Arthur Miller
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Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1949), ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
'' (1953), and '' A View from the Bridge'' (1955). He wrote several screenplays, including '' The Misfits'' (1961). The drama ''Death of a Salesman'' is considered one of the best American plays of the 20th century. Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. During this time, he received a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and married
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
. In 1980, he received the St. Louis Literary Award from the
Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...
Library Associates. He received the Praemium Imperiale prize in 2001, the Prince of Asturias Award in 2002, and the
Jerusalem Prize The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Forum (previously kn ...
in 2003, and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 1999.


Early life and education

Miller was born in the
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
area of Manhattan Island, the second of three children of Augusta (Barnett) and Isidore Miller. He was born into a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family of Polish-Jewish descent. His father was born in Radomyśl Wielki, Galicia (then part of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, now Poland), and his mother was a native of New York whose parents also arrived from that town. Isidore owned a women's clothing manufacturing business employing 400 people. He became a well respected man in the community. The family, including Miller's younger sister Joan Copeland, lived on West 110th Street in Manhattan, owned a summer house in Far Rockaway, Queens, and employed a chauffeur. In the Wall Street crash of 1929, the family lost almost everything and moved to Gravesend, Brooklyn.The Times Arthur Miller Obituary, (London: The Times, 2005) According to Peter Applebome, they moved to Midwood. As a teenager, Miller delivered bread every morning before school to help the family. Miller later published an account of his early years under the title "A Boy Grew in Brooklyn". After graduating in 1932 from Abraham Lincoln High School, he worked at several menial jobs to pay for his college tuition at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
. After graduation (), he worked as a psychiatric aide and copywriter before accepting faculty posts at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and
University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...
. On May 1, 1935, he joined the League of American Writers (1935–1943), whose members included Alexander Trachtenberg of International Publishers, Franklin Folsom, Louis Untermeyer, I. F. Stone, Myra Page, Millen Brand,
Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, Prose, prose writer, Memoir, memoirist, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway as well as her communist views and political activism. She was black ...
and Dashiell Hammett. Members were largely either Communist Party members or fellow travelers. At the University of Michigan, Miller first majored in
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
and wrote for the student newspaper, ''
The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...
'', and the satirical '' Gargoyle Humor Magazine''. It was during this time that he wrote his first play, '' No Villain''. He switched his major to English, and subsequently won the Avery Hopwood Award for ''No Villain.'' The award led him to consider that he could have a career as a playwright. He enrolled in a playwriting seminar with the influential Professor Kenneth Rowe, who emphasized how a play was built to achieve its intended effect, or what Miller called "the dynamics of play construction". Rowe gave Miller realistic feedback and much-needed encouragement, and became a lifelong friend. Miller retained strong ties to his alma mater through the rest of his life, establishing the university's Arthur Miller Award in 1985 and the Arthur Miller Award for Dramatic Writing in 1999, and lending his name to the Arthur Miller Theatre in 2000. In 1937, Miller wrote '' Honors at Dawn,'' which also received the Avery Hopwood Award. After his graduation in 1938, he joined the Federal Theatre Project, a
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
agency established to provide jobs in the theater. He chose the theater project despite the more lucrative offer to work as a scriptwriter for
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
. However,
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, worried about possible Communist infiltration, closed the project in 1939. Miller began working in the
Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...
while continuing to write radio plays, some of which were broadcast on CBS.


