He was the social conscience of modern theatre. His plays illuminated problems of the culture that surrounded him. He delved into the psyche of a nation obsessed with the American Dream. He revealed the darkness underneath the surface of success. He defiantly stood up to McCarthyism and had a rocky, tumultuous relationship with an international sex symbol. And Thursday night, playwright Arthur Miller slipped soundlessly into the beyond, surrounded by friends and family.
He once famously claimed to have “never read a book weightier than Tom Swift” until after he graduated high school. Although admitted to University of Michigan, he was forced to leave when his high school grades prevented him from obtaining a scholarship. He returned home to work in his father’s business.
Arthur Miller’s interest in drama began when he returned to the University of Michigan in 1934,after saving enough money to pay his tuition. Always short on cash, Miller worked first as a dishwasher and then later as a night editor of the Michigan Daily, the university’s student paper. He met his first wife Mary Slattery at Michigan and began to refine his writing ability. During World War II he penned radio dramas while helping the war effort at home, working as a steamfitter in his native Brooklyn.
Miller’s career was slow to start. Critics panned his first stage play, “The Boy Who Had All the Luck,” and his attempt at novel writing garnered little more than silence. But in 1947 he achieved dramatic success with “All My Sons,” a play that found incredible commercial and critical success on Broadway.
At the age of 33, Miller followed up his success with “Death of a Salesman” in 1949. Hailed instantly as a classic of the American stage, it brought fame and a Pulitzer Prize for the author. It was considered revolutionary in its melding of memory and realism, character and commentary.
The story of Willy Loman, a salesman cast aside by the company that he once revered, captured the soul of those still struggling to obtain the American Dream. Single-mindedly dedicated to his perceived truths of capitalism, Loman is slowly devoured by his inability to see its flaws. In the end, unable to provide for his family, Loman kills himself so that his family can collect the insurance money. Written in only six weeks, it was based on the struggles Miller saw in his own father’s life.
His next play, “The Crucible,” an allegory about the increasing demagoguery that accompanied the rise of anti-communism, the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the late ’40s and the popularity of blacklists, landed Miller in front of HUAC. Refusing to disclose the names of his left-leaning associates, he was convicted of contempt of Congress. The appeals court later reversed the conviction.
It was during this time that Miller divorced Slattery, his wife of 16 years, and began a relationship with actress Marilyn Monroe. In a now legendary interview with a French newspaper, he said, “all my energy and attention were devoted to trying to help her solve her problems. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much success.” Monroe died of an overdose in 1952, the year after Miller and Monroe divorced.
His 1964 play “After the Fall” partly deals with the troubled relationship. It depicts the famous sex symbol as an insecure young woman, too bent on self-destruction to hold onto a relationship. In his 1987 autobiography he writes of Monroe, “to have survived, she would have had to be either more cynical or even further from reality than she was. Instead, she was a poet on a street corner trying to recite to a crowd pulling at her clothes.”
A year after his divorce, Miller married photographer Inge Morath, whom he remained married to until her death in 2002.
“Death of a Salesman” and “The Crucible” have both become staples of the dramatic canon, being revived and studied throughout the country. In 1999, “Death of a Salesman” received the Tony Award for best revival. That same year Miller received the award for lifetime achievement.
Miller’s long and sometimes turbulent career has left an indelible mark on modern drama. He has largely defined the role of realism in American theater. In recent years Broadway has gone back to rediscover all of his plays, even his 1944 flop “The Boy Who Had All the Luck.” He is one of the five greatest influences on 20th century theatre, but for some he will always be more known for his role as husband to Marilyn Monroe or as a man who stood up to McCarthyism.
He is survived by his son Robert and his two daughters, Jane Ellen and Rebecca. He passed away Thursday night of congestive heart failure at the age of 89.
Note: text has been changed to reflect a correction regarding Miller’s appearance in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
