Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLUMN: Norm!

Talk show host Letterman devoted much to comedian's care

Over two decades, talk show host David Letterman had Las Vegas fixture George Miller on "Late Night" 56 times. AP Photo

As George Miller, a Las Vegas comedy scene fixture, struggled with leukemia and a painkiller addiction, he had a true friend to the end.

The few Miller pals who knew the story kept it to themselves.

It remained "among friends" even after Miller died March 5, at age 61 at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Now it's out: Everyone should be so lucky to have a friend like David Letterman.

"David kept George alive," said Miller's buddy, Gary Mule Deer, who is in Las Vegas on business this week after attending a memorial Sunday for Miller .

"George was always David's best friend," Mule Deer said. That friendship blossomed in the 1970s when Miller and Letterman worked the Los Angeles comedy club circuit. "David's not close to a lot of people, but George was the guy.

"When George was diagnosed with leukemia, it didn't look good," said Mule Deer, whose friendship with Miller and Letterman goes back to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

"There was an experimental program, a wonder drug for leukemia. There was a long waiting list, over 300."

According to the story, Letterman called the Los Angeles medical center and asked, "If I donate to your research program, will you put George Miller on the program?"

"All I know is George went on the program immediately," Mule Deer recalled.

"David had been taking care of George, medically, for quite some time and gave him round-the-clock nurses' care. He had really done a lot. But the program worked so well that George started feeling great and went back to his bad habits."

Earlier this year, with Miller's health again declining, Letterman came to Miller's aid again.

"We had an intervention," Mule Deer said. Letterman flew in from New York, joining comedian Tom Dreesen, Mule Deer and Jamie Masada, who owns the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles.

When Miller's friends held a memorial Sunday at the Laugh Factory, Letterman couldn't make it. He has been off his "Late Show" for more than two weeks with an eye infection caused by shingles.

The Scene and Heard

The official word on Sharon Osbourne's medical problems Friday at the Hard Rock Hotel: She was overcome backstage by heat exhaustion, her spokeswoman Lisa Vega, told the New York Post. Osbourne went to a nearby hospital for 20 minutes and was released. ...

Celine Dion's opening night media frenzy is likely to see between 350 and 500 credentialed types, including Justin Timberlake, who is handling red-carpet interviews for the planned CBS special. War in Iraq could change plans for what could be one of the most star-studded Strip openings in years. ...

That taping at The Orleans of Aunt Chippy for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Thursday is still on. It will be shown during the show from Los Angeles. ...

Oscar Night, the only sanctioned Oscar party in Las Vegas, includes a fashion show at Paris Salon at Caesars Palace. Festivities start at 4 p.m. with Robin Leach joining KTNV-TV, Channel 13, anchors Cathy Ray and Ross Becker as emcees. The after-party moves from the Pavilion Center to the Cypress Street MarketPlace, formerly La Piazza food court. More information: 367-1626. ...

Carrot Top's guest columnist appearance in this space last April, as it turns out, was the start of a beautiful thing. After he donated his $250 check from the Review-Journal to the Ronald McDonald House of Greater Las Vegas, the charity made contact and invited him to an event, and from there, the relationship grew. Carrot Top recently diverted his $30,000 fee from an appearance at the MGM Grand to the charity and added another $5,000 from a voice-over job. That is a refreshing switch from the average performer who blows through town.

Sighting

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, scoping out the Chippendales on Monday night at the Rio.

The Punch Line

"I once had a room at The Mirage that looked like that." -- Brad Garrett, on Paul Schaffer's garish green jacket during Garrett's guest-hosting for Letterman on Monday.

Norm Clarke's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can reach him at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.