Career


1940–1949: Early career

In 1940, Miller married Mary Grace Slattery. The couple had two children, Jane (born September 7, 1944) and Robert (May 31, 1947 – March 6, 2022). Miller was exempted from military service during World War II because of a high school
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
injury to his left kneecap. In 1944 Miller's first play was produced: '' The Man Who Had All the Luck'' won the Theatre Guild's National Award. The play closed after four performances with disastrous reviews. In 1947, Miller's play '' All My Sons'', the writing of which had commenced in 1941, was a success on Broadway (earning him his first
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
, for Best Author) and his reputation as a playwright was established. Years later, in a 1994 interview with Ron Rifkin, Miller said that most contemporary critics regarded ''All My Sons'' as "a very depressing play in a time of great optimism" and that positive reviews from
Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' had saved it from failure. In 1948, Miller built a small studio in Roxbury, Connecticut. There, in less than a day, he wrote Act I of '' Death of a Salesman''. Within six weeks, he completed the rest of the play, one of the classics of world theater. ''Death of a Salesman'' premiered on Broadway on February 10, 1949, at the Morosco Theatre, directed by
Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...
, and starring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman, Mildred Dunnock as Linda, Arthur Kennedy as Biff, and Cameron Mitchell as Happy. The play was commercially successful and critically acclaimed, winning a Tony Award for Best Author, the New York Drama Circle Critics' Award, and the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
for Drama. It was the first play to win all three of these major awards. The play was performed 742 times. In 1949, Miller exchanged letters with
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...
regarding Miller's production of ''All My Sons''. O'Neill had sent Miller a congratulatory telegram; in response, he wrote a letter that consisted of a few paragraphs detailing his gratitude for the telegram, apologizing for not responding earlier, and inviting Eugene to the opening of ''Death of a Salesman''. O'Neill replied, accepting the apology, but declining the invitation, explaining that his
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
made it difficult to travel. He ended the letter with an invitation to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, a trip that never occurred.


1950–1963: Critical years and HUAC controversy

In 1952,
Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...
appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Kazan named eight members of the Group Theatre, including Clifford Odets, Paula Strasberg,
Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, Prose, prose writer, Memoir, memoirist, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway as well as her communist views and political activism. She was black ...
, J. Edward Bromberg, and John Garfield, who in recent years had been fellow members of the Communist Party. Miller and Kazan were close friends throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, but after Kazan's testimony to the HUAC, the pair's friendship ended. After speaking with Kazan about his testimony, Miller traveled to
Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...
, to research the witch trials of 1692. He and Kazan did not speak to each other for the next ten years. Kazan later defended his own actions through his film ''
On the Waterfront ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning and Eva Marie Saint in her film de ...
'', in which a dockworker heroically testifies against a corrupt union boss. Miller would retaliate against Kazan's work by writing '' A View from the Bridge'', a play where a longshoreman outs his co-workers motivated only by jealousy and greed. He sent a copy of the initial script to Kazan and when the director asked in jest to direct the movie, Miller replied "I only sent you the script to let you know what I think of stool-pigeons." In ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
'', which was first performed at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway on January 22, 1953, Miller likened the situation with the House Un-American Activities Committee to the witch hunt in Salem in 1692. Though widely considered only somewhat successful at the time of its release, ''The Crucible'' is Miller's most frequently produced work throughout the world. It was adapted into an opera by Robert Ward in 1961. Earlier in 1955, a one-act version of Miller's verse drama, titled '' A View from the Bridge'', opened on Broadway in a joint bill with one of Miller's lesser-known plays, '' A Memory of Two Mondays''. The following year, Miller revised ''A View from the Bridge'' as a two-act
prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...
drama, which Peter Brook directed in London. A French-Italian co-production '' Vu du pont'', based on the play, was released in 1962. The HUAC took an interest in Miller himself not long after ''The Crucible'' opened, engineering the US State Department's denying him a passport to attend the play's London opening in 1954. When Miller applied in 1956 for a routine renewal of his
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...
, the House Un-American Activities Committee used this opportunity to
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
him to appear before the committee. Before appearing, Miller asked the committee not to ask him to name names, to which the chairman, Francis E. Walter (D-PA) agreed. When Miller attended the hearing, to which Monroe accompanied him, risking her own career, he gave the committee a detailed account of his political activities. Reneging on the chairman's promise, the committee demanded the names of friends and colleagues who had participated in similar activities. Miller refused to comply, saying "I could not use the name of another person and bring trouble on him." As a result, a judge found Miller guilty of contempt of Congress in May 1957. Miller was sentenced to a fine and a prison sentence, blacklisted from Hollywood, and disallowed a US passport. In August 1958, his conviction was overturned by the court of appeals, which ruled that Miller had been misled by the chairman of the HUAC. Miller's experience with the HUAC affected him throughout his life. In the late 1970s, he joined other celebrities (including William Styron and Mike Nichols) who were brought together by the journalist Joan Barthel. Barthel's coverage of the highly publicized Barbara Gibbons murder case helped raise bail for Gibbons' son Peter Reilly, who had been convicted of his mother's murder based on what many felt was a coerced confession and little other evidence. Barthel documented the case in her book ''A Death in Canaan'', which was made as a television film of the same name and broadcast in 1978. '' City Confidential'', an A&E Network series, produced an episode about the murder, postulating that part of the reason Miller took such an active interest (including supporting Reilly's defense and using his own celebrity to bring attention to Reilly's plight) was because he had felt similarly persecuted in his run-ins with the HUAC. He sympathized with Reilly, whom he firmly believed to be innocent and to have been railroaded by the Connecticut State Police and the Attorney General who had initially prosecuted the case. Miller began work on writing the screenplay for '' The Misfits'' in 1960, directed by John Huston and starring Monroe. It was during the filming that Miller's and Monroe's relationship hit difficulties, and he later said that the filming was one of the lowest points in his life. Monroe was taking drugs to help her sleep and other drugs to help her wake up, arriving on the set late, and having trouble remembering her lines. Huston was unaware that Miller and Monroe were having problems in their private life. He recalled later, "I was impertinent enough to say to Arthur that to allow her to take drugs of any kind was criminal and utterly irresponsible. Shortly after that I realized that she wouldn't listen to Arthur at all; he had no say over her actions." Shortly before the film's premiere in 1961, Miller and Monroe divorced after five years of marriage. Nineteen months later, on August 5, 1962, Monroe died of a likely drug overdose. Huston, who had also directed her in her first major role in '' The Asphalt Jungle'' in 1950, and who had seen her rise to stardom, put the blame for her death on her doctors as opposed to the stresses of being a star: "The girl was an addict of sleeping pills and she was made so by the God-damn doctors. It had nothing to do with the Hollywood set-up."


