William John Miller II, popularly known as Billy Miller, was an American actor. He received recognition for his work on American soap operas, such as General Hospital’s twin roles of Jason Morgan and Drew Cain and Billy Abbott in “The Young and the Restless”, for which he won an award.
Billy Miller Biography
Billy Miller was born on September 17, 1979. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas. Miller was a patient at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children for five years as a child and he also assisted this institution.
Miller attended Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, and went to the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. He graduated with a degree in communications and was one of just twenty students in the film department’s rigorous Production Sequence.
Career
Billy Miller relocated to Los Angeles after receiving his undergraduate degree, where he started working in Industry Entertainment’s mail office. He joined the Wilhelmina modeling agency, which led to his first acting break. Then he made appearances in six commercials, two of which were for The Sims by Electronic Arts. He also performed in advertisements for Pizza Hut, JCPenney, and pokerparty.com.
Miller, then 24 years old, went through a screen test for the CBS serial opera “As the World Turns”. He was turned down for the role due to poor management, so he split from his agency and management business. Following that ordeal, he stopped performing for two years.
Billy Miller returned to acting in 2006, appearing in a CSI: NY episode. One year later, he was cast in the ABC serial series “All My Children” as Richie Novak, Annie Lavery’s murderous and extortionate brother. In August 2008, when the character’s passing became public, Miller held additional auditions. His casting at “The Young and the Restless”, where he was cast in the role of Billy Abbott, was made possible in part by Barbara Bloom (Senior Vice President, Daytime, CBS Entertainment), Marla Kanelos (former scriptwriter, All My Children, now Associate Head Writer, The Young and the Restless), Julie Hanan Carruthers (Executive Producer, All My Children), and his screen-test partners, Peter Bergman, and Elizabeth Hendrickson.
Miller was recognized for his work in an episode of “The Young and the Restless” that was reminiscent of “It’s A Wonderful Life”. For his role, he won his first nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series on June 27, 2010, and another in June 2013. Miller submitted the longest Emmy reel of all nominated performers (more than 32 minutes long) an entire episode.
In 2011, he received a second nomination for the same performance in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category. Additionally, Miller plays himself in the indie film “Remembering Nigel”, which debuted on November 25, 2009, at the Paso Robles Digital Film Festival.
It was revealed in August 2012 that Miller would be joining Ringer on “The CW” as a recurring cast member in primetime. Miller was also chosen to play Gabe Watson in the “Fatal Honeymoon” made-for-TV film on Lifetime. It was revealed in November 2013 that Miller would be leaving the role of Billy; David Tom, Miller’s predecessor, was announced as taking up the role. Miller described quitting the position as the “hardest thing” he had ever done.
Frank Valentini, the executive producer of General Hospital, said on Twitter on September 2, 2014, that Miller will be joining the show as Jason Morgan. For his performance as Jason, Miller was nominated in March 2018 for Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2017, Miller’s casting was changed to that of his twin, Drew Cain, upon Steve Burton’s comeback to the Jason role. Miller revealed his departure from the serial opera in July 2019.
Billy Miller’s Cause of Death
Billy Miller died on September 15, 2023, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 43. Miller’s mother Patricia said in a statement that her son committed suicide after struggling with bipolar depression:
According to the final autopsy report, in November 2023, Miller committed himself and left a “gunshot wound of the head” as the cause of death. The report was published in the following month. According to toxicology studies, the substances “ethanol, cocaine, and its metabolites, diphenhydramine, and amphetamine” were detected. Additionally, the report stated that Miller was discovered “with an apparent gunshot wound to the head” and that “multiple letters indicating suicidal intent and instructions for others were found at the scene”. In the deceased’s right hand was discovered a handgun loaded with .410 shotgun rounds.