Born in Chehalis, Washington. He went to Hollywood in 1926 as a technical advisor and actor in MGM's BROWN OF HARVARD and remained as a screenwriter for Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros. and other studios. In the late 20s and early 30s he contributed solid scripts, alone or in collaboration, to Howard Hawks films. He worked with a variety of directors, including Keighley, Curtiz, King and Fritz Lang. He shared an Academy Award with Sidney Buchman for the script of Alexander Hall's comedy-fantasy HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941). Other notable writing credits include THE DAWN PATROL (1930), THE CRIMINAL CODE (1931), SCARFACE, THE CROWD ROARS, THE LAST MILE and ONCE IN A LIFETIME (all 1932), MURDER IN TRINIDAD (1934), "G" MEN and FRISCO KID (both 1935), KID GALAHAD (1937), THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, VALLEY OF THE GIANTS and THE DAWN PATROL (all 1938), THE SEA HAWK (1940), THIS WOMAN IS MINE (1941), MY GAL SAL and THE BLACK SWAN (both 1942), SINGAPORE (1947), CONVICTED (1950), THE MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER (1953), THE SHANGHAI STORY and BANGAL BRIGADE (both 1954), ISTANBUL (1957), THE LAST MILE (1959) and A KNIFE FOR THE LADIES (a.k.a. JACK THE RIPPER GOES WEST, 1974). He wrote the story for PETE'S DRAGON (1977) that was produced after his death. In the 40s Miller wrote and produced a number of films, including Lang's THE MINISTRY OF FEAR (1944), as well as TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST and THE BRIDE WORE BOOTS (both 1946), CALIFORNIA and CALCUTTA (both 1947), FIGHTER SQUADRON (1948) and QUEEN FOR A DAY (1951, assoc. producer).  Nominated for Writing (Adaptation) 1930-31: THE CRIMINAL CODE (w. Fred Niblo, Jr.)  Writing (Screenplay) 1941: HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (w. Sidney Buchman) 2 nominations, 1 Award