National Law Journal names CCM alum a Sports & Entertainment Trailblazer

Beneath his easy laugh and gregarious nature, Darrell Miller (BFA Musical Theatre, ’85) has a powerful drive that has taken him to paneled boardrooms across the country. The Los Angeles-based lawyer was recently named in the inaugural list of Sports and Entertainment Trailblazers by The National Law Journal (NLJ).

Miller works as Chairman of the Entertainment Law Practice at national law firm Fox Rothschild, LLP. He made his transition from theatre to the courtroom after touring with several national production companies, including a lead role in the jazz opera Leo and an international tour of The Princess and the Pea.

His interest in the entertainment world all began when he was a student at Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), then was super-charged at CCM while Miller was studying musical theatre.

Miller remembers being inspired when former CCM Musical Theatre Head Worth Gardner gave his class an assignment to write a paper on Paul Robeson, an American bass baritone concert artist, stage and film actor who is also known for his cultural accomplishments and his political activism.

Shortly after graduating from CCM and performing in an international tour, he had another life-changing realization.

“Standing on the shores in Bombay I had an epiphany,” Miller says. “I thought, ‘what can I do in my life that would allow me not to just wait to be cast in the next show that would take me around the world, but would allow me to be the initiator of such a production around the world?’ Subconsciously the light of Paul Robeson came on and I thought, ‘a lawyer might be the opportunity.’”

After extensive research and preparation that has characterized his life, Miller was accepted into 10 law schools, choosing Georgetown University. He graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1990 and he received an offer from a Chicago firm. Miller asked to go to the firm’s Los Angeles office because he wanted to be in the center of the entertainment world. Now, nearly 30 years later, he lives in that world, negotiating contracts for actors, writers, directors, executives and production companies. His client list includes Academy Award-nominated actress Angela Bassett, star of the hit CBS program NCIS (and fellow Cincinnati-native and SCPA alumnus) Roscoe “Rocky“ Carroll, music mogul and film actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and more.

“I love the role that CCM played in my life," Miller says. "It was an extraordinary experience that I embraced because I loved the arts, and it was the best of the arts. I love that it opened my mind, and it planted seeds that manifested themselves years later in who I am today. I think that the prestige and the opportunities that the school affords you are things that deserve to be supported and deserve to be sustained.”

Story by Joseph Rubino

Featured image at top: Alumnus Darrell Miller stands in front of the CCM mural.