Larry Miller has written a remembrance of his friend, John Ritter, who passed away recently.

Larry Miller's column in the Weekly Standard is always worth reading; he surprised a lot of people with an article on the Israeli-Palenstinian conflict over a year ago, that was widely circulated on the Internet. It was also widely mis-attributed to Dennis Miller; DM said he agreed with the sentiments expressed, and graciously said he was flattered that people thought he might have written something that good. DM had LM on his show during its last season to discuss the article, among other things.

And Larry Miller has shown himself to be more than just a political opinionator; with articles like this remembrance of Ritter, and other equally hearfelt and evocative writings (see this column about his encounter with a Marine preparing for deployment to the Persian Gulf), Miller has shown himself to be a writer of both wit and emotional power.

Perhaps it's improper to link to an article about someone recently deceased (and apparently much-loved), and talk about its writer instead; but I was completely ignorant about Ritter until I read Miller's article, and have nothing at all to add on that score.

But I had always appreciated Miller's stand-up work -- his mix of sensible mannerism and loopy material always hit a sweet spot for me -- and I've come to appreciate his work, and the breadth of his talent, a lot more of late. He never seemed to get quite as much recognition and success as he deserved, at least relative to other, less-talented people in show biz. So keep an eye on him.