The 'brains' and 'action' heavies who had meaty roles and lots of dialog ... and the players who were fathers, ranch owners, lawman, mayors, judges, lawyers, storekeepers, newspaper editors, wardens, etc.

(Courtesy of Jack Tillmany)

Walter Miller Full name: Walter Corwin Miller 1892 - 1940

Ohio native Walter Miller made his first film appearance circa 1911-1912 and his early career included films at Biograph for D. W. Griffith. After Biograph, he made films for several companies including Fox and Metro, and even did some stage plays. During the period from 1925-1929 (photo at top of this page), Miller hit his stride as the resident hero to serial queen Allene Ray in ten Pathe cliffhangers.

He had a deep and resonant voice and was able to transition to talkin' pictures ... but his days as a leading man were numbered. Les Adams has him identified in 107 sound era films and that number includes 26 westerns and 20 chapterplays - fairly respectable numbers for an actor who passed away in 1940 when he was in his late forties.

It appears he got along well with Nat Levine, the owner of Mascot Pictures. There's good probability that the thrifty Levine figured Miller still had box office appeal and name recognition due to those silent Pathe serials. In six chapterplays for Mascot, Miller was on "the side of the law" in five:

• He had the lead in KING OF THE KONGO (Mascot, 1929), THE LONE DEFENDER (Mascot, 1930) and KING OF THE WILD (Mascot, 1931).
• In the John Wayne THE SHADOW OF THE EAGLE (Mascot, 1932), Kenneth Harlan - not Miller - was revealed as the nefarious "Eagle".
• He portrayed "Major Duncan Heyward" in THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (Mascot, 1932) which starred Harry Carey, Sr.
• Football great Harold "Red" Grange was the hero of THE GALLOPING GHOST (Mascot, 1931) and Miller was head of the gambling ring trying to fix college football games.

During the same years he was working for Mascot, Miller was also employed by several Poverty Row companies in sagebrush adventures starring Lane Chandler, Wally Wales, Rex Lease and Bill Cody.

Miller also seemed to be popular with Universal. During the mid 1930s, he worked in a bunch of Universal chapterplays and features including the following western themed serials and oaters starring Ken Maynard, Buck Jones and Johnny Mack Brown:

• Miller with Ken Maynard in GUN JUSTICE (Universal, 1933) and SMOKING GUNS (Universal, 1934)
• Miller with Buck Jones in GORDON OF GHOST CITY (Universal serial, 1933), THE RED RIDER (Universal serial, 1934), ROCKY RHODES (Universal, 1934), THE IVORY-HANDLED GUN (Universal, 1935), THE ROARING WEST (Universal serial, 1935) and BOSS OF LONELY VALLEY (Universal, 1937)
• Miller with Johnny Mack Brown in RUSTLERS OF RED DOG (Universal serial, 1935) and WILD WEST DAYS (Universal serial, 1937)

He did lots of other films at Universal. Miller took off his ten-gallon hat and six-gun to work in the serials DANGER ISLAND (Universal, 1931), THE VANISHING SHADOW (Universal, 1934), PIRATE TREASURE (Universal, 1934), TAILSPIN TOMMY (Universal, 1934), and THE CALL OF THE SAVAGE (Universal, 1935). Fred Kohler Sr. and Miller were a conniving pair of nasties out to slaughter wild horses in STORMY (Universal, 1935). He can also be spotted in the Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi horror flicks THE RAVEN (Universal, 1935) and THE INVISIBLE RAY (Universal, 1936).

As the decade of the 1930s progressed, there were occasional meaty roles here and there. Some examples:

• Wheeler Oakman, Miller and gang use a death ray to shoot down airplanes in the Tim McCoy GHOST PATROL (Puritan, 1936).
• Monte Blue and Miller are after Indian gold in the Buster Crabbe and Tom Keene DESERT GOLD (1936 Paramount).
• Ken Maynard's last battle with Miller occurred in THE FUGITIVE SHERIFF (Columbia, 1936).
• Miller and his outlaw band were after the wagon train in RANGER COURAGE (Columbia, 1937) which starred Bob Allen.
• rodeo owner Miller and his cutthroats were out to get Bob Livingston and a horse named Cyclone in the Three Mesquiteers' WILD HORSE RODEO (Republic, 1937).
• Miller portrayed Carter Collins ("The Shark") in the serial THE SECRET OF TREASURE ISLAND (Weiss/Columbia, 1938).
• crooked cattle rancher Miller tries to cover up a hoof and mouth disease outbreak in the Gene Autry HOME ON THE PRAIRIE (Republic, 1939).

