Arthur Miller Biography Information October 17 1915 February

Arthur Miller Biography Information October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 1

Arthur Miller • An American playwright and essayist. • He was a prominent figure in American theatre, • He wrote dramas that include awards-winning plays such as – All My Sons, (1947) – Death of a Salesman, (1949) and – The Crucible (1953) 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 2

Arthur Miller • Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940 s, 1950 s and early 1960 s, a period during which he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee • He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 3

Arthur Miller • Arthur Miller was the second of three children of Polish-Jewish immigrants. • His father, was illiterate but wealthy businessman. (His father owned a successful coat manufacturing business. • His father’s company employed 400 people. • His mother, Augusta, to whom he was closer, was an educator and an avid reader of novels. ) 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 4

Arthur Miller • A native New Yorker, he had a variety of jobs. • After graduating in 1932 from Abraham Lincoln High School, he worked at several menial (unskilled) jobs to pay for his college tuition. • At the University of Michigan, Miller first majored in journalism and worked as a reporter and night editor for the student paper, the Michigan Daily. • Miller switched his major to English 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 5

Arthur Miller • Miller retained strong ties to his alma mater (University of Michigan) throughout the rest of his life, – establishing the university's Arthur Miller Award in 1985 and – Arthur Miller Award for Dramatic Writing in 1999, – lending his name to the Arthur Miller Theatre in 2000. 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 6

Arthur Miller • In 1937, Miller wrote Honors at Dawn, which also received the Avery Hopwood Award. • In 1938, Miller received a BA in English. • After graduation, he joined the Federal Theater Project, a New Deal agency established to provide jobs in theater. • He chose theater project although he had an offer to work as a scriptwriter for 20 th Century Fox. 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 7

Arthur Miller • However, in 1939 Congress, worried about possible Communist infiltration, closed the project Federal Theater Project, a New Deal agency established to provide jobs in theater. • Miller began working in the Brooklyn Navy Yard while continuing to write radio plays, some of which were broadcast on CBS. 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 8

Arthur Miller • On August 5, 1940, he married his college sweetheart, Mary Slattery, the Catholic daughter of an insurance salesman. • The couple had two children, Jane and Robert. • Miller was exempted from military service during World War II because of a high-school American football injury to his left kneecap. • He was married three times. • His son, Robert, is a writer and film director, produced the 1996 movie version of The Crucible. 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 9

Arthur Miller • On August 5, 1940, he married his college sweetheart, Mary Slattery, the Catholic daughter of an insurance salesman. • The couple had two children, Jane and Robert. • Miller was exempted from military service during World War II because of a high-school American football injury to his left kneecap. • He was married three times. • His son, Robert, is a writer and film director, produced the 1996 movie version of The Crucible. 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 10

Arthur Miller • Son-in-law is Daniel Day Lewis (Academy Award Winner) • He played John Proctor in the Movie 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 11

Arthur Miller • He was married to the movie star Marilyn Monroe for five years. 11/25/2009 Mrs. Billet pg 1252 -1255 The Crucible 12