Early years

Warren Miller was born in Hollywood, and as a young man he took up the hobbies of skiing, surfing, and photography. At the age of 18, with the U.S. ten months into World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific. Upon his discharge from the Navy in 1946 he bought his first 8mm movie camera. He and a friend moved to Sun Valley, Idaho where they camped in the parking lot of the Sun Valley ski resort, living out of a teardrop trailer and earning money as ski instructors. In their free time, they would film each other skiing to critique and improve their ski techniques. During the summers they shifted their lifestyle to the California coast where they filmed each other surfing.

Career

Warren Miller Entertainment

Warren Miller would often show his skiing and surfing films to friends, making jokes about their exploits throughout the showing of the film. When he began to receive invitations to show and narrate his films at parties, it occurred to him that he could turn this hobby into a business. In 1949, Miller founded Warren Miller Entertainment and began a long standing tradition of producing one feature-length ski film per year. He rented out halls and theaters, usually with borrowed money, and charged admission to his shows. He booked show halls near ski resorts so that he could film the next year's footage during the day, and show the current film in the evening. Before long he was showing his films in 130 cities a year.

Current work

Miller continued to head the company both creatively and executively until the late 1980s when he sold the company to his son, Kurt Miller. Kurt later sold the company to Time, Inc., who then sold it to Bonnier Corporation in 2007. The company still produces a new film every year, however Miller himself has not been actively involved since 2004.

While phasing out of his executive role, Miller still maintained his creative role as director and narrator for the films into the 1990s, but due to his age (now over 80 years old) and ailing health, Miller has distanced himself from production in recent years. The makers of recent films such as, Warren Miller's Higher Ground (2005) and Warren Miller's Off the Grid (2006), opted to use Miller's narration from previous films rather than recording new narration.

Recent films have been criticized as a departure from the traditional Warren Miller films. Miller himself has indicated that he is not content with recent productions, and has been actively discouraged from involvement in the films bearing his name. Still, the films get mostly positive reviews and continue to garner a loyal fanbase of both skiers and snowboarders.

On September 21, 2009, the biggest ski media lawsuit in recent history began when Warren Miller Entertainment filed suit against Level 1 Productions for Warren Millers narratives in their 2009 movie "Refresh", directed by Millers personal friend Josh Berman. At the core of the lawsuit was WME's claim of trademark on the term 'Warren Miller'.. Warren Miller Entertainment placed the case on hold, pending arbitration with Warren Miller himself.. WME contends that they own the use of Warren Millers voice in any ski related movie, which Warren disagrees with.

Personal life

Warren Miller currently resides with his wife, Laurie, on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle, Washington, and enjoys cruising on his 47' Bayliner Yacht. He is officially retired from filmmaking but remains an active writer. He has announced plans to publish a book about life in retirement called, "What Are You Doing with the Rest of Your Life?"

See the complete list for all films bearing Warren Miller's name.