Rick Miller (born March 12, 1970) is a Canadian

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, 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'' and for performing a version of "

Bohemian Rhapsody "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 ...

" during which he impersonates "twenty five of the most annoying voices in the music industry". His solo show BOOM was the most presented play in Canada in 2015–16, and will be playing in Europe and the United States in 2019–20. The GenX sequel to ''BOOM'' - ''BOOM X'' - premiered in January 2019 and is now on tour across Canada.

Career

Miller has created and performed in many plays, ''

BOOM Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfi ...

'', '' BOOM X'', '' Bigger than Jesus'', ''

MacHomer ''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 ''Macbe ...

'', '' HARDSELL 2.0 - VENDU'', and

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair lo ...

's ''Lipsync''. In an example of art imitating life imitating art,

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

featured a segment in the episode "

Four Great Women and a Manicure "Four Great Women and a Manicure" is the twentieth and penultimate episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. First broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on May 10, 2009, it is the sec ...

", 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 Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

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'' (premiere in 2015), ''Jungle Book'' (premiere in 2018), and the forthcoming ''Frankenstein''. Kidoons also produces web series for families, featuring animated characters that connect to the Kidoons stage shows. When not on tour, Miller is the frontman for the Toronto party band ''TRAINWRECK'', 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)''.

Bohemian Rhapsody skit

Miller is best known for his famous portrayal of the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

song "

" "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 YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in 2007, and has been seen over 1,000,000 times.Link to video of the skit, with more than 1,000,000 views
/ref> The list of parodies includes (in order):

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

, Corey Hart,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

Dennis DeYoung Dennis DeYoung (born February 18, 1947) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx, and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was th ...

Barney the Dinosaur ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

, "Any Annoying Lead Guitarist",

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

Crash Test Dummies Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice. The band members have fluctuated over the years, but its best kno ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

, and

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

Voice work

Miller has also worked as a

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

for numerous animated television shows and a video game. Some of the characters he has voiced include: *The Dark Prince in '' Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones'' (Video Game) *Winston Churchill in '' Assassin's Creed: Syndicate'' (Video Game) *Principal Shawbly in ''

Mona the Vampire ''Mona the Vampire'' is an animated children's television series that is based on a children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman, as well as a series of novels illustrated by Holleyman and written by Hiawyn Oram. ...

'' *Sparky in ''

Atomic Betty ''Atomic Betty'' (retitled ''Atomic Betty: Mission Earth'' for its third and final season) is a Canadian-French Flash animated television series produced by Atomic Cartoons, Breakthrough Entertainment and Tele Images Kids, along with the Marat ...

'' *Ben and Fen in ''

Cyberchase ''Cyberchase'' is an educational animated sci-fi children's television series that airs on PBS Kids. The series centers around three children from Earth: Jackie, Matt, and Inez, who are brought into Cyberspace, a digital universe, in order to p ...

'' *Mr. Fisher in ''

Odd Job Jack ''Odd Job Jack'' is a Canadian adult animated sitcom starring Don McKellar, about one man's misadventures in temporary employment. Seen on and produced for The Comedy Network, a cable specialty channel, Adult Swim and MuchMusic in Latin America, ...

'' *Sydney and Captain Minus in '' Turtle Island'' *Bongo in ''

My Big Big Friend ''My Big Big Friend'' (pt: Meu Amigãozão) is a Brazilian-Canadian flash-animated children's television series created by Andrés Lieban and Claudia Koogan Breitman, co-produced by Brazilian studio 2D Lab and the Canadian company Breakthrough A ...

'' *Orwin, Ashio and Freep in '' Magi-Nation'' *Semuru - Evolution DC in ''

Far Cry Instincts ''Far Cry Instincts'' is a 2005 First person shooter game, first-person shooter game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Xbox (console), Xbox. A Video game remake, remake of the original Microsoft Windows version of ''Far Cry (video game ...

'' (Video Game) *Snaily in '' The Twins'' *Tiger in ''

George of the Jungle ''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon char ...

'' *Hedley Diddly Dee in ''

Skatoony ''Skatoony'' (stylized as ''SkatoonY'') is a children's live action/animated game show, pitting live-action kids against cartoons. The series was co-produced with Talent TV and FremantleMedia Animation (for the British version), Blink Studios (fo ...

'' *Narrator, Colonel Weston and Doctor in '' Canadian Made'' *Acorn Trooper (M) and Sauly in ''

Get Squirrely ''Get Squirrely'' (also distributed as ''A.C.O.R.N.S.: Operation Crack Down'') is a 2015 American computer-animated heist comedy film produced by John H. Williams (through Vanguard Animation) and Dan Krech and directed by Ross Venokur. Relea ...

'' *David Sarif in '' Deus Ex: Mankind Divided'' (Video Game) *Tite-Gripp in ''

Atomic Puppet ''Atomic Puppet'' is a Canadian-French animated television series created by Jerry Leibowitz and Mark Drop and produced by Mercury Filmworks, Technicolor Animation Productions and Gaumont Animation. The series aired on Teletoon in Canada, on F ...

'' *Various Characters in ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

'', ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

'', ''

Scaredy Squirrel ''Scaredy Squirrel'' is a children's book series written and illustrated by Canadian author Mélanie Watt. The first book of the ''Scaredy Squirrel'' series was published in March 2006 by Kids Can Press. A television series based on the books ...

'' and ''

Busytown Mysteries ''Busytown Mysteries'', also known as ''Hurray for Huckle!'', is a Canadian animated television series created by Cookie Jar Entertainment. Currently, the series airs in Canada as part of the Kids' CBC block and on the Tiny Pop channel in th ...

References

External links

* *
''MacHomer'' official site''Bigger than Jesus'' official siteRick Miller performing "Bohemian Rhapsody"''BOOM'' and ''BOOM X'' official siteKidoons official site''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea'' official site''Jungle Book'' official site''Frankenstein'' official siteTRAINWRECK official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Rick Living people Canadian comedy musicians Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian male voice actors Comedians from Toronto Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Male actors from Toronto Musicians from Toronto Place of birth missing (living people) 1970 births Canadian impressionists (entertainers)