1964–2004: Later career

In 1964, '' After the Fall'' was produced, and is said to be a deeply personal view of Miller's experiences during his marriage to Monroe. It reunited Miller with his former friend Kazan; they collaborated on the script and direction. It opened on January 23, 1964, at the ANTA Theatre in Washington Square Park amid a flurry of publicity and outrage at putting a Monroe-like character, Maggie, on stage. Robert Brustein, in a review in the '' New Republic'', called ''After the Fall'' "a three and one half hour breach of taste, a confessional autobiography of embarrassing explicitness ... There is a misogynistic strain in the play which the author does not seem to recognize. ... He has created a shameless piece of tabloid gossip, an act of exhibitionism which makes us all voyeurs ... a wretched piece of dramatic writing." That year, Miller produced '' Incident at Vichy''. In 1965, he was elected the first American president of
PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...
, a position which he held for four years. A year later, he organized the 1966 PEN congress in New York City. He also wrote the penetrating family drama '' The Price'', produced in 1968. It was his most successful play since ''Death of a Salesman''. In 1968, Miller attended the Democratic National Convention as a delegate for Eugene McCarthy. In 1969, Miller's works were banned in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
after he campaigned for the freedom of dissident writers. Throughout the 1970s, he spent much of his time experimenting with the theatre, producing one-act plays such as ''Fame'' and ''The Reason Why'', and traveling with his wife, producing ''In the Country'' and ''Chinese Encounters'' with her. Both his 1972 comedy '' The Creation of the World and Other Business'' and its musical adaptation, '' Up from Paradise'', were critical and commercial failures. Miller was an unusually articulate commentator on his own work. In 1978, he published a collection of his ''Theater Essays'', edited by Robert A. Martin and with a foreword by Miller. Highlights of the collection included Miller's introduction to his ''Collected Plays'', his reflections on the theory of tragedy, comments on the McCarthy Era, and pieces arguing for a publicly supported theater. Reviewing this collection in the ''Chicago Tribune,'' Studs Terkel remarked, "In reading he ''Theater Essays''nbsp;... you are exhilaratingly aware of a social critic, as well as a playwright, who knows what he's talking about." In 1983, Miller traveled to China to produce and direct ''Death of a Salesman'' at the People's Art Theatre in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. It was a success in China and in 1984, ''Salesman in Beijing'', a book about Miller's experiences in Beijing, was published. Around the same time, ''Death of a Salesman'' was adapted into a television film starring Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman. The film was broadcast on CBS, and garnered an audience viewership of 25 million. In late 1987, Miller's autobiographical work, ''Timebends'', was published. Before it was published, it was well known that Miller would not talk about Monroe in interviews; however, in the book, he wrote extensively in detail about his experiences with Monroe. During the early 1990s, Miller wrote three new plays: '' The Ride Down Mt. Morgan'' (1991), '' The Last Yankee'' (1992), and '' Broken Glass'' (1994). In 1996, a film adaptation of ''The Crucible'' starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Scofield, Bruce Davison and
Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...
was released. Miller spent much of 1996 working on the screenplay. '' Mr. Peters' Connections'' was staged
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
in 1998, and ''Death of a Salesman'' was revived on Broadway in 1999 to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The 1999 revival ran for 274 performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, starring Brian Dennehy as Willy Loman. Once again, it was a large critical success, winning a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. In 1993, Miller received the
National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...
. He was honored with the PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award for a Master American Dramatist in 1998. In 2001, the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
selected him for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
