won numerous awards.

Paul Miller is a Canadian actor, best known for playing Connor Doyle on the TV series Psi Factor.

References

  1. ↑ Just for Laughs page at ABC official site
  2. ↑ Review of BOOM in Globe & Mail
  3. ↑ Review of BOOM X in Globe & Mail
  4. ↑ Review of Bigger than Jesus at SceneandHeard.com
  5. ↑ Review of Machomer at Los Angeles Times
  6. ↑ Link to interview with Miller about MacHomer on National Public Radio
  7. ↑ Review of HARDSELL 2.0 - VENDU at HuffingtonPost.ca
  8. ↑ Presentation of Lipsynch on the 2009 Toronto Festival of Arts & Creativity website
  9. ↑ "Review: 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,' With a Message on the Environment (Published 2016)". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2022-06-20.
  10. ↑ Review of Jungle Book at BroadwayWorld.com
  11. ↑ Official Kidoons Network site
  12. ↑ Official TRAINWRECK band site
  13. ↑ Rick Miller SONGS CD official site
  14. ↑ Link to video of the skit, with more than 1,000,000 views
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.