WESTWOOD, Calif. – AVN reports that Hall of Famer director and producer Dick Miller passed away Saturday on the eve of his 63rd birthday, an apparent victim of a gunshot wound.

According to AVN, Miller had been struggling with professional setbacks as well as an escalation of the effects of Myasthenia Gravis, the neuro-muscular disease that he suffered with for several years.

Miller who directed movies under the nom de porn Richard Mailer, was best known as the founder/owner of Island Home Video which later became Intropics Video.

He recent years, Miller spent the last decade of his life in Prague, Czech Republic, directing and producting movies.

“An orphan since childhood, Miller’s formative years were spent in foster homes,” states the AVN article.

“As a young adult living in Minnesota, he enrolled in the military service. His work in the adult industry spanned over four decades. While he had no immediate family, Miller was one of the most beloved figures in the business. His circle of friends was extensive and well-established, both in the United States and Czech Republic. Miller will be remembered as an erudite raconteur, bon-vivant, itinerant Elvis Presley and Bruce Springsteen fan and avowed lifelong bachelor.”

Miller had been visiting in the United States since May attending to business and personal issues.