Edward Abraham "Bozo" Miller (June 11, 1918 – January 7, 2008) was an American restaurant owner, ''Gastronomical Champion'' of

competitive eating Competitive eating, or speed eating, is an activity in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions c ...

, and a Guinness World Record holder listed as "world's greatest trencherman." The Guinness Book of World Records named Miller as the "world's greatest trencherman" before the eating records section of that publication was excised in 1990. The 1981 edition of Guinness claimed that Miller had been undefeated in eating contests since 1931, resulting in a fifty-year winning streak. Despite a diet consisting of up to 25,000 calories a day - reflected in his former 5' 7½", 280-300 pound physique - Miller lived to the age of 89. Miller had by then retired from competitive eating and weighed considerably less than he did during his heyday. Miller believed he received his nickname when his father, who travelled the country with Bozo's mother in a vaudeville show, was performing as a clown. He married Janice Bidwell, a former Princess of the Pasadena Rose Bowl. She died on March 28, 2001 after many years of illness and invalidity stemming from a brain haemorrhage and through which Miller cared for her. "Bozo" and wife Janice had three daughters together: Virginia "Cooky" Logan, Candice Blackman, and Janice "Honey" Miller who died in a car crash in the 1970s. The death of his daughter ultimately led to Miller's retirement from professional eating. "Bozo" Miller worked as a restaurateur and then as a liquor distributor. His drinking ability was almost as impressive as his gastronomic feats. He once drank a lion under the table. Miller was an avid horse racing fan and witnessed many of the major races of the racehorse

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

. Miller died on January 7, 2008, having struggled with diabetes and heart disease in his final years. Early obituaries gave his age as 99 and his year of birth as 1908, but according to obituaries in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', and ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', Miller was born in 1918 and, according to the Wall Street Journal obituary, habitually exaggerated his age.

Eating records

*27 two-pound chickens — Trader Vic's, San Francisco, 1963 *324 ravioli (first 250 in 70 minutes) — Rendezvous Room, Oakland, 1963 *63 Dutch apple pies in an hour, 1961 *1000 packets of potato chips

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Bozo 1918 births 2008 deaths American competitive eaters Deaths from diabetes Businesspeople from Oakland, California Place of birth missing 20th-century American businesspeople