Hollywood Pays a Visit

For an evening of laughter and entertainment, you need to go no further than the College of Lake County where comedian Larry Miller will perform Oct. 17.

For years, Miller has been making audiences laugh as a movie and television actor and as a comedian. He has starred in movies such as The Princess Diaries I and II, 10 Things I Hate About You and The Nutty Professor I and II (and let's not forget his cameo in Pretty Woman).

He more recently voiced Marcel the goose in the animated film Alpha and Omega. In the world of television, his credits include 10 Things I Hate About You, Seinfeld and Desperate Housewives. Miller also wrote Spoiled Rotten America: Outrages of Everyday Life.

Cocktails with Larry Miller, Miller's touring comedy act will be coming to the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at CLC. In anticipation of this, we asked him a few questions regarding his career.

Patch: How did you become interested in show business?

Larry: The first time I saw a movie on TV–Bogart, Wayne, anyone. Spies, westerns, murder, sports, anything. The first time I heard a concert. Classical, folk, rock, jazz, anything. The first time I laughed at written words. The first time I laughed at a comedian. All these things, like the big bang theory, in one glorious burst. I didn't know it at the time, because I was just a kid, but I was hooked, reeled and gutted. I may not know an awful lot in life, but one thing was always clear: I was made for show business, and show business was made for me.

Patch: Tell us a little about your role in Alpha and Omega. What did you enjoy most about voicing Marcel?

Larry: Marcel, the goose, was my part in Alpha and Omega, and first of all, animated work is great fun, because if they want you to create the character through improv, it really gives me a chance to dance around with it. The director and producer were up for that, so I can give them three, four or more different versions, even different directions of the scene. Then, they can "draw" the character to fit the personality of the words.  It's a wonderful process. Plus, let's be honest, any character name with the word "goose" in it has got to be fun.

Patch: Why did you choose to take a break from comedy and what made you choose to come back now?

Larry: I never really left comedy, but slowly I realized I was doing less and less, and it was a wonderful revelation to "remember" that I had a great part of my life I wasn't doing anymore. Like looking through an old pair of pants and finding a twenty-dollar bill.

Patch: What is your favorite part about touring the country for Cocktails with Larry Miller?

Larry: You either like people or you don't. I do. You either like the audience or you don't. I do. You either like seeing another, brand new, wonderful part of our country or you don't. I do. Every new city and town, every new audience, is like every new day to me, and it's the dandiest thing in the world. And I'm lucky, because I don't have to do it all the time and be away from the family.

Patch: Is there a special reason you're performing in Grayslake? What difference do you find in audiences located in the suburbs rather than larger cities?

Larry: Pat Hazell, my old friend who's producing this show, has an unmatched knowledge of thousands and thousands of beautiful theaters all over the country, and is a great bringer-together of buyer and seller, of venue and performer. Plus, he has great taste, and if he says, "This area is good, this theater is good, these people are good," I know they are. But, frankly, you really can't go wrong is small cities and suburbs all across America. I mean, if there are any pockets and communities that are filled with horrible people, I haven't found them yet. Suburbs are, to me, no different from cities, in that when the lights go down, everyone wants to be entertained.

Patch: What can audiences expect when they walk into your show?

Larry: The best I can do, and a complete joy in doing it. Audiences who come to the show can expect what is, I think, a very rare thing these days: a story-telling journey, music, commentary, humor... and all of it clean. (It's only when drinking with old friends from school that I start cursing.)

Patch: What can you tell us about Late Night Liars?

Larry: Late Night Liars  was cancelled after that first eight episodes, which was a shame, because I thought it was a lot of fun. And speaking of improv, it was nearly all improved. The actors who were the puppeteers are extraordinarily good, and I learned a lot watching them. The small nuances they could add were astonishing. You never know how long a job will last—one episode or a thousand, or somewhere in between—but I think we could've done very well with that show, and I will miss it. But as they say, that's show biz.

Patch: Tell us a little about your book, Spoiled Rotten America.

Larry: In many ways, the book was pivotal about learning to love live performing again. I love acting and writing, but I'm a comic first and last, and this show is a chance to do everything I've always loved together. Stories, textured writing, theater (as opposed to club work, which is very different)… and music. Put them all together and you get…well, a cocktail. In fact I think I'm going to put that into the show.

Patch: What would you say to encourage any aspiring actors or comedians?

Larry: Never be afraid of show business. You can hate it and kick it sometimes, but never be afraid. After all, you'll have to do something in life. Would you rather work in a job you don't like and aren't very good at, and wake up every day feeling empty and wretched because you didn't try? You want to meet God one day for the big report card and have him ask why you didn't make something out of the talent?

There will be a meet-and-greet after the performance with Larry Miller. To purchase tickets for Cocktails with Larry Miller or for more information, call the JLC box office at (847) 543-2300 or purchase online at http://jlcenter.clcillinois.edu/tickets.asp.