Perhaps it is for the best that Dennis Miller is no longer performing on Saturday Night Live, as this newly converted Republican would probably rub liberal Hollywood the wrong way. Indeed, Miller’s politics and his wonderfully acerbic wit stand out like an elephant in the writer’s room, and there is no one else quite like him.

You may remember him from his HBO comedy series and as the anchor for Weekend Update in the 1980s. However, during the last few years Miller has been ranting on radio, as he is now the host of Westwood One’s Dennis Miller Zone, available as live stream and as a subscription-based archive. Miller averages 1,740,000 weekly listeners.

Before he became a witty political commentator though, Miller was a highly respected comedian. He was and is well known for his laid-back style and his brooding sense of humor. His trademark is the “rant”, an artsy diatribe with stream-of-consciousness prose delivered as a fast-paced monologue.

Dennis Miller does stand out from many of his SNL alumni, as he is part of a small group of un-closeted Republicans and isn’t afraid to talk politics and criticize the left. And though stories of his post 2001 conversion do get around, some of his friends and colleagues express a lack of surprise at Miller’s current political angle. Al Franken (“Stuart Smalley”) speaks on Miller, suggesting, “What happened to Dennis? Nothing happened to Dennis. He’s the same Dennis. He’s always had a conservative streak on certain issues.”

Politics and radio chat aside, what can you expect from Dennis Miller when you come see him in person? He often tours on the road and plays in Las Vegas, and when he does, he delights his audience with a mix of old and new material, though he can’t quite break away from political jokes. Regardless of your political bent, you will get a kick out of Dennis as no one else in the comedy circuit is capable of delivering such acidic and literate observations and in such a funny way! Hear one of his “rants” in person and see why he made Saturday Night Live history.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Comedy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.