. His lecture, "On Politics and the Art of Acting", analyzed political events (including the U.S. presidential election of 2000) in terms of the "arts of performance". It drew attacks from some conservatives such as Jay Nordlinger, who called it "a disgrace"; and George Will, who argued that Miller was not a legitimate "scholar". In October 1999, Miller received The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, given annually to "a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind's enjoyment and understanding of life". Additionally in 1999,
San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
honored Miller with the John Steinbeck "In the Souls of the People" Award, which is given to those who capture "Steinbeck's empathy, commitment to democratic values, and belief in the dignity of people who by circumstance are pushed to the fringes." In 2001, he received the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. On May 1, 2002, he received Spain's Principe de Asturias Prize for Literature as "the undisputed master of modern drama". Later that year, Ingeborg Morath died of lymphatic cancer at the age of 78. The following year, Miller won the
Jerusalem Prize The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Forum (previously kn ...
. In December 2004, 89-year-old Miller announced that he had been in love with 34-year-old minimalist painter Agnes Barley and had been living with her at his Connecticut farm since 2002, and that they intended to marry. Miller's final play, '' Finishing the Picture'', opened at the
Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the ...
, Chicago, in the fall of 2004, with one character said to be based on Barley. It was reportedly based on his experience during the filming of ''The Misfits'', though Miller insisted the play was a work of fiction with independent characters that were no more than composite shadows of history.


Personal life


Marriages and family

In June 1956, Miller left his first wife, Mary Slattery, whom he had married in 1940, and wed film star
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
. They met in 1951, had a brief affair, and remained in contact. Monroe had just turned 30 when they married; she never had a real family of her own and was eager to join the family of her new husband.Meyers, Jeffrey. ''The Genius and the Goddess: Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe.'' University of Illinois Press (2010) Monroe began to reconsider her career and the fact that trying to manage it made her feel helpless. She admitted to Miller, "I hate Hollywood. I don't want it any more. I want to live quietly in the country and just be there when you need me. I can't fight for myself any more." Monroe
converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...
to "express her loyalty and get close to both Miller and his parents", writes biographer Jeffrey Meyers. Soon after Monroe converted,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
banned all of her movies. Away from Hollywood and the culture of celebrity, Monroe's life became more normal; she began cooking, keeping house, and giving Miller more attention and affection than he had been used to. Later that year, Miller was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee, and Monroe accompanied him.Çakırtaş, Önder
"Double Portrayed: Tituba, Racism and Politics"
''International Journal of Language Academy''. Volume 1/1 Winter 2013, pp. 13–22.
In her personal notes, she wrote about her worries during this period: During the filming of the 1961 film ''The Misfits'', which Miller wrote the script for, Miller and Monroe's marriage dissolved. Monroe obtained a Mexican divorce from Miller in January 1961. In February 1962, Miller married photographer Inge Morath, who had worked as a photographer documenting the production of ''The Misfits''. The first of their two children,
Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...
, was born September 15, 1962. Their son Daniel was born with Down syndrome in November 1966. Against his wife's wishes, Miller had him institutionalized, first at a home for infants in New York City, then at the Southbury Training School in Connecticut. Though Morath visited Daniel often, Miller never visited him at the school and rarely spoke of him; Daniel left Southbury at the age of 17 and gradually went from living in a group home to living in an apartment with occasional visits by a social worker. Miller and Inge remained together until her death in 2002. Miller's son-in-law, actor Daniel Day-Lewis, is said to have visited Daniel frequently and to have persuaded Miller to meet with him. At one point, Miller answered a question about his son by stating, "Well, he knows I’m a person, and he knows my name, but he doesn’t understand what it means to be a son.” When Inge died, Miller stated that they had only had one child together; Daniel did not attend her funeral. When Miller died, Daniel was named as an heir along with his three other children.


