Dennis Miller follows in the footsteps of a long line of popular American cynics and social critics: Mark Twain, Groucho Marx, W.C. Fields, Fred Allen, Oscar Levant, James Thurber, Lenny Bruce, Andy Rooney...

Like Groucho, he enjoys tweaking the establishment. Like Bruce, he isn't above using a few four-letter words to get the point across on his HBO show.

Says Dennis: "I'm not a liberal, I'm a pragmatist. Which means I think everyone who isn't me is an asshole."

He was born on November 3, 1953 in Philadelphia and started out in his home town as a stand-up comic back in the 70's. He moved on to perform in the big New York comedy clubs, then returned to Philly where he delivered monologues for "PM Magazine" and hosted a Saturday morning teen show.

In the early 80's, Dennis was performing at L.A.'s Comedy Store when he was invited by executive producer Lorne Michaels to join the cast of "Saturday Night Live", that fertile ground for comics which had earlier given us the likes of Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

Miller was with SNL until 1991; he was best known for delivering the news (known as the "Weekend Update") in his own sarcastic style. His current "Big Screen" segment on "Dennis Miller Live" preserves much of the spirit of this popular SNL routine, including his tagline: "Folks, that's the news, and I am OUTTA here!"

In 1994, he landed "Dennis Miller Live."

Most recently, Dennis has begun moonlighting in an unlikely spot: the announcers' booth on ABC's NFL "Monday Night Football."

In between gigs, Miller has also appeared (as an actor) in a few movies, and it's a running gag with him that his characters always seem to die in his films. His movies include "The Net" with Sandra Bullock (he dies), "Bordello of Blood" (he dies), "Murder at 1600" with Wesley Snipes (he's shot), "Never Talk to Strangers" with Rebecca DeMorney (he's beaten to the point of death with a lead pipe) and "Disclosure" with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore.

Credit: dennismillerinfo.com