THE SANDY HACKETT & LISA DAWN MILLER SHOW:
Husband And Wife Toast Two Famous Dads And Their Inspiring Legacies Of Laughter And Song
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The Son Of Legendary Comic Buddy Hackett And Daughter Of Famed Motown Songwriter Ron Miller Team Up For Critically Acclaimed Musical Comedy Show That Has Wowed Audiences
Everywhere >From Las Vegas To Dallas And Florida
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Well Known Comedian, Actor, Writer, Producer And Director Hackett Currently Stars As Joey Bishop In The Award Winning Nostalgic Revue “The Rat Pack Is Pack”; Miller Released Her Debut Album ‘Fly Away' Last Year

Toasting their famous fathers and the brilliant legacies they've left to the worlds of comedy and pop music, husband and wife entertainers Sandy Hackett (son of legendary comic Buddy) and Lisa Dawn Miller (daughter of famed Motown songwriter Ron) have titillated audiences everywhere from Las Vegas to Dallas to Florida with an unforgettable, critically acclaimed evening billed “The Sandy Hackett & Lisa Dawn Miller Show.”

Officially, the two promote it as “a night of unbelievable song and hysterical laughter,” but Hackett—true to the edgy standup style he is world renowned for—says, “We're like Sonny & Cher, only I ski better!”

Their performances at Vegas venues like the Suncoast Hotel in Summerlin have earned them raves from both of the city's major daily newspapers. The Las Vegas Sun says, “It's this year's show to see. Superb performances and delightful chemistry between the Hacketts make this one of the best feel-good shows around.” The Las Vegas Review Journals echoes this praise: “The evening sparkles with the spirit of some of the most brilliant comedy and memorable music ever to grace the stage. This heartfelt and magnificently delivered performance honors two of entertainment's legendary talents, Buddy Hackett and Ron Miller.”

For the last five-plus years, Hackett—who has done thousands of standup gigs around the world over the past three decades--has been writer, producer, director and “Joey” in the nostalgic revue “The Rat Pack Is Back,” which has been performed in Vegas, Chicago, Boston, Detroit and Ft. Worth. In addition to providing the comedy of the Sandy & Lisa Show, he also performs some beautiful duets with the talented singer/songwriter Miller, who released her first independent CD, Fly Away, to great acclaim in 2006.

The show combines the comic's hilarious bits with Miller's stunning performances of originals, standards and Motown classics penned by her father. She also sings some never recorded chestnuts from his vast catalog. Ron Miller's hits include “For Once In My Life,” “Yester-me, Yester-you, Yester-day, ”“Place In The Sun,” “Touch Me In The Morning,” “Heaven Help Us All,” “If I Could” and “I've Never Been To Me.”

Hackett and Miller also do numerous comedy bits together, and there are special moments during the show when Hackett talks about his dad as he shows a short film of old home movies from the personal Hackett archives and then sings a touching version of the elder Hackett's theme song “My Buddy.” Miller later sings “If I Could”, the heart felt ballad written for her by her father, as a short film of her father's incredible career rolls.

The couple met in Las Vegas in 2003 and were married in April, 2005. Their daughter Ashleight is a year and a half old. Miller also has a six year old son, Oliver, from a previous marriage “to a guy who wasn't very funny and didn't ski,” says Hackett.

“Our show came about naturally from working together on various projects,” Miller says. “We have very similar backgrounds, there are many parallels that are so rare. Inevitably, the art of comedy and the universal language of great songs became intertwined. The amazing thing in working together is that Sandy loves singing and has an amazing voice and I love doing comedy, so we get to switch roles while still doing what we do. It's a lot of fun and we've both learned so much from each other.”

Hackett and Miller have an interesting story to tell about their personal lives, growing up with legends while carrying on traditions in their own unique ways.  Embracing the legacy, the show is filled with gratitude and is all about celebrating love, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

“Sandy and I are so in tune with each other,” Miller adds, “ it's not even something you can articulate. There's just this incredible understanding on so many different levels, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. We're intuitively connected and that comes across in our passion, love and devotion to each other and our crafts. It's an exciting and passionate show and we're happy to have the opportunity to share it with so many people. Sandy and I have amazing chemistry. In some ways, he's more reserved. I am definitely the fiery, spunky one!”

Hackett and Miller's next scheduled performances are at Sun City MacDonald Ranch in Las Vegas on Friday, August 3; and at Siena, also in Vegas, on Friday, November 2.    

