ARTICLE #3

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TY MILLER claims he grew up on a ranch, so it's perfectly appropriate that he's now starring in a series set in the wild Old West. Of course, the "ranch" is in L.A.'s semi-wild New West San Fernando Valley, and his father is a businessman as opposed to a neo-Ben Cartwright. And Miller, though he had access to horses, only rode "maybe 10, 15 times" before beating out dozens of applicants for the choice rode of Kid on The Young Riders(ABC, CTV). "It's kind of like kids who grow up with swimming pools in the backyard and rarely go swimming," Miller says.

At the Sonoma, Ca., site of the series pilot, south of San Francisco, "the wranglers [horse stuntmen] straightened me out-they're no-nonsense. It was 'That's not how it works. You're going to have to do better than that'." Now Miller has what executive producer Michael Ogiens describes "a very enthusiastic riding technique. He might bounce around more than the wranglers would like, but Ty believes that's just his style."

In terms of acting style, old pro Anthony Zerbe, who plays colorful oldtimer, Teaspoon Hunter-trainer of the young Pony express riders-says of Miller: "He's a natural. During the shooting of the pilot he was kind of shy and struck me as pretty reserved in front of the camera. But when I saw the show I thought, hey, the miracle of celluloid-film with a quiet, centered, attractive quality that's either going to be there or not. You can't tell till you see what the camera captures. Ty's not immediately reactive-he takes a moment, looks the situation over and moves carefully, deliberately. His style blends in nicely with his character."

The character, like the other five Pony Express riders under Teaspoon's tutelage, is an orphan-misfit who has joined the Pony Express for "$5 and a Bible" in an attempt to make something, anything, out of his life. Miller has done his homework on the legendary riders who hauled mail from St. Joseph, Mo. To Sacramento, Ca. "I've read and read about that era," he says, "It was a private company that tried it. They actually advertised for orphans, because they figured they'd be willing to risk their lives against the elements and hostile Indians and all kinds of obstacles. The first day was April 3, 1860. It took about 10 days for a cross-country delivery. Only nine more days than Federal Express."

Riders, rather than going across the country, typically went a couple of stations in one direction, then back the other direction to their home base, says Miller, legitimizing the premise of the show that riders would have a home base. "Not one rider was lost while the Pony Express existed," he says, "It only existed 18 months because the telegraph made it obsolete, but that goes to show how important it was at the time as a private enterprise and why it became legendary. I really hope viewers don't just look at this as another Western. People who are supposed to know think this series will fail because it's a Western, and those don't make it on TV anymore. Well, Lonesome Dove [the miniseries] got a huge audience. It was good. I think this show is just plain good, and it's the right timing-people are ready for something that's well done and real about a unique part of American history."

Miller was planning to follow in his father's and older brother's footsteps as a businessman while going to the University of Southern California, until an actress girlfriend suggested that doing commercials would be a good way of taking care of pressing bills. Low-key, Miller shrugs, "I approached it as fun. It was so different from studying real estate and accounting and all the business stuff that I regressed to being a kid. Fantasyland."

It was a big change from growing up in a family that now has, among other enterprises, the largest Christmas tree retail company in the country. (His older brother runs the family tree farm in Oregon.) "Growing up, my dad had my brother and me working like crazy in a Christmas tree sales lot. We didn't get paid too well, but Dad let us keep all the proceeds from whatever we sold on Christmas Eve. Which shows you how shrewd he is as a businessman. By Christmas Eve people have already bought their Christmas trees."

Once work in commercials started coming, Miller studied acting and landed brief roles on Easy Street, Our House, and Valerie. "Getting a regular role[as bell hop Eric Lloyd on Hotel]was what convinced me I was going to do this for good."

When it came to getting the Kid role, Miller, in typical TV fashion, was asked back again and again to read for producers, studio executives, and network executives. Finally it came down to the showdown reading where all concerned were sizing him up. "In retrospect its funny. There were a lot of big people there, and after part of the reading the president of MGM took me and the producers aside and said, 'Do you realize you've got a big hole in the crotch of your pants?' I looked down and these pants I had on had this huge hole. So one of the producers gave me his pants which were way too big, and I cinched up the belt to keep them on. They took me back in for the rest of the reading, and I made a little joke about the pants. It loosened the room up a little. I thought I'd blown the whole thing, but it actually probably worked for me."

Turning embarrassing moments into beneficial results has worked for Miller on the personal side too. "I played the boyfriend of an actress, Sarah Buxton [Less Than Zero] on a sitcom, and I asked her out later. I wanted to surprise her, so just driving around I said, "What kind of music do you like-would you like to go to a Lionel Richie concert?' She was all excited-whoaaa-this is going to be great! We drove to the Forum, and the guy looks at my tickets and says, 'These are for the Lakers-Lionel Richie is next week.'

"Have you ever had that feeling where all the blood rushes right to into your head and you turn a hundred shades of red? I'll tell you, that was worse than the hole in the crotch," But Ms. Buxton demonstrated considerable understanding: "It's several months later, and we're still going out."

Among other unlikely events in his young life, Miller had relatives who lived next to James Brolin in northern California; then he worked with Brolin on Hotel, now he works with Brolin's son, Josh (who plays Wild Bill Hickok), on The Young Riders. "It's pretty strange how all that turned out," Miller says, "Jim Brolin was very kind to me on Hotel and now Josh has become a good friend."

Miller insists he isn't concerned that the new series has gone from an original title of The Kid--the key character in the pilot show-to The Young Riders. "The first show happened to be focused on me, and The Kid is a lot more catchy title, but I knew it was meant to be an ensemble show. There's a lot to explore in all six of the riders, and working with Anthony Zerbe is an education I wouldn't miss."

With filming now being done in Arizona, near Tucson, Miller-with his bachelor's degree in business and those built-in entrepreneurial genes-recognizes that The Young Ridersprobably faces an uphill struggle in the Nielsen ratings. Still- "The Pony Express didn't last very long, but it made a big impression; people were trying something new and taking risks. I think the show meets that description. We don't need 18 months; we just need a chance. Try it for a few hours."

TV GUIDE NOVEMBER 11, 1989

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