Death

Miller died on the evening of February 10, 2005 (the 56th anniversary of the Broadway debut of ''Death of a Salesman'') at age 89 of bladder cancer and
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
, at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He had been in hospice care at his sister's apartment in New York since his release from hospital the previous month. He was surrounded by his companion (the painter Agnes Barley), family, and friends. His body was interred at Roxbury Center Cemetery in Roxbury. Within hours of her father's death, Rebecca Miller, who had been consistently opposed to the relationship with Barley, ordered her to vacate the home she shared with Arthur.


Legacy

Miller's writing career spanned over seven decades, and at the time of his death, he was considered one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists. After his death, many respected actors, directors, and producers paid tribute to him, some calling him the last great practitioner of the American stage, and Broadway theatres darkened their lights in a show of respect. Miller's alma mater, the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, opened the Arthur Miller Theatre in March 2007. Per his express wish, it is the only theater in the world that bears his name. Miller's letters, notes, drafts and other papers are housed at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Miller is also a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1979. In 1993, he received the Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Speech. In 2017, his daughter, Rebecca Miller, a writer and filmmaker, completed a documentary about her father's life, '' Arthur Miller: Writer''. Minor planet 3769 Arthurmiller is named after him. In the 2022
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
film '' Blonde'', Miller was portrayed by Adrien Brody.


Foundation

The Arthur Miller Foundation was founded to honor the legacy of Miller and the New York City Public School education. Its mission is "Promoting increased access and equity to theater arts education in our schools and increasing the number of students receiving theater arts education as an integral part of their academic curriculum." Its other initiatives include certification of new theater teachers and their placement in public schools, increasing the number of theater teachers in the system from the current estimate of 180 teachers in 1800 schools, supporting professional development of all certified theater teachers, and providing teaching artists, cultural partners, physical spaces, and theater ticket allocations for students. The foundation's primary purpose is to provide arts education in the New York City school system. Its current chancellor is Carmen Farina, a prominent proponent of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. The Master Arts Council includes
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
, Ellen Barkin, Bradley Cooper, Dustin Hoffman,
Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...
,
Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''Angels in America'', which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, as well as its subsequent acclaime ...
,
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...
,
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...
, Liam Neeson, David O. Russell, and Liev Schreiber. Miller's son-in-law, Daniel Day-Lewis, has served on the current board of directors since 2016. The foundation celebrated Miller's 100th birthday with a one-night performance of his seminal works in November 2015. The Arthur Miller Foundation currently supports a pilot program in theater and film at the public school Quest to Learn, in partnership with the Institute of Play. The model is being used as an in-school elective theater class and lab. Its objective is to create a sustainable theater education model to disseminate to teachers at professional development workshops.


Archive

Miller donated thirteen boxes of his earliest manuscripts to the Harry Ransom Center at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
in 1961 and 1962. This collection included the original handwritten notebooks and early typed drafts for ''Death of a Salesman'', ''The Crucible'', ''All My Sons'', and other works. In January 2018, the Ransom Center announced the acquisition of the remainder of the Miller archive, totaling over 200 boxes. The full archive opened in November 2019.