 

 

 

SANDY HACKETT

While Carrying On His Beloved Father Buddy's Legacy In Comedy, The Multi-Talented Creative Force Has Also Established Himself Over The Years As A Powerhouse Writer, Producer, Dramatic Film and TV Actor And Comedy Club Owner In Laughlin and Las Vegas
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Among Other Current Ventures, Hackett Is Writer, Producer, Director And “Joey” In The Production Of “The Rat Pack Is Back,” The Award Winning Nostalgic Revue That Has Played In San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Ft. Worth, Memphis, Dayton, Charlotte, And Atlantic City,
In Addition To Its Five-Plus Year Run At The Greek Isles Hotel And Casino in Vegas
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The Comic And His Singer/Songwriter Wife Have Performed Their Critically Acclaimed “The Sandy Hackett & Lisa Dawn Miller Show” In Vegas, Dallas And Florida 

Sandy Hackett's worldwide success as a standup proves without a doubt that comedy runs in the genes. But over the years, anyone who expected him to be another Buddy--the late, legendary comedian and comic actor--was stopped in their tracks the minute they saw that Sandy, tall and slender, was nothing like his beloved father.

Fans of both entertainers could see the physical contrast between father and son, and enjoy their complementary comedic styles, in the ten years they toured together. At the start, the multi-talented Sandy was Buddy's opening act as a singer. Sandy got tired of rehearsing the musicians, so he kept telling more and more jokes until they decided he no longer needed the band. Sandy then assumed his natural role of comedian—a talent he first introduced to the world at age 11 on “Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In,” at 14 at New York's Westbury Music Fair and at 15 on  “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”

“The years my dad and I toured together came during the time when dad was starting to slow down, doing just 30 dates a year, so I had plenty of time to fend for myself and do lots of other projects,” says Hackett. “He told me ‘nobody ever got booked sitting at home,' so I was always creating and hustling up work for myself.”

Taking that to heart even today, Hackett is currently involved in a variety of exciting projects that draw on his multitude of talents as a writer, producer, director, actor, singer and comic. >From July 26-29, he is hosting the Sandy Hackett Comedy Festival at the Stoneham Theatre in Boston. He is producing and performing two roles in a film now shooting in L.A. called The Portal; this continues his long thriving acting career which has included dramatic roles on shows like PBS' On Common Ground (in which he played a District Attorney), “Jack Of Hearts,” “Lovers and Liars” and “The S.I.N.” and comic parts in the films “Down And Derby” (featuring Pat Morita), “Hot Dog…The Movie” and “Hamburger The Motion Picture.”

For the past five years and counting, he has played famed actor/comedian Joey Bishop in The Rat Pack Is Back: The Tribute To Frank, Sammy, Joey & Dean, an award winning nostalgic revue that captures the fun and music originally created in the 1960s by the infamous Rat Pack. On Memorial Day, the crowd-pleasing show, which is also written, produced and directed by Hackett, passed its five-year anniversary at the Greek Isles Hotel and Casino. The “Pack” has also taken the show on the road and played venues in Kansas City, Denver, Lake Tahoe and Laughlin.

“I created the show to pay tribute to my lifelong friend Joey Bishop,” says Hackett. “These guys were cool in a time when you could smoke without cancer, drink without alcoholism, and have sex without AIDS.”

Hackett and his wife Lisa, a talented singer/songwriter who is the daughter of famed Motown songwriter Ron Miller (“For Once In My Life,” “Touch Me In The Morning”), also regularly perform their “The Sandy Hackett & Lisa Dawn Miller Show” in Las Vegas, Dallas and Florida. The act, dubbed “a night of unbelievable song and hysterical laughter…where music meets comedy” has been hailed by the Las Vegas Review Journal as “some of the most brilliant comedy and memorable music ever to grace the stage.” He likes to refer to it “like Sonny & Cher, but I ski better!”

Among the famous acts Hackett has opened for over the years as a comic are The Righteous Brothers (on their 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour), Kenny Rogers, Tanya Tucker, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Three Dog Night, Paul Anka and Bobby Vinton. Hackett has entertained audiences in just about every venue imaginable, from main showrooms in Las Vegas and Atlantic City to others in Canada, Mexico and even New Zealand.

As an entrepreneur, the UNLV graduate has owned and run comedy clubs in Laughlin's Golden Nugget and Gold River Hotel/Casinos, as well as at the Stardust in Las Vegas. He also produces various entertainment events for Del Webb Sun City Communities around the country. He ran “Sandy Hackett's Comedy Club” in the Celebrity Room at the Greek Isles from 2002-2005.

“Over the years, my clubs have hosted so many amazing comedians, and I've had the privilege of working with so many wonderful talented people in many different settings,” Hackett says. “My humor is honest, and I like to go with the flow and improvise on current events. The secret to my success is, simply, a combination of hard work and great tenacity.”