Michael T. Miller has always enjoyed the magic of the movies.
“There is something to be said about a small theater and it’s just you,” Miller says. “Me and this movie that I’m watching, it’s like there is a connection.”
One set of films connected with him the most – the adventures of Indiana Jones. So much in fact, that in 1989, he watched “The Last Crusade” over 40 times in theaters. Miller remembers, “Because it’s the last one, I had to take it in and absorb it as much as I could.”
His passion for these films doesn’t end at the local cinema – in his home, Miller has his own temple of treasures dedicated to Harrison Ford and the globetrotting archaeologist. From books, banners, action figures, video games, pinball machines to… well, you get the idea; Miller collects “anything and everything” related to Indiana Jones.
It’s a collection many years in the making, and it has included some help from his wife, Martha Miller. “He’s definitely taken me along on the adventure,” she says. “That was a piece that we had to go to Elkhart Lake because an eBay seller was local.”
Miller considers all his Indy items as one single collection – not knowing how many total pieces or the grand cost of everything – but there are a few objects he cherishes like the holy grail: a signed photo from Harrison Ford, a large banner he found with his dad, and an “Indy” inscribed wedding ring from Martha.
It’s a journey that started many years ago – as a young boy, he was teased when his facial hair grew before other kids his age. Miller remembers, “All of a sudden one day, somebody made a comment, ‘You keep growing that in, you’re going to look like Indiana Jones.’ And I’m like, ‘Who?’”
The origin of his collection, all started at a family gathering with his dad. “I heard him laugh like I had never heard him laugh before,” Miller says. His dad was watching a scene from the first film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. “But once I found out what that movie was and everything, and who the actor was, it just started coming all together,” Miller shares.
His parents bought him an Indiana Jones video cassette that sparked his curiosity… and then, the rest was history. Miller smiles thinking, “That might have actually been when the collector was born in me and I just didn’t know it yet”.
After Indy’s “Last Crusade” in 1989, Miller continued to surround himself with these movies, thanks to the dawn of the internet and two Jones’ sequels. More films brought more memories and memorabilia… and it gave the Millers less house space. So, they both agreed it was time to build a new home, with a specially-built room packed from floor to ceiling in nostalgia.
It was a big adventure for them, and their journey didn’t stop there. This passion has taken them around the country, to places like Disney World and Disneyland, and throughout Wisconsin. In 2023, the Milwaukee Brewers celebrated Indy’s fifth film, “Dial of Destiny”, with an Indiana Jones theme night. In an expected plot twist, Mike and Martha Miller were there, walking away with two noteworthy memories: he was given a signed Indy bobblehead from Craig Counsell and he was asked to throw the game’s first pitch.
Miller credits his partner, Martha, for much of the joy and success in this quest, “Going to my first Brewer game, she put it all together, made all the arrangements.“ Miller adds, “ I can’t even fathom some of the things that I would have gotten through if it wasn’t for her.”
And for Martha Miller, it’s all fun and games too. “I enjoy it just as much as he does. Well, not just as much as he does,” she jokes, adding ”but I do enjoy it.”
Although Indy has probably seen his last adventure on the silver screen, Mike Miller isn’t letting it slow him down, “I’m an Indiana Jones collector. The movies may be over, but there will always be stuff to collect.”
