Dan Miller (journalist)

For other people with the same name, see Dan Miller (disambiguation).
Dan Miller
Miller at WSMV studios
Born
Zachariah Daniel Miller III

(1941-09-30)September 30, 1941
Augusta, Georgia
DiedApril 8, 2009(2009-04-08) (aged 67)
Augusta, Georgia
OccupationNews anchor
Notable credit(s)WSMV-TV (1969–1986, 1992–2009)
KCBS-TV (1986–1987)
The Pat Sajak Show (1989–1990)
Spouse(s)Eileen McCoy (divorced), Karen Wedgeworth
ChildrenStephen, Jennifer, Darcy, McKensie
Parent(s)Frances and Zachariah Miller Jr.

Zachariah Daniel Miller III (September 30, 1941 – April 8, 2009),[1] commonly known as Dan Miller, was an American television personality who grew up in Augusta, Georgia, graduating from the Academy of Richmond County in 1959.[2]

Miller was a longtime news anchorman for WSMV (formerly WSM-TV) in Nashville, Tennessee. Beginning his tenure there as a weathercaster in 1969, he moved to the news anchor desk in 1970. In 1986, Miller left Nashville to serve as principal anchor at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, a position he held for one year. Miller then gained fame in the United States nationally as the announcer and sidekick for his friend and one-time WSM-TV colleague, Pat Sajak, during Sajak's short-lived CBS late-night talk show, The Pat Sajak Show.

Upon returning to Nashville in 1992, Dan resurrected his own interview show, Miller & Company, which originally aired Sunday nights on WSMV from 1980 to 1986. The Miller & Company revival aired weekday afternoons to a national cable audience on The Nashville Network. When it was discontinued by TNN, it was picked up locally by WSMV. In 1995, WSMV replaced Miller & Company with a 5pm newscast. A few months later, Miller returned to the WSMV anchor desk and continued his work there until his death in 2009.[3]

Miller appeared in the CBS movie, Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story, which featured Michele Lee as Dottie West. He appeared as a guest on Hollywood Squares in 1989. In 1999, he was granted an exclusive interview with the parents of murdered six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey,[4] which led to many appearances on nationally televised news programs.

Miller was also a prolific writer of essays about life on and off the television screen, at "Dan Miller's Notebook".[5]

  1. ^ Dorsey, Sara; Devine, Josh (April 14, 2009). Memorial Program Reflects Dan's Life (Television news). WSMV-TV. Event occurs at 0:56. Archived from the original (streaming) on April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  2. ^ "SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 365 By Henry" (PDF). capitol.tn.gov. SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Passings". Los Angeles Times. April 9, 2009. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
  4. ^ "Ramsey interview airs starting tonight". The Atlanta Journal. November 16, 1999. p. D3.
  5. ^ "Dan Miller's Notebook". Retrieved April 9, 2009.