DENNIS MILLER : Late-Night Update

Dennis Miller is back on late-night. The popular 40-year-old comedian brings his razor-sharp wit and political perspective to HBO in the cable network’s first-ever late-night live series. The weekly “Dennis Miller” show kicks off the first of six programs Friday at midnight.

Miller, a journalism major from Pittsburgh, got his start doing comedy in local clubs in the late ‘70s. By 1982, he was a regular on the comedy-club circuit and soon joined “Saturday Night Live” as the acerbic “Weekend Update” reporter. He stayed with “SNL” for six seasons, until 1991.

In 1992, Miller hosted the syndicated late-night series “The Dennis Miller Show.” Though it developed a cult following, the show was canceled after nine months because of low ratings.

Miller also has starred in three critically acclaimed stand-up specials for HBO: “Mr. Miller Goes to Washington,” “Dennis Miller, Black & White” and “They Shoot HBO Specials, Don’t They.”

Times Staff Writer Susan King caught up with Miller by phone in Las Vegas, where he had just opened for a two-week engagement at the MGM Grand hotel with Rita Rudner.

Are you excited about the new HBO show?

Well, TV is pretty much alchemy, so I don’t know how it works, but I hope it goes well.

Will you do the show before a studio audience?

Yeah, about 150 people--a smaller audience than I had before. It has four components. It’s me encapsulating the week for people, through my perspective. The first part is the monologue and after the monologue, we will zero in on a specific topic and have a guest on the screen, a la Ted Koppel, to talk about the particular issue.

So it won’t be celebrity driven?

Unless the big story that week happens to be celebrity driven, like if ‘Schindler’s List” came out. There are weeks when the big story is an entertainment story. For the most part, it isn’t, so I’d like to have guests who speak purposefully about something that happened that week. They might be complete unknowns, but they would be whoever the player is in any particular drama that played out that week. Then after that I am going to let the guest go because I’d like to take phone calls at that point, but I don’t want them to be specifically about that. I just want to hear what America is thinking about. Then at the end I’ll wrap it up with sort of an update thing. It’s a half hour. There are no commercials on HBO, so it’s a legitimate 30 minutes.

I know you had a hard time getting guests for your old show.

Well, sometimes on my show I would get people who didn’t want to do my show because I would ask questions that they weren’t prepared to answer. I have a natural curiosity that demands I ask certain questions that are off the beaten track. Some people weren’t comfortable with that. They want to come on; they want to say, “Hi.” They want to talk about the project they have coming out. There’s a place for that. I’m not trying to act like some show biz overlord here. I know that part of the biz. But for me, I like talking to advocates because advocates want to talk. You know what I mean? That is there raison d’etre. They want to get out there and talk about what they believe fervently. I would rather do more of that.

But TV is metronomic at some point. It is somebody dangling a watch in front of you and hypnotizing you on some level. TV can lull you in. I’ve sat there and said, “I have seen this interview before,” and I don’t even turn it off. I read with TV on. I realize TV to me is a more animated grandfather clock. It’s just sitting in the corner of the room and I kind of hear it over there. I know when I go on the road to perform, when I leave to go to the stage, I always turn the TV on, so when I come back to the room I am not immediately reminded of how alone I am on the road. I hear some noise when I walk in. TV is like a security blanket.

Do you think you will have the same ratings pressure on HBO as you did with your syndicated show?

There’s ratings pressure everywhere, but let me put it this way: If (HBO chairman) Michael Fuchs had read the tea leaves on my show after six months, he would have kept it on. He wouldn’t have looked to dump out. I think it was a mistake to dump out. I don’t want to get into arguments with those people, but I think they were strictly a syndication deal. It was a math equation about money, strictly money. I think they could have thought it was the best show on TV, but they still would have taken it off. Fuchs, I think, likes things. If he likes things, I think you are in there with a shot. I had a talk with Garry Shandling and Garry was maybe in a similar situation as I am and HBO was there for him, too. So they believed in them. But I’m not naive enough to think that if, at some point, it doesn’t work on a couple of levels for HBO, they are going to get rid of you, too. But right up until that moment, they’ll be in your corner, really trying to make it work.

Do you enjoy performing in Las Vegas?

I love Vegas. You don’t swear here because it is a family place, so I swear minimally here. But I have never predicated my act on swearing. When I get to Vegas, I slow my rhythms down. I remember it’s a family joint, and it is. I love to bring my kids here. It’s fun. I just dig Vegas. I’m a Vegas guy.

You know who called me? Col. Tom Parker. As soon as I get in my room I get a call from Col. Parker, Elvis’ manager. He lives in Vegas and is 85. He always calls me. He likes me. We meet on the phone. I don’t know if he wants to meet (in person), but he always calls. He is nice to me. He called me yesterday and said, “Can’t wait for that new HBO show.” The Colonel! Beautiful!

“Dennis Miller” airs Fridays at midnight on HBO.