} Gilbert Heron Miller (July 3, 1884 – January 3, 1969) was an American

theatrical producer Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he was the son of English-born theatrical producer

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

and Bijou Heron, a former child actress. Raised and educated in Europe, he returned home to follow in his father's footsteps and became a highly successful Broadway producer. Miller served as director of the League of New York Theatres as well as an officer of the Actors Fund. He brought the successful German-language play ''By Candlelight'' to New York in 1929 with a translation by

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

. He also managed the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Nominated three times, Gilbert Miller won the

Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, an Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non-musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...

in 1950 for his production of '' The Cocktail Party''. In 1965, he was given a Special Tony Award "for having produced 88 plays and musicals and for his perseverance which has helped to keep New York and theatre alive." Gilbert Miller died in 1969 and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

Private life

Miller's first wife was Jessie F. Glendinning, whom he divorced. She was an actress and the daughter of the actor John Glendinning, and the sister of Ernest Glendinning. They had one daughter, Dorothy. His second wife was Mary Margaret Allen; they divorced. His third wife was Kathryn (Kitty) Bache (1896–1979), a daughter of the

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

financier

Jules Bache Jules Semon Bache (November 9, 1861 – March 24, 1944) was an American banker, art collector and philanthropist. Early life Jules Bache was born into a Jewish family in New York City. His father, Semon Bache é Bach emigrated to the Unit ...

, a supporter of American theatre who in 1941 helped found the New York branch of the Escholier Club. They married in 1927 in Paris, France. Columbia University's Kathryn Bache Miller Theatre was named in her honor.

References

External links

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Gilbert Miller portrait probably in 1930s or 40s but certainly not 1910 as listed. The suit is not a 1910 era suit
(Univ. of Washington/Sayre Collection)
THE SWAN touring company 1924 Detroit; Gilbert Miller stands 6th from right in rear, under the A in Opera on building
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Gilbert 1884 births 1969 deaths American entertainment industry businesspeople American theatre managers and producers Businesspeople from New York City American people of English descent Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 20th-century American businesspeople Special Tony Award recipients Tony Award winners