Las Vegas actor recalls days with Wooden

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You may not know Denny Miller by name, but you probably know his face — especially if you like fish sticks. He was the fisherman on the front of the Gorton’s box until 2004. He also was Duke Shannon on "Wagon Train." Before that, he was the 12th Tarzan of the 21 who have swung from a vine in the movies or on TV, having starred in the 1959 MGM remake of "Tarzan, the Ape Man."

The worst Tarzan movie of all time says the self-deprecating Miller, 76. At least until the one with Bo Derek came along.

Those credits alone would make Miller darn near one of the most fascinating Las Vegans you’d ever hope to meet. Throw in his guest-starring roles on "Gilligan’s Island" and "Gunsmoke" and that he was a starting guard for the great John Wooden at UCLA, and Mayor Oscar Goodman and Carrot Top suddenly have some serious company.

Like the rest of the sporting world, Miller was deeply saddened by the June 4 death of his genteel former coach and molder of men.

"He was a poet in the locker room, and I don’t mean he recited poetry," said Miller, who moved to Southern Nevada with his wife, Nancy, nine years ago and uses Tarzan’s famous ululating yell on his answering machine. "He was a soft-spoken gentleman in a macho world."

Miller’s younger brother, Kent, also played for Wooden. Their father had competed against the legendary Bruins coach in high school in Indiana and later joined Wooden on the UCLA faculty.

Denny Miller’s UCLA teammates included Willie Naulls and Rafer Johnson, the famous decathlete. When Miller quit the Bruins during his senior year to become Tarzan No. 12, his roster spot was taken by Denny Crum.

Miller recently wrote a book called "Didn’t You Used to Be …" which was the last time he corresponded with Wooden. The coach sent him a photo and his famous "Pyramid of Success" for use with the memoir.

"The world is a far better place for John Wooden having called it home for 99 years," Miller said.

THREE UP

■ BRYCE HARPER: A lot of people criticized the decision made by the 17-year-old phenom (and his parents) to obtain his GED after his sophomore year of high school and enroll in junior college so he could start swinging a wooden bat. A lot of people were wrong. A lot of people now realize that decision is what made the Las Vegas High and CSN wunderkind the first player selected in the major league draft Monday.

■ TIM CHAMBERS: One might predict UNLV will reach the College World Series for the first time now that the sitting athletic administration has done what the previous one wouldn’t — hire the former College of Southern Nevada and Bishop Gorman coach. One might also predict the outfield grass at Wilson Stadium no longer will be various shades of yellow and brown.

■ BOISE STATE: The Mountain West Conference has rolled out the red carpet for the Western Athletic Conference member that plays football on a blue carpet. WAC commissioner Karl Benson must think we’re all just a bunch of carpetbaggers.

THREE DOWN

■ KAT MERTZ: Why would a head women’s soccer coach leave UNLV to become an assistant women’s soccer coach at Texas? The average salary for a women’s assistant coach at Texas is $83,700. The average salary for a women’s head coach at UNLV is $55,900. That might be why.

■ KEITH KIZER: In discussing the controversial ending to the Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman fight at Yankee Stadium, the Nevada Athletic Commission executive director said it is illegal to throw a towel into the ring in Nevada because somebody could be injured. This is where a good fabric softener might come in handy. Not only would it preclude a fighter from taking an unnecessary beating, it would make those towels smell April fresh.

■ "Y.M.C.A.": The first move by the new 51s brass was to dump the Village People’s "Y.M.C.A." for Neil Diamond’s "Sweet Caroline" during the seventh-inning stretch. Hands touchin’ hands. Problem with what ails 51s attendance solved.

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352.