BILLINGS - This November marks 70 years since KTVQ-TV, first known as KOOK-TV, went on the air in Billings.
Vic Miller has had a lot to do with the success the station has enjoyed over that time.
If you are a long-time viewer, then you probably remember his commentaries.
“I’ve done over 600 and a number of people kept saying you are going to have to publish these, and I said I will, I will—you know how that goes.”
Now at the age of 92, Miller has done just that—putting together a book that features some of the best of his commentaries.
It’s called, "Slab Marble Slept Here," named after a fictitious, unemployed philosopher who made it into many of Miller’s commentaries.
“Of course, Slab is just someone I dreamed up so he’s not real. He’s got a lot of opinions about everything and usually I just talk to him on various subjects,” Miller explains.
“Almost every place you would go somebody would mention the commentaries and say they liked them and that’s always really gratifying when somebody likes what you are doing,” he says.
Vic Miller’s career in broadcasting is quite a story in itself. Miller started out at KOOK radio before later moving into television. He was one of the first reporters on the scene following the great earthquake that shook Montana in 1959.
“You would wake up at night thinking about it because it was such an awesome thing. Just talking to survivors and they were terrifying even the day after. The quake was over, and they were still terrified. It was, of course, the biggest story I ever covered on radio,” he recalled.
Miller would eventually become the general manager of Q2—a position he held for 17 years.
He was inducted into the Montana Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998 and continued doing his commentaries even after he retired until 2013.
His dry wit and humor certainly struck a chord with viewers over the years, and he’s hoping his new book will too.
“It will hopefully go over with a lot of people and bring back a lot of good memories with some of the people that watched my commentaries over the years,” he says.
Miller will hold a book signing this Friday, Oct. 27 at Billings Public Library from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
His book “Slab Marble Slept Here” is available at This House of Books in Billings.
Click here to nominate someone for the Q2 Super Senior segment.
