A 50th Anniversary Remembrance of Michael Dunn

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On August 30, exactly fifty years after his death at age 38, remembering Catholic actor Michael Dunn’s talent can bring smiles to the faces of his Baby Boomer fans. And his triumphs, sorrows, and compassion can offer lessons for all audiences.

Born Gary Neil Miller in 1934, his distinguished career led Dunn to Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award nominations.

A newspaper from his home state of Oklahoma has said he had a genius-level IQ. But another statistic about him was more visible: He stood 3 feet 10 inches tall.

His rare type of non-inherited dwarfism made mobility painful for Dunn throughout his life. The disease stunting bone growth contributed to a range of hardships, including hip dislocation. Elbow malformation blocked his early rise as a gifted pianist.

A combination of worsening conditions, with constricted space for his internal organs, resulted in his death from heart failure in 1973, according to Wikipedia citations.

The multi-dimensional actor is perhaps best known for his ten appearances as the villain, Dr. Miguelito Loveless, on the 1960s TV series Wild, Wild West. He also performed on Star Trek, Bonanza, and other shows.

His movie roles included The Abdication, released after his death, and Ship of Fools (1965), which earned his Oscar nomination. He also won acclaim on the New York City stage, including Broadway dramas. And he was even part of a popular singing duo.

As Gary Miller, Dunn was an aspiring singer when baptized into the Catholic faith in 1954. Four years later, he entered the St. Bonaventure Monastery of the Capuchin Franciscans in Detroit, only to withdraw when monastery life proved incompatible with his medical limitations, The Oklahoman and other sources reported.

“Our archivist can confirm that Gary Neil Miller was here at St. Bonaventure in 1958 from February 25 to May 28,” a monastery spokesman told this writer.

Dunn had a serious interest in Catholicism, reflected in his presidency of the Newman Club student organization at the University of Miami, according to The Big Life of a Little Man, a book written by his cousin Sherry Kelly.

During the 1960s, Dunn pursued an acting career. He was sensitive about his short stature, but also ambitious and charismatic, as described by his sister, LaRee Reed, in The Oklahoman.

He drew upon the wealth of encouragement he had received from his parents while growing up.

“I don’t know if Michael would have been as adventurous and as much of a role model as he was without them,” said Phoebe Dorin, who met Dunn as a fellow cast member in an off-Broadway show. The parents, Fred and Jewel Miller, “let him do everything” during his youth, she said. “They were in his corner the whole way.”

In an interview for a book by prominent film historian Tom Weaver, Dorin recalled her years of close friendship with Dunn as a non-romantic “soulmate.”

She became the other half of the duo, “Michael Dunn and Phoebe,” singing in New York nightclubs. She also played Antoinette, the assistant to Dr. Loveless, in Wild, Wild West episodes.

Dorin recalled self-esteem issues which consistently troubled Dunn. Even as his acting career thrived, he sought “validation” in others’ eyes.

“I think he thought—as a lot of people do—‘When I’m rich and famous and everyone knows who Micheal Dunn is, then I won’t be a little person anymore,” she said in Weaver’s book, Science Fiction Confidential.

“I think that was Michael’s biggest disappointment: Success didn’t change anything where he wanted it to change,” Dorin said.

Dunn struggled to cope with “a tremendous amount of pain, physically,” said Dorin. And there was other sadness. He married in 1966, but the couple divorced a few years later.

However, Dorin also pointed to something “extraordinary that most people don’t know about.” When Michael Dunn rose in his career, “he became a role model for a lot of kids who were born with the disease he had.”

The friend continued: “They would write to him and tell him how lonely they were and they wanted to die … and he would write to them and he would even go to see some of them …. And talk to them and befriend them and champion them.”

Dunn would also advise parents on the support they should give to children with his condition.

He lives on as an inspiration in many fans’ memories, and there is an active “Michael Dunn Tribute Page” on Facebook. You can learn about his entertainment career at imdb.com.