Good bye Arthur Miller
February 11, 2005 7:57 AM   Subscribe

Playwright Arthur Miller dies at 89 Sigh
posted by Constant Reader (60 comments total)
 
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posted by mcgraw at 7:59 AM on February 11, 2005


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I just taught "Death" last semester, and was reminded of the play's power.
posted by tr33hggr at 8:02 AM on February 11, 2005


more here
posted by mcgraw at 8:03 AM on February 11, 2005


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posted by trondant at 8:03 AM on February 11, 2005


We're losing the generation that suffered through McCarthy-era politically manipulated anti-Communist hysteria, just when we need them most to guide us through today's politically manipulated anti-terrorist hysteria.

Of course, Miller's The Crucible was ostensibly about the Salem witch trials. Of course, I guess they tortured witches too.
posted by orthogonality at 8:05 AM on February 11, 2005


That's a loss. His contributions will be cherished.

My thesis has been that the essence and story of America is ecapsulated in three quintessentially American literary works:
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
posted by dios at 8:07 AM on February 11, 2005


Orthogonality, must you muck-up a thread that way? Miller was brilliant.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:07 AM on February 11, 2005


Orthogonality, when I first read about Miller's death the first thing I thought of was how my junior-year English teacher made us read The Crucible and taught us about metaphor, the red scare, and the salem witch trials.
posted by jodic at 8:08 AM on February 11, 2005


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posted by mmcg at 8:10 AM on February 11, 2005


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posted by AllesKlar at 8:10 AM on February 11, 2005


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posted by cookie-k at 8:16 AM on February 11, 2005


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posted by malaprohibita at 8:25 AM on February 11, 2005



  • posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 8:26 AM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by the cuban at 8:33 AM on February 11, 2005


    well, he had a good innings and all that
    still sucks though
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    posted by twistedonion at 8:35 AM on February 11, 2005


    What a loss. Truly one of the greats. Even his lesser works (like The Ride Down to Mt. Morgan, which I see is being made into a film, are far better than most of the crap being peddled on Broadway these days.
    posted by mkultra at 8:36 AM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by scottq at 8:41 AM on February 11, 2005


    ParisParamus complains: "Orthogonality, must you muck-up a thread that way? Miller was brilliant."

    Miller was brilliant. His work The Crucible is brilliant, and especially relevant today.

    Claiming that you're honoring an artist while at the same time protesting any reference to works of that artists that tend to undermine your own political beliefs rings more hollowed that hallowed.

    Miller was a great artist in part because he was not afraid to talk about these things, and indeed, to even thrust them at the general public and say, "you must look at this, you must really see this".

    Pretending for the sake of some soi-disant "political correctness" or "non-partisan comity" when memorializing his death, that Miller did not have these strong convictions, does Miller no honor. It only makes Miller a limp cardboard cut-out, honored for mere celebrity and not for what he really said.
    posted by orthogonality at 8:45 AM on February 11, 2005


    Miller was clearly influential and much beloved, but I suppose I'll have to be the one to say it:

    Overrated.
    posted by gramschmidt at 8:48 AM on February 11, 2005


    I hate it when someone days I would have sworn had died years earlier.
    posted by obfusciatrist at 8:50 AM on February 11, 2005


    orthogonality - Well said

    Respect the man and respect his views. Did anyone see Jonathan Miller interviewing him on the Athiesm tapes? Wonderful stuff. The man was a legend
    posted by twistedonion at 8:51 AM on February 11, 2005


    I love the film "The Misfits".

    Slow but amazing, such great performaces by everyone involved.

    Clark Gable's and Marilyn Monroe's final film.

    Oh, and Thelma Ritter, from rear window was in that too.
    posted by JBennett at 8:52 AM on February 11, 2005


    orthogonality gets the steak knives. Paris, you're fired.
    posted by trondant at 8:59 AM on February 11, 2005


    Still bitter I stopped to tag my superior fpp.

    Lesson: rush your simplistic fpp, without punctuation, so you can get your fpp up seconds before someone posts theirs.
    posted by mcgraw at 9:08 AM on February 11, 2005


    "Pretending for the sake of some soi-disant 'political correctness' or 'non-partisan comity' when memorializing his death, that Miller did not have these strong convictions, does Miller no honor. It only makes Miller a limp cardboard cut-out, honored for mere celebrity and not for what he really said."

    I disagree. It's not necessary to agree with someone's politics to admire them, and it's not necessary to soap-box in order to honor them. It's possible to look at someone and believe that, even though their political positions weren't the same as one's own, they were a grand, interesting, charming person, someone wonderful and intelligent who added a great deal to the world.

    Must every man's life be a testament to some political crusade?


    By the way, JBennet is right: The Misfits is awesome, the best thing Arthur Miller ever did. That was the only time a role ever Marilyn Monroe justice as a person; it's so wonderful that she got a chance to play it, even if she did hate him by the end.

    ...and, on preview, yeah, mcgraw: I saw your fpp, and it was better. Oh well...
    posted by koeselitz at 9:13 AM on February 11, 2005


    "Don't take it on yourself. Forget now. Live".

    goodnight mr. Miller

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    posted by matteo at 9:32 AM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by cyrusdogstar at 9:37 AM on February 11, 2005


    Did anyone see Jonathan Miller interviewing him on the Athiesm tapes? Wonderful stuff.

    I just watched those again a couple weeks ago. For those who don't know, the Atheism Tapes are the in-depth interviews associated with the BBC documentary series "A History of Disbelief". Arthur Miller's interview was wonderful and discusses the dangers of mixing religion,patriotism/nationalism, and politics, with examples from the past and present.