Literary and public criticism

Christopher Bigsby Christopher William Edgar Bigsby FRSA FRSL, (born 27 June 1941) is a British literary analyst and novelist, with more than sixty books to his credit. Earlier in his writing career, his books were published under the name C. W. E. Bigsby. He ha ...
wrote ''Arthur Miller: The Definitive Biography'' based on boxes of papers Miller made available to him before his death in 2005. The book was published in November 2008, and is reported to reveal unpublished works in which Miller "bitterly attack dthe injustices of American racism long before it was taken up by the civil rights movement". In his book ''Trinity of Passion'', author Alan M. Wald conjectures that Miller was "a member of a writer's unit of the Communist Party around 1946", using the pseudonym Matt Wayne, and editing a drama column in the magazine '' The New Masses''. In 1999, the writer
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
attacked Miller for comparing the Monica Lewinsky investigation to the Salem witch hunt. Miller had asserted a parallel between the examination of physical evidence on Lewinsky's dress and the examinations of women's bodies for signs of the "Devil's Marks" in Salem. Hitchens scathingly disputed the parallel. In his memoir, '' Hitch-22'', Hitchens bitterly noted that Miller, despite his prominence as a left-wing intellectual, had failed to support author
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
during the Iranian fatwa involving '' The Satanic Verses''.


Works


Stage plays

* '' No Villain'' (1936) * '' They Too Arise'' (1937, based on ''No Villain'') * '' Honors at Dawn'' (1938, based on ''They Too Arise'') * ''The Grass Still Grows'' (1938, based on ''They Too Arise'') * ''The Great Disobedience'' (1938) * ''Listen My Children'' (1939, with Norman Rosten) * ''The Golden Years'' (1940) * ''The Half-Bridge'' (1943) * '' The Man Who Had All the Luck'' (1944) * '' All My Sons'' (1947) * '' Death of a Salesman'' (1949) * ''An Enemy of the People'' (1950, adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play '' An Enemy of the People'') * ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
'' (1953) * '' A View from the Bridge'' (1955) * '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' (1955) * '' After the Fall'' (1964) * '' Incident at Vichy'' (1964) * '' The Price'' (1968) * ''The Reason Why'' (1970) * ''Fame'' (one-act, 1970; revised for television 1978) * '' The Creation of the World and Other Business'' (1972) * '' Up from Paradise'' (1974) * '' The Archbishop's Ceiling'' (1977) * '' The American Clock'' (1980) * '' Playing for Time'' (television play, 1980) * '' Elegy for a Lady'' (short play, 1982, first part of ''Two Way Mirror'') * '' Some Kind of Love Story'' (short play, 1982, second part of ''Two Way Mirror'') * ''I Think About You a Great Deal'' (1986) * ''Playing for Time'' (stage version, 1985) * ''I Can't Remember Anything'' (1987, collected in ''Danger: Memory!'') * ''Clara'' (1987, collected in ''Danger: Memory!'') * '' The Ride Down Mt. Morgan'' (1991) * '' The Last Yankee'' (1993) * '' Broken Glass'' (1994) * '' Mr. Peters' Connections'' (1998) * '' Resurrection Blues'' (2002) * '' Finishing the Picture'' (2004)


Radio plays

* ''The Pussycat and the Expert Plumber Who Was a Man'' (1940) * ''Joel Chandler Harris'' (1941) * ''The Battle of the Ovens'' (1942) * ''Thunder from the Mountains'' (1942) * ''I Was Married in Bataan'' (1942) * ''That They May Win'' (1943) * ''Listen for the Sound of Wings'' (1943) * ''Bernardine'' (1944) * ''I Love You'' (1944) * ''Grandpa and the Statue'' (1944) * ''The Philippines Never Surrendered'' (1944) * '' The Guardsman'' (1944, based on Ferenc Molnár's play) * ''The Story of Gus'' (1947)


Screenplays

* '' The Hook'' (1947) * '' All My Sons'' (1948) * '' Let's Make Love'' (1960) * '' The Misfits'' (1961) * '' Death of a Salesman'' (1985) * '' Everybody Wins'' (1990) * ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
'' (1996)


