Arthur Miller, an icon of American theater who also had a role in pop culture during the 50s by marrying the late Marilyn Monroe, has died:
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. playwright Arthur Miller, one of the giants of American literature, has died, his assistant said on Friday. He was 89.
“Mr. Miller passed away at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, last night at 9:17 p.m. of congenital heart failure,” said Julia Bolus, the playwright’s assistant.
Miller’s 1949 play “Death of a Salesman,” is considered a classic of 20th century drama and is studied in schools around the world. His left-wing political views made him a target of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s.
Miller emerged out of the Depression in the 1930s to write social dramas with the power of Greek tragedy. His private life was equally dramatic, notably his doomed marriage to Marilyn Monroe.
I was a kid in New Haven, Connecticut, later moving to nearby Woodbridge during the days when Connnecticut-resident Miller was married to Marilyn Monroe. In fact, the rabbi of my then-synagogue, the late Arthur Goldburg, was the one who helped convert Monroe to Judaism and did the marriage ceremony. Over the years, various people told me that when the rabbi would be asked about Miller and Monroe, he’d politely reply that the whole matter was private. But there were often little stories in the New Haven Register about Miller and his new wife.
And, of course, the real reason Miller will live forever is his incredible collection of theatrical works which are as enjoyable if you check them out of the library (or order them from Amazon) than if you see them in a theater or in any of their screen adaptations.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.