Arthur Miller was an American playwright known for Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. He was born in 1915 and died in 2005. Miller won numerous awards and is considered one of the greatest playwrights in American history. He was born to upper-middle-class Jewish parents and was inspired to become a writer after reading Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Miller’s first Broadway play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, was a flop, but he continued to work on his craft and had success with All My Sons and Death of a Salesman. Miller was investigated by the House of Un-American Activities for alleged connections to communism and was convicted for contempt of Congress, which was eventually overturned.
Arthur Miller was an American playwright, best known for his plays Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, and his high-profile private life. Born in 1915 in New York City, he died in 2005 at the age of 89. Over the course of his long career he has won numerous awards and is considered by many to be one of the greatest playwrights in American history.
Arthur Miller was born to upper-middle-class Jewish parents before the outbreak of World War I. Upon the onset of the Great Depression, when he was only fourteen, his family’s business failed and the family was forced to drastically cut the cost of their lifestyle, settling into a more comfortable middle-class life. With these limited means, Miller was forced to work a variety of simple jobs to earn money to pay his tuition fees, and at this time he read Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, which inspired him to become a writer. Eventually he saved up enough to pay for tuition and was able to attend the University of Michigan, where he wrote No Villain, which won the Avery Hopwood Award.
After college, Miller immediately went to work professionally as a writer. He joined the Federal Theater Project, until it was shut down over fear of communist ties, after which he wrote screenplays. During this period he also continued to hone his skills as a playwright, and in 1944 produced The Man Who Had All the Luck, which subsequently won the National Award of the Theater Guild.
In 1944, at the age of 29, Arthur Miller had his first Broadway play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, produced. Despite a resounding flop, closing after four performances, he continued to work on his craft, and in 1947 had All My Sons produced, which won two Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, securing Miller’s place on Broadway. His next play, Death of a Salesman, produced in 1949, solidified his reputation as a giant playwright and propelled Arthur Miller into the limelight of American theatre.
Death of a Salesman is a seminal piece of the modern American stage, following a salesman, Willy Loman, through his past and present as he struggles with the failure of the American dream. In the end, Willy sacrifices his life to give his son, Biff, a chance to make his dream come true with the insurance money. The play has remained popular, with productions regularly being produced both in community theaters and on major soundstages across the country. Upon its release, Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize, Drama Critics Circle Award, and Tony Award for Best Play, making Arthur Miller the first playwright to win all three of these awards for a play.
The next chapter in his life was much less positive, as Arthur Miller was investigated by the House of Un-American Activities for alleged connections between his work and communism. Miller was sued not long after his high-profile marriage to Marilyn Monroe, and Monroe accompanied him to her hearing. Miller provided detailed information on all of his movements and activities, but when asked to name names, he refused, resulting in a conviction for contempt of Congress, which was eventually overturned.
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