Guide to the Papers of Harry M. Miller, 1958-2003

 

Collection context

Summary

Collection number:
MS 7981, MS Acc04.271, MS Acc09.069
Creator:
Harry M. Miller (1934-2018)
Extent:
(5 map folios + 2 medium folio boxes + 3 large folio boxes + 1 folio + 84 ms boxes + 26 ms cartons + 1 oversized music score)
Language:
English and English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Harry M. Miller, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Part available for research; part permission required for research; part closed. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

MS 7981 comprises correspondence, press clippings, programmes, photographs, posters, financial records, contracts, music scores, scripts, administrative files, stage management reports and other papers dealing with the numerous concert tours, stage musicals and theatrical productions promoted by Miller from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. These include such artists as Louis Armstrong, Arthur Rubinstein, Roy Orbison and the Rolling Stones; musicals such as Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar; and theatrical productions including The Boys in the Band and The Secretary Bird. The collection also includes material on individuals managed by Miller including Graham Kennedy, Barry Humphries, Dame Zara Bate and Sir John Kerr. Also present are papers of an autobiographical nature such as those relating to Miller's trials and imprisonment on fraud charges in the early 1980s (85 boxes, 26 large cartons, 5 folio boxes, 1 folio packet, 2 elephant folios).

MS Acc04.271 comprises correspondence, casting notes, posters, programmes, administrative files and other papers relating to the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well material relating to Graham Kennedy, Deborah Hutton and Lindy Chamberlain )40 boxes, 2 folio boxes).

MS Acc09.069 comprises material relating to Harry M. Miller's involvement in an unrealised project to make a film version of Patrick White's novel 'Voss'. The papers comprise correspondence, telexes, production files, cast lists and location information. There are also various drafts of the screenplay, including one by John McGrath (1970), one by David Mercer, one adapted by Mercer for Joseph Losey and one adapted by Mercer for Stuart Cooper (3 boxes, 1 folio box).

Biographical Note:

Show business entrepreneur, cattle breeder, promoter and public relations consultant. Harry Maurice Miller (1934 - 2018) was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1934. In 1963, he moved to Australia where he founded Pan Pacific Productions Pty Ltd. He established himself as a prominent show business promoter, manager and entrepreneur, promoting a large number of concert tours, musicals and theatre productions. Miller wrote a weekly column for The Australian and pioneered Australia's first subscription schemes. He was appointed to the board of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, and became a director of Qantas Airways Ltd. and organiser of the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in Australia.

Miller was also chairman of the Art Gallery Society of New South Wales. He founded and was director of the Harry M. Miller Group, the company that has managed the careers of several top Australian media, sporting and entertainment figures. Miller's published autobiographies include My story (1983) and Harry M. Miller: confessions of a not-so-secret agent (2009).

Reading Room Access Note:

For preservation reasons, we are unable to deliver digital and audiovisual carriers to the Special Collections Reading Room. Please contact Ask a Librarian to enquire about access.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1655866).
Conditions Governing Use:
Conditions for copying and publishing of this collection may apply, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1655866).
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Harry M. Miller, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: