Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe & Death of Salesman

                                                              Arthur Miller ( 1915 - 2005 )

 



         " The theater is so endlessly fascinating because it's so accidental. It's so much like life."

     Arthur Miller was born in Harlem, New York on 1915 and were raised to middle class Jewish parents. His father, a clothing manufacturer experienced failure in his work. So they had to move from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

    

      He attended University of Michigan where he had started writing plays and won several prizes in drama. His plays include ' The Man Who Had the Luck' (1944), 'All My Sons' ( 1947), 'Death of a Salesman' ( 1949), ' The Crucible' ( 1953), ' A View From the Bridge' and ' A Memory of Two Mondays' (1955), 'After The Fall' (1964), 'Incident at Vichy' (1964), 'The Price' ( 1968), ' The Creation of The World and Other Business' (1972), 'The Archibishop's Ceiling'  (1977), 'The American Clock' ( 1980).

 

      Later, he wrote the plays, ' The Ride Down Mt. Morgan' (1991), 'The Last Yankee' (1993), 'Broken Glass' (1994), ' Mr Peters Connections' (1998), 'Resurrection Blues' (2002) and 'Finishing The Picture' (2004).

 

       He had his first Broadway production, ' The Man Who Had the Luck' although it closed for only a few performances. His second play on Broadway 'All My Sons' however was both critical and commercial success. However, his next and most successful play of him, 'Death of a Salesman' had launched his career and deserved several awards such as Pulitzer Prize, New York Drama Critic's Circle Award and even Tony Award.

 

     His private life such his marriage had been under people's microscopes. He was married to Mary Slattery but had divorced in 1956. Shortly after that, he was married to one of the famous actress, Marilyn Monroe. However, sadly they are divorced in 1961. Within several months, Miller was married Inpe Morath, the Austrian born photographer.

 

       He died on February 10, 2005 due to heart failure. He was 89 years old. Arthur Miller was one true unique American playwright whose biting criticism of societal problems. As for me he remained as one talented playwright especially, Death of a Salesman.     

 

         " A playwright lives in an occupied country. And if you can't live that way you don't stay."