Arthur Miller, Master Playwright, Dies at 89
(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)
Arthur Miller, the esteemed playwright whose works for the theater include Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, died last night of congestive heart failure at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 89.
Born in Harlem in 1915, Miller is also well-known for his tempestuous personal life, which included a brief marriage to screen siren Marilyn Monroe and his refusal to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. Miller’s first play to reach Broadway was The Man Who Had All the Luck, in 1944. It ran only four performances, but his next endeavor — All My Sons, in 1947 — ran 328 performances. His third Broadway outing, Death of a Salesman in 1949, ran 742 performances, received the Tony Award for Best Play, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and has become an acknowledged classic of American drama.
His other Broadway plays include 1953’s The Crucible (Tony Award), A View From the Bridge, and A Memory of Two Mondays (originally presented as an evening of one acts in 1955); After the Fall and Incident at Vichy (1964); The Price (1968); The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972); The American Clock (1980); Broken Glass (1994); and The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (2000). All of Miller’s major works have been revived on Broadway at least once, including After the Fall earlier this season. His most recent play, Finishing the Picture, premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 2004.
Miller’s writings also include novels (Focus, 1945) and occasional screenplays (The Misfits, 1961). His autobiography, Timebends: A Life, was published in 1987. For many years, Miller was married to photographer Inge Morath, who died in 2002. He is survived by his girlfriend, painter Agnes Barley; his daughters Rebecca and Jane; his son, Robert; his sister, actress Joan Copeland; and his grandchildren. According to the League of American Theatres and Producers, the lights of all Broadway marquees will be dimmed tonight at 8pm for one minute in tribute to Miller.
