Verlaine was born Thomas Joseph Miller in
Denville, New Jersey, on December 13, 1949. (1921–2008), was of Lithuanian heritage (originally Miliszauckas), but born in
Coatbridge, Scotland. His mother, Lillian (Lilya) Barbara Dopko(wski) (1921–2005) was originally from Pennsylvania and of Polish heritage. Tom's father worked first as a maintenance man Tom moved to
Wilmington, Delaware, with his family when he was six. He began studying piano at an early age, but switched to saxophone in middle school after hearing a record by
Stan Getz. Jazz saxophonists such as
John Coltrane and
Albert Ayler inspired him. Verlaine initially was unimpressed with the role of the guitar in both rock music and jazz, but was inspired to take up the instrument after hearing
the Rolling Stones' "
19th Nervous Breakdown" during his adolescence, at which point he began a long period of experimentation to develop a personal style. A later musical influence were
Miles Davis'
electric-period recordings, particularly the Japanese LPs
Agharta (1975) and
Dark Magus (1977), which he was able to obtain as imports. Tom's family sent Verlaine and his twin brother John to
Sanford Preparatory School, a private boarding school in
Hockessin, Delaware. While John excelled in athletics and graduated in 1967, Tom leaned toward writing and poetry. At Sanford, Tom became friends with future bandmate and punk icon
Richard Hell (Richard Meyers). They quickly discovered that they shared a passion for music and poetry. Neither Verlaine nor Hell graduated from Sanford and they later moved to New York City. In New York City, Miller created his stage name, a reference to the French symbolist poet
Paul Verlaine. Regarding the name change, rather than the poet being a source of inspiration, Verlaine said, "I just like the sound of the name”. He and Hell formed
the Neon Boys, recruiting drummer
Billy Ficca. The Neon Boys quickly disbanded after failing to recruit a second guitarist, despite auditions by
Dee Dee Ramone and
Chris Stein. They reformed as
Television a few months later, On January 9, 2026, the New York Times announced that Verlaine's archive of lyric drafts, unpublished poetry, notebooks, studio and rehearsal tapes were acquired by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. ==Death==