Warren Miller: The Godfather of Holy Sh*t

You Are Here:

Home >> The Godfather of Holy Sh*t (cont.)

Today's Question
What should you do if you run into a cougar in the backcountry? answer

What is the number one backcountry skill people should learn? answer

Today's Question
What are the five best environmental movies of all time? answer

What are the greenest colleges? answer

What kind of dog will make me look manlier? answer
Is there a sport that safely combines my twin passions for guns and kayaks? answer
How come most of the world's cultures enjoy eating goat, but Americans don't? answer

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries

Outside Magazine November 2004

Page:

Warren Miller
The Godfather of Holy Sh*t (cont.)

MILLER LIKES TO BOAST that he's pulled off "a lifetime of never having to work for a living" and has charmed people into coming along for the ride. But while his life has been long on adventure, it's been short on family stability. He lost his first wife, Jean, to cancer when their son, Scott, was only 18 months old. Miller went on to have two more children—a daughter, Chris, and a son, Kurt—with his second wife, Dottie. But he was gone most of the time, filming or touring, and his second marriage crumbled, as did the next. His children have each found their way into the film business: Scott, 52, is a documentary filmmaker in Malibu, California; Chris, 47, is a photojournalist in Los Angeles; and Boulder, Colorado–based Kurt, 45, runs Synergy Group, which acquires and co-produces sports films for Regal Entertainment.

In the late eighties, having recently married his fourth wife, Laurie, a ski retailer, Miller was ready to step back from the frenetic demands of running a film company. By that time, Kurt, a world-class sailor who'd been making sailing movies that mimicked Warren's formula, had carved out a niche within Warren Miller Entertainment. Kurt saw an opportunity to expand the brand by filming other sports his dad had taught him to love—surfing, skateboarding, BMX biking, and every possible mode of snow sliding—and marketing those films with gusto. In 1989, Warren sold his company—and his name—to Kurt and his partner, Peter Speek, for roughly $1.5 million. Although Warren continued to write and narrate the films, he was no longer calling the shots in the editing room or with corporate sponsors.

Warren and Kurt's relationship was often stormy. According to a colleague who worked with both men, they clashed over almost everything. Warren accused Kurt of corrupting his magic formula with conspicuous product placement and long, uninterrupted music tracks by Dave Matthews and Counting Crows that drowned out Warren's folksy narration. "It was not easy to work for my son," Warren says. "I don't know many fathers who could."

Kurt had his own complaints—one being that the Warren Miller vibe was getting stale. Edgier ski-movie outfits like Greg Stump Films and, later, Matchstick Productions and TGR were luring 18- to 25-year-old audiences by rejecting Warren's humor-travelogue schtick in favor of rowdier action, pumping soundtracks, and more focus on the Dionysian energy of the athletes.

"My dad should be telling himself, 'I created the greatest thing in the world,' " Kurt says. " ‘Yes, it's being changed, but it's my vision being sustained in a new way.' I wish he could just enjoy it."

Kurt expanded the company by kick-starting dozens of "downstream business acquisitions" in publishing, advertising, and corporate sponsorship. He produced shows in places like Antarctica for the Outdoor Life Network, ESPN, and the Discovery Channel.

Four years ago, in June 2000, Kurt sold Warren Miller Entertainment to Time Warner for somewhere in the neighborhood of $7.5 million. The company Miller had spent a lifetime building—along with his archives, his voice, and his name—all passed into the hands of the largest media conglomerate in the world. Warren and Kurt have barely spoken since. They will see each other this fall at a surprise party for Warren's 80th birthday. Kurt, for one, genuinely hopes their relationship will mend and that Miller's movies will carry on in the spirit Warren made them.

"People have grown up on my father's films for 54 years," says Kurt. "Whether I'm involved or my father is, I hope it continues."

Page:

•	Subscribe to Outside and get a FREE Gift!

•	Give the gift of Outside Magazine!

•	Subscribe to Outside Online's free weekly e-mail newsletter featuring gear reviews, fitness advice, galleries, podcasts, and more.