Arthur Miller

In 1940, he got married to Mary Grace Slattery and they had two children together - Jane and Robert. But the marriage lasted only for 16 years and he left his wife after his affair with actress Marilyn Monroe.

In 1956, Miller married Marilyn Monroe after an affair of 5 years. Their marriage lasted for 5 years and suffered two miscarriages. His relationship with Monroe was full of ups and downs.

In 1962, Miller married a professional photographer Inge Morath and had two children with her - Rebecca and Daniel. They remained married until her death.

Arthur Miller was born in Harlem, New York to Isidore and Augusta Miller. Thiers was a Polish Jewish immigrant family. His father was a rich businessman who enjoyed immense respect in the society.

But soon his father lost everything during the Wall Street Crash in 1929 and the family had to move from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Miller used to do small jobs to support his college tuition fee.

Miller went to the University of Michigan to do a major in Journalism and while studying he worked as a reporter and night editor at the Michigan Daily. Soon he switched his major to English literature.

He wrote his first play ‘No Villain’ while he was still in the university. He won the Avery Hopwood Award for this play. This made him consider a career of playwright.

He graduated in English and right after the university, he joined the Federal Theater Project in order to get a job in the theater. He joined the Brooklyn Navy Yard and continued to write radio plays for CBS.

In 1940, his play ‘The Man Who Had All the Luck’ was produced and exhibited in New Jersey. The play received the Theatre Guild’s National Award. The play did not run for a very long time and closed down after few performances.

In 1946, ‘All of My Sons’ became a Broadway success. He received a Tony Award for the Best Author category for this play. This play established him as a well-known playwright.

In 1948, Miller constructed a small studio for himself in Connecticut. He started writing ‘Death of a Salesman’ there and finished it in a few weeks. This play became one of the classics in the literature.

In 1949, his ‘Death of a Salesman’ was performed at the Moscow Theatre and became an instant commercial success. Miller received a Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Circle Critics’ Award for it.

In 1953, Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, which was a play on the idea that the House Un-American Activities Committee is linked to witch hunting in Salem, was performed at the Neck Theatre. It was also made into an opera.

In the 1990s, Miller received the National Medal of Arts and PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for being the best American dramatist. He was also awarded The Dorothy and Lilian Gish Prize.