Topic > Life and works of Arthur Miller

Arthur MillerArthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York. He grew up in a wealthy family until his family sadly lost everything in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. They eventually had to fire their chauffeur and moved from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Gravesend, Brooklyn. After graduating from high school he worked several jobs to raise enough money to attend college. Once he finally raised enough money, he attended college at the University of Michigan. While Miller was in college, he wrote for the student newspaper and completed his first play, No Villain. He also took lessons with a well-known playwright, Professor Kenneth Rowe. Rowe taught all of his students how to construct a play to get what they want. Inspired by Rowe, Miller returned East to begin his career as a playwright. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Miller's career got off to a bit of a rocky start. His 1940 play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, closed after just four performances and a series of negative reviews. Six years later, All My Sons achieved great success on Broadway. This particular play earned him his first Tony Award. In 1956, Miller left his first wife Mary Slattery and married Marilyn Monroe shortly thereafter. That same year, the House Committee on Un-American Activities refused to renew his passport. He was called to appear before the commission. His play, The Crucible, was the main reason for their strong convocation. In 1961, Marilyn Monroe starred in The Misfits, a film for which Miller wrote the screenplay. Monroe and Miller divorced around the same time. Within a couple of months, Miller married Inge Morath, an Australian-born photographer. Miller and Inge had two children named Rebecca and Daniel. Miller insisted that his son Daniel, born with Down syndrome, be completely separated from his family and personal life. Miller's son-in-law, Daniel Day-Lewis, often visited his wife's brother and eventually convinced Miller to reunite with his son. After writing four plays and a screenplay, Miller received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Prince of Austria Prize, and the Jerusalem Prize. Arthur Miller, playwright, essayist and leading figure of 20th-century American theatre, died on February 10, 2005 in Roxbury, Connecticut..