Arthur Asher Miller was one of the most prominent American playwrights in the twentieth century, and is often referred to as a “genius of modern drama” (“Arthur Miller”). Born on October 17, 1915, in Manhattan, New York, to Isidore Miller, a coat-manufacturer, and Augusta Miller, a schoolteacher, Miller’s childhood was surrounded by the effects and poverty brought along by the Great Depression as his dad lost almost everything (“Arthur Miller: Biography”).
Regardless of the challenges brought on by the Great Depression, Miller had an active childhood, attending school and playing several sports, including baseball and football. He loved to read adventure stories, and had several jobs, working with his dad, for a bakery, and at a warehouse (Bradford). After having graduated from the Abraham Lincoln High School in 1932, and having saved enough money to pay for his college tuition, Miller left New York to study journalism at the University of Michigan. It was there Miller wrote his first play, No Villain, after having entered a drama competition, for which he later received an award from the University (Bradford).
After graduating in 1938, Miller joined the Federal Theater Project, established as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Following its shutdown in 1939, Miller worked as a freelance writer, writing plays for the radio (“Arthur Miller: Biography”). Not having to serve in World War II due to an old Football injury, Miller wrote his first Broadway-bound play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, in 1944, which was pulled from Broadway just after four days due to horrible reviews (Bradford).
However, three years later, Miller had his first success on Broadway with his critically acclaimed drama All My Sons. This time, Miller’s play ran for 328 performances and earned him the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award as the best play of 1947. In 1949, Miller’s most famous play, Death of a Salesman, debuted on Broadway, running for an astounding 742 performances (“Arthur Miller: Biography”). Winning both the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman, Miller quickly earned international recognition (Bradford).
In 1953, Miller published his most controversial play, The Crucible, in which he used the Salem witch trials as an analogy for McCarthy’s anti-communism hearings in the 1950s (“Arthur Miller”). Miller later found himself in front of the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), where he was found guilty and added to the Hollywood blacklist.
By the 1950s, Miller had become one of the most famous playwrights in the world, partially because of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe in 1956, which brought him into the limelight. Miller divorced Monroe in 1961, one year before her death, and shortly after married Inge Morath, with whom he had two children (Bradford).
Throughout his writing career Miller went on to write dozens of more plays, including A View from the Bridge (1955), After the Fall (1964), Broken Glass (1994), Resurrection Blues (2002), and Finishing the Picture (2004). During his later years, Miller predominantly spent his time working on his autobiography and the film adaptions of Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, which earned him an Academy Award nomination (Bradford). In 2005, on February 10, Miller passed away at the age of 89 (“Arthur Miller: Biography”).
Works Cited
"Arthur Miller: Biography." Spartacus Educational. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmillerA.htm>.
Arthur Miller. Digital image. Famous People Info. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.famouspeopleinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Arthur_Miller-834x1024.jpg>.
"Arthur Miller." The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=3762>.
Bradford, Wade. "Arthur Miller - Biography of an American Playwright." About.com: Plays & Drama. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://plays.about.com/od/playwrights/p/arthurmiller.htm>.
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