(Courtesy of Ed Phillips) Above, Walter Miller as the brains heavy ("Gil Gillespie") harassing Buck Jones in THE ROARING WEST (Universal, 1935) chapterplay. (From Old Corral image collection) Above from L-to-R are Walter Miller (as "Flamer Willis"), Ken Maynard, Beth Marion and John Elliott in Maynard's THE FUGITIVE SHERIFF (Larry Darmour/Columbia, 1936).

In their Best Of The Badmen book, Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland reported that Walter Miller suffered a heart attack at the Republic studios backlot on March 30, 1940 while he was working on the Gene Autry GAUCHO SERENADE (Republic, 1940). He passed away a short time later at a local hospital. Miller was married at least twice - initially to Lillian Louise Coffin and later, to Eileen Schofield, a vaudeville performer and actress. From these unions, there was at least one offspring, a son named Richard. They also mention that Miller's wife arranged for his burial at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois.

You may want to go to the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral and then to the California Death Records database. There you will find a record for: Walter Corwin Miller, born 3/9/1892 in Ohio, Mother's maiden name of Corwin, and he passed away on 3/30/1940.

Whether he wore a six-shooter or a business suit, Walter Miller was a solid performer who enhanced many B-westerns and serials of the 1930s.

While many of Miller's appearances are substantial - meaning a good quantity of dialog and screen time - there were many films in which he had a bit or a minor support role - i.e., he played a cop, detective, guard, bartender, gang henchie, member of the military, etc. In these, Miller's name was well down in the cast listing and most often, not even among the credits. What was going on with Miller? He'd do a fairly large role and be third or fourth billed. Yet in his next job (or two or three), you had to really look close to catch his brief time on the screen. Example: I'm still trying to spot him as a henchman in THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL HICKOK (Columbia, 1938).

If he was cantankerous or a problem actor, guys like Nat Levine wouldn't have hired him time and again. Had he become ill, possibly with heart problems that would later cause his death? Was he simply acting whenever and wherever it was offered? Had he saved his dollars and only worked when he felt the urge? Or perhaps this was the norm back in old Hollywood when you were no longer hero material and relegated to B grade films.

Miller passed away in California but was buried at the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois. Evanston is a little north of Chicago and is the home of Northwestern University. I've lived in the Chicago area for nearly fifty years, and worked in Chicago for twenty-five years. Calvary Cemetery was consecrated in 1859 and is one of the oldest cemeteries managed by the Archdiocese of Chicago. Interred there are many early Chicago politicians and members of prominent families including Charles Comiskey, the first owner of the Chicago White Stockings/White Sox (Black Sox) baseball team. I'm still unclear as to why Miller was interred at Calvary Cemetery. Was he separated or divorced from his second wife Eileen Schofield and was she living in the Chicago area? Or did Miller's offspring or other relatives reside in Chicago or the suburbs?

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Walter Miller: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0589494/

Jim Tipton's Find A Grave website does not have a photo of Miller's grave marker but does note that he is interred at Calvary Cemetery, Evanston, Illinois: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=miller&GSfn=walter&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=16&GSob=n&GRid=6608324&

The Silents Are Golden website has a 1920s photo of Miller: http://www.silentsaregolden.com/photos2/waltermillerphoto.html

(From Old Corral image collection) Buck Jones made four serials for Universal and Walter Miller was lead villain in the first three. THE RED RIDER (Universal, 1934) was Jones' second chapterplay and Miller (as "Jim Breen") is shown on the right in the above duotone lobby card. Miller portrayed "Rance Radigan" in Buck's first serial for Universal, GORDON OF GHOST CITY (Universal, 1933). And he was "Gil Gillespie" in THE ROARING WEST (Universal, 1935). (Harry Woods was the brains heavy in Buck Jones' final Universal chapterplay, THE PHANTOM RIDER (Universal, 1936)).