George T. Miller, legendary Aussie film director of Man From Snowy River, dies aged 79

Legendary Australian film director George T. Miller has died. He was 79.

Miller, who worked in the entertainment industry for five decades and is best known for his masterpiece The Man From Snowy River (1982), died in Melbourne on February 18 after suffering a fatal heart attack, multiple outlets report.

“He was relaxed, collaborative. He was one of my biggest mentors in terms of understanding the nature of film, of performance. I learnt an enormous amount from George,” actress Sigrid Thornton, who worked with Miller on five projects, told the Sydney Morning Herald of the man she remembered to be “full of stories.”

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Although The Man From Snowy River was what many considered to be Miller’s magnum opus, grossing $17.2 million at the time (approx. $68 million now), his son Harvey Miller told the newspaper that the director’s favourite film he worked on was Les Patterson Saves the World.

“That was the film he was most proud to show us. He never sat us down as kids and said, ‘Watch The Man From Snowy River‘. He just made us watch Les Patterson Saves the World,” the younger Miller said.

Les Patterson Saves the World was doomed from its premiere, as it was a story that focused on a disease that spread via toilet seats, and was released the same week as the Grim Reaper AIDS campaign.

Nevertheless, it became a cult classic over time.

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Harvey Miller remembers his father as “eccentric” and told the newspaper he only remembered him ever wearing shorts.

”I never saw him cook a meal. There was this oddball naughtiness, but not in a clownish way,” he said.

While Miller was an accomplished director in his own right, often he would be confused with the other George Miller, who is known for directing the Mad Max films. As such, the late Miller was often referred to by his nickname, Noddy.

“He was very kind to me,” Mad Max‘s Miller told the newspaper of his late not-quite namesake.

Born in Scotland in 1943 and emigrating to Australia at four years old, following the success of The Man From Snowy River, Miller moved to Hollywood in the late ’90s and directed several popular films there, including The NeverEnding Story II and Andre. His final film was 2009’s Prey.

Thornton also paid tribute to Miller on Instagram, writing this morning: “A dynamic collaborator with a crazy sense of humour, you told Australian stories through film and television and they will continue to inspire for many years to come. Vale George T. Miller 🙏.”

Miller is survived by his sons Harvey Miller, of Client Liaison fame, and Geordie Miller.

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