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His Beginning
Arthur Miller was born in Manhattan. His parents were Jewish immigrants. -
The Great Depression
He was 14 and his father owned a garment factory that was harshly impacted by the Great Depression, directly affecting young Miller's views -
Enrolled in University of Michigan
He worked numerous jobs and saved up money for their journalism program. He was a reporter and night editor on their student paper, The Michigan Daily. -
No Villain
While still in school, he wrote No Villain in 6 days and received the Hopwood Award in Drama. Arthur Miller has said that this play was the most autobiographical dramatic work he has ever written. It follows the story of a garment industry strike that sets a son against his father, that owns the company. It also explores the Marxist theory. It was during this time when he also switched to an English major. -
They Too Arise
Takes a playwriting class with Professor Kenneth T. Rowe. He rewrites No Villain, naming it They Too Arise, and receives a major award from the Bureau of new plays. -
After University
After he graduated with a B.A. in English he joined the Federal Theater Project in New York City to write radio plays and scripts. He rejected a higher paying offer to work as a scriptwriter for Twentieth Century Fox, in Hollywood -
Theater Shutdown
Writes Listen to My Children, and You're Next with Norman Rosten (a good friend he met in university, who shared an interest in writing and the same political convictions as Miller). The Federal Theater is shut down due to financial reasons. -
1st Marriage
He was married to Mary Grace Slattery for 15 years. She encouraged him to write and they often relied on her salary. The marriage also resulted in 2 children, Jane Ellen Miller and Robert A. Miller -
The Man Who Had all the Luck
It is a play of a lucky man struggling to accept his good fortune while those around him are struggling with problems. It has themes of the struggle between collective and individual responsibility, the role of fate. It was his first Broadway play but it wasn't successful, lasting only four performances. -
All My Sons
This was his final attempt at writing a successful play; he had vowed to "find some other line of work" if the play did not find an audience. Luckily, It was considered his first significant play. It had a theme of guilt and responsibility. It focuses on Joe Keller, a manufacturer of war materials, whose defective airplane parts cause his own son's death along with other fliers during World War II. It was successful on Broadway and earned him his first Tony Award in the best author category. -
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The Cold War
During this time The United States government was extremely fearful of Soviet communism and many Americans believed that Russia posed a threat to democracy. This influenced Arthur Miller's writings of The Crucible. -
Death of a Salesman
The play follows the life of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman who has a wife and two kids. His whole life he has attempted to show his sons the key to success but realizes it's all been a lie. Willy has flashbacks that make him go crazy and the next day everyone has a bad day. In the end, Willy gets himself in a car crash so his family can receive the insurance money. -
Most Recognized Play
The play Death of a Salesman, a tragedy of giving up one's life in the pursuit of the American dream won him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, and three Tony Awards for Best Revival, among other awards. The play was performed 742 times. -
The Crucible
Set in 1692 during the Salem witch trials, it was an examination of the events in American politics during the era of fear and desire for conformity brought by McCarthyism, when the United States government persecuted people accused of being communists. -
Nevada
He lives in Nevada, residing in the Pyramid Lake Guest Ranch for 6 weeks in order to divorce Mary Slattery. He also got the material he needed for The Misfits during his stay. -
House Committee on Un-American Activities
He had attended communist meetings and supported communist causes, but he only attracted HUAC's attention after writing the crucible. HUAC summoned Miller to court. They had promised that they wouldn't ask him to name names during his hearing but still ended up asking him who attended the meetings with him. He refused to speak and was charged with contempt of Congress and was convicted. But the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later overturned his conviction. -
2nd Marriage
He left his first wife and married Marilyn Monroe. They were complete opposites and Miller didn't like the attention he got from the media. Arthur Miller barely wrote while he was with her but did write The Misfits script in dedication to her. They divorced before the film's premiere, their marriage lasting 5 years -
3rd Marriage
He married Inge Morath, an Austrian- born photographer. They had 2 children, Rebecca and Daniel. Daniel who was diagnosed with Down syndrome was kept a secret. Miller and Morath collaborated on several books before she died in 2002, they were married for 40 years -
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PEN
Was President of the Writer's group PEN (poets, essayists, novelists). This organization was used to emphasize the role of literature in the development of mutual understanding, to fight for freedom of expression, and to act as a powerful voice on behalf of writers harassed, imprisoned, and sometimes killed for their views. -
Teaching
He was made Cameron Mackintosh Professor Of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University. -
Engagement
Arthur Miller announces that he is planning to marry Agnes Barley, a 34 year old artist. -
His Ending
Miller had been dealing with cancer, pneumonia, and heart issues. He died at 89 due to congestive heart failure at his home in Connecticut. -
References
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/arthur-miller-none-without-sin/56/#:~:text=Arthur%20Miller%20was%20born%20in,an%20enormous%20effect%20on%20Miller. https://www.biogs.com/famous/millerarthur.html https://www.biography.com/writer/arthur-miller https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Miller-American-playwright https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller-brooklyn.html https://arthurmillersociety.net/am-chronology/