Assorted fiction

* '' Focus'' (novel, 1945) * "The Misfits" (short story, published in ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'', October 1957) * ''I Don't Need You Anymore'' (short stories, 1967) * '' Homely Girl: A Life ''(short story, 1992, published in UK as "Plain Girl: A Life" 1995) * ''Presence: Stories'' (2007) (short stories include "The Bare Manuscript", "Beavers", "The Performance", and "Bulldog")


Non-fiction

* ''Situation Normal'' (1944) is based on his experiences researching the war correspondence of
Ernie Pyle Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945) was an American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II. Pyle is also notable for the Columnist#Newspaper and ...
. * ''In Russia'' (1969), the first of three books created with his photographer wife Inge Morath, offers Miller's impressions of Russia and Russian society. * ''In the Country'' (1977), with photographs by Morath and text by Miller, provides insight into how Miller spent his time in Roxbury, Connecticut, and profiles of his various neighbors. * ''Chinese Encounters'' (1979) is a travel journal with photographs by Morath. It depicts the Chinese society in the state of flux which followed the end of the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
. Miller discusses the hardships of many writers, professors, and artists during
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
's regime. * ''Salesman in Beijing'' (1984) details Miller's experiences with the 1983 Beijing People's Theatre production of ''Death of a Salesman''. He describes directing a Chinese cast in an American play. * ''Timebends: A Life'', Methuen London (1987) . Miller's autobiography. * ''On Politics and the Art of Acting'', Viking 2001 an 85-page essay about the thespian skills in American politics, comparing FDR, JFK, Reagan, Clinton.


Collections

* Abbotson, Susan C. W. (ed.), ''Arthur Miller: Collected Essays'', Penguin 2016 * Kushner, Tony, ed. ''Arthur Miller, Collected Plays 1944–1961'' ( Library of America, 2006) . * Martin, Robert A. (ed.), "The theater essays of Arthur Miller", foreword by Arthur Miller. NY: Viking Press, 1978


References


Bibliography

* Bigsby, Christopher (ed.), ''The Cambridge Companion to Arthur Miller'', Cambridge 1997 * Gottfried, Martin, ''Arthur Miller, A Life'', Da Capo Press (US)/Faber and Faber (UK), 2003 * Koorey, Stefani, ''Arthur Miller's Life and Literature'', Scarecrow, 2000 * Moss, Leonard. ''Arthur Miller'', Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.


Further reading

* ''Critical Companion to Arthur Miller'', Susan Greenwood (2007) * ''Student Companion to Arthur Miller'', Susan C. W. Abbotson, Facts on File (2000) * ''File on Miller'', Christopher Bigsby (1988) * ''Arthur Miller & Company'', Christopher Bigsby, editor (1990) * ''Arthur Miller: A Critical Study'', Christopher Bigsby (2005) * ''Remembering Arthur Miller'', Christopher Bigsby, editor (2005) * ''Arthur Miller 1915–1962'', Christopher Bigsby (2008, U.K.; 2009, U.S.) * ''The Cambridge Companion to Arthur Miller (Cambridge Companions to Literature)'', Christopher Bigsby, editor (1998, updated and republished 2010) * ''Arthur Miller 1962–2005'', Christopher Bigsby (2011) * * ''Arthur Miller: Critical Insights'', Brenda Murphy, editor, Salem (2011) * ''Understanding Death of a Salesman'', Brenda Murphy and Susan C. W. Abbotson, Greenwood (1999) * Critical articles * ''Arthur Miller Journal'', published biannually by Penn State UP. Vol. 1.1 (2006) * Radavich, David. "Arthur Miller's Sojourn in the Heartland". ''American Drama'' 16:2 (Summer 2007): 28–45.


External links

Organizations
Arthur Miller official website

Arthur Miller Society

The Arthur Miller Foundation
Archive
Arthur Miller Papers
at the Harry Ransom Center
"Playwright Arthur Miller's archive comes to the Harry Ransom Center"

Finding aid to Arthur Miller papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Databases * * * Websites * *
A Visit With Castro
– Miller's article in ''The Nation'', January 12, 2004 *
Joyce Carol Oates on Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller BiographyArthur Miller and Mccarthyism
Interviews * *

''Humanities'', March–April 2001 Obituaries


NPR obituary

CNN obituary
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