Chuck Miller (1952-2015)

Chuck Miller at the 1982 World Fantasy Convention. Photo by and copyright © Andrew I. Porter

Chuck Miller at the 1982 World Fantasy Convention. Photo by and copyright © Andrew I. Porter

Chuck Miller, of Underwood-Miller, one of the top fantasy and science fiction small press publishers from the 1970s through the 1990s, passed away on May 24 from multiple organ failure.

Chuck, whose full name was Charles Franklin Miller II, was a fixture at East Coast science fiction conventions. His knowledge of science fiction, comics, and movies was unparalleled.

Miller and Tim Underwood founded the Underwood-Miller small press firm in 1976. Their first book was a hardcover edition of Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth (originally published in 1950). They would produce many other editions of Vance’s work, as well as several nonfiction anthologies about the work of Stephen King, and a five-volume edition of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick (1987). Their partnership ended in 1994.

Underwood-Miller was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in publishing five times, winning once in 1994, and Chuck Miller and Tim Underwood received a Milford Award for lifetime achievement in publishing that same year.

Chuck Miller and Tim Underwood’s Fear Itself: The Horror Fiction of Stephen King was a 1983 Hugo nominee for Best Nonfiction Book.

Miller’s funeral will be held on Friday, May 29, at 10 a.n. at the Kraft Funeral Home, 519 Walnut St., Columbia, PA 17512.

 [Thanks to Annette Klause for the story.]

9 thoughts on “Chuck Miller (1952-2015)

  1. *SIGH* I may just have to pull To Spin Is Miracle Cat from the shelf and read it again in the next few days or so.

  2. Chuck was a friend. I bought a lot of books from him and he helped me a few years ago by selling some of my books. My deepest condolences to his family.

  3. Known Chuck since the old REH days – 1976. Fine bookman, publisher and great enthusiast of the field. But with his great voice I always thought he’d done better doing voice overs! Very, very sorry to learn of this. CROM!

  4. It was disconcerting to receive the message from Annette this weekend. I was at Balticon which was being held in the same hotel Chuck used for the 1980 World Fantasy Con.

    While I don’t recall exactly when we met it was in the mid 70s. He – and his business partner Tim Underwood – were great publishers.

    He was a great guy.

  5. Chuck MIller was one of my heros, helped give me my start in book cover painting, and above all else . . . he was cool !

    I mean he was just plain hands down . . . cool !

  6. Mr. Canty, if Mr. Miller helped get you started on book cover painting, then that’s another gold star to his credit. Another blessing he helped bestow upon publishing.

    Clearly, cool recognizes cool.

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