Hall of Fame

Warren Miller

(1937 - 2015)

Warren Miller founded Studio Center in 1967, but that historical tidbit misses the essence of who Warren Miller was. Warren was the consummate entrepreneur. He had a unique gift to recognize a need for a product or service before anyone knew they needed it and then creating it with the people and materials at hand. Indeed, he was as much an alchemist as an entrepreneur because he could turn common materials into gold.

Warren loved to build. Whether it was any of three homes, any of the many redesigns and reconfigurations of Studio Center in Norfolk, or studio expansions into Las Vegas and Memphis, Warren truly enjoyed designing new spaces at the drawing board and then bringing them to life by swinging a hammer.

All this was accomplished through self-sacrifice, discipline, and a great imagination. After creating the blueprints, he would create a challenging production calendar that would require late nights and early mornings and he would always meet the goals he set for himself. When he converted the photography studio to a video production and post-production facility in the early ’90s, Warren mapped out an ambitious 30-day construction schedule and he held the grand opening right on time.

Warren’s many skills and experiences gave him the background that would enable him to establish the unique “one-stop shop” that Studio Center is. Warren was a recording artist with regional hits like “Everybody’s Got a Baby But Me” and “Have Gun, Will Travel.” He founded his own record label. Warren was a radio disc jockey and program manager and even instituted his own school for announcers.

Recording music was the main focus when he opened Studio Center in 1967, but he soon expanded into the area of commercial radio production and quickly became the premiere production studio in southeast Virginia. The continuous improvement led him to develop the concept of the one-stop production house where everything necessary for radio production - booking agent, talent director, audio engineer, and paymaster - was under one roof.

Along the way Warren found other veins of gold to mine. Portra-Slide/Feature Slide delivered twelve beautiful 35mm slides to television news departments each week that gave subscribing stations a coordinated look for their news broadcasts. “Malice,” an innovative spoof of the “Dallas” television show generated great ratings for radio stations, and “Spot Shop” created pre-produced radio ads that were supported by print advertising.

Warren never stopped looking for the next opportunity, the next improvement. When he sold the company to William Prettyman in 2004, he turned his attention to hearth and home and enriched the lives of friends and family until his death in 2015.