    The other interviews are just as impressive and are an excellent discussion of non-belief today.
    posted by jsonic at 9:48 AM on February 11, 2005


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    I saw Death of a Salesman for the first time when I was 16. Loman helped me understand my own father, another corporate type who got royally screwed by the system he supported, and the family that didn't fully appreciate his sacrifices. I've always sort of looked to him for guidance as a result. I will miss him.
    posted by lilboo at 9:55 AM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by Luther Blissett at 10:11 AM on February 11, 2005


    I'm actually a little more surprised to learn that he wasn't already dead. But yes, . indeed.
    posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:16 AM on February 11, 2005


    Damn, I always wanted to be him.

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    posted by Navek Rednam at 10:27 AM on February 11, 2005


    I never would have guessed that Arthur Miller was Deep Throat... kinda makes sense though.
    posted by zeoslap at 10:32 AM on February 11, 2005


    "I'm actually a little more surprised to learn that he wasn't already dead."

    I was most surprised myself to discover that he had been living with a 34-year old woman, Agnes Barley, and that they had been planning to marry.
    posted by koeselitz at 10:56 AM on February 11, 2005


    I saw the LaPaglia production of "View From a Bridge." Never liked the play much to read, but was tunned at its power on stage. I also had the opportunity to direct a production of "The Crucible" a couple of years back and was stunned at how powerful it turned out to be - and I didn't even do anything special with it other than cast actors who spoke well.

    If you never had the chance to see a great production of one of his plays on stage - as opposed to on screen - you don't know what you're missing. I am going to be a snob here and say you have no idea how powerful his work is until you see it live.

    Congratulations, Mr. Miller, on an amazing lifetime body of work. You will be missed.
    posted by Joey Michaels at 10:56 AM on February 11, 2005


    Lesson: rush your simplistic fpp, without punctuation, so you can get your fpp up seconds before someone posts theirs.

    or you could just post yours and let matt delete the inferior one.
    posted by blendor at 11:21 AM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by Hobgoblin at 11:22 AM on February 11, 2005


    blendor: he already did post his.

    or maybe you're trying to rub salt in his wounds? heh...

    posted by koeselitz at 11:25 AM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by flaneur at 11:36 AM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by bshort at 11:57 AM on February 11, 2005


    As to the claims of being "overrated" -- anyone who writes Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons (for starters) can't ever be rated highly enough, in my opinion. Attention must be paid.

    I was lucky enough to meet him very briefly -- introduced by an Artistic Director as a "young, up-and-coming playwright." He was friendly, and charming, and wished me good luck as he shook my hand. The only time I've ever been tempted not to wash my hand ever again, if you know what I mean.
    posted by papercake at 12:01 PM on February 11, 2005


    *touches papercake's hand*
    posted by matteo at 12:15 PM on February 11, 2005


    Wow. Like many others, I didn't realize that Mr. Miller was still alive, and apparently kicking it with a woman almost a 1/3 his age. Go Arthur.

    PBS did an American Masters bit on him. It's got interesting info and some linky goodness.

    papercake...cool story!
    posted by dejah420 at 12:17 PM on February 11, 2005


    I was Louis in A View From A Bridge last year. An excellent play and apposite because of Australia's treatment of asylum seekers.
    posted by emf at 12:56 PM on February 11, 2005


    blendor: he already did post his.

    or maybe you're trying to rub salt in his wounds? heh...


    weird, i guess i missed it somehow.. but now that i read my comment in that context, it's a lot funnier.

    thanks for that pbs link, dejah420.
    posted by blendor at 1:08 PM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by breezeway at 1:12 PM on February 11, 2005


    blendor,

    Even blind rats occasionally find cheese.
    posted by mcgraw at 1:20 PM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by graventy at 1:23 PM on February 11, 2005


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    I feel the need to go watch Death of a Salesman tonight.

    (Was Mr. Miller still writing anything? Does anyone know?)
    posted by Lizc at 2:13 PM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by moonbird at 4:05 PM on February 11, 2005


    'Tis a sad thing.

    I always think of this song by Dan Bern when I hear the name Arthur Miller:

    Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
    Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
    Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
    Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller

    But if she did he'd have taken her to Paris
    And if she did she'd have smoked a lot of opium
    And if she did she'd have dyed her hair blue
    And if she did she might be alive

    Oh-oh-o-oh Henry Miller
    Oh-oh-o-oh Marilyn Monroe
    Oh-oh-o-oh Henry Miller
    Oh-oh-o-oh Marilyn Monroe

    Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
    She lived outside the Tropic of Capricorn
    Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
    I don't even know if she knew Henry Miller

    But if she did he'd a taken her to Paris
    And if she did they'd have fucked every day
    And if she did she'd have felt like a woman
    Not like a photogragh in a magazine

    Oh-oh-o-oh Henry Miller
    Oh-oh-o-oh Marilyn Monroe

    This is not a knock against Arthur Miller
    "Death of a Salesman" is my favorite play

    But Marilyn Monroe should have married Henry Miller
    And if she did she might be alive

    Cause if she did he'd have taken her to Paris
    Tied her to the bed and eaten dinner off of her
    And okay maybe she'd have died the same, anyway
    But if she did she'd have had more fun

    posted by Specklet at 4:07 PM on February 11, 2005


    Was Mr. Miller still writing anything? Does anyone know?

    Apparently he was writing up to the end.
    posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:11 PM on February 11, 2005


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    posted by Smedleyman at 5:23 PM on February 11, 2005


    I'm with the over rated crowd. Obvious is the word that springs to mind. And a tad self righteous. I like art to muddy the waters and surprise me. With Miller, you basically knew what you were getting before the curtain went up.

    My wife, however, says that anyone who can keep front stage and center for over sixty years must have something going for him.

    She has a point. She usually does.

    RIP, in any event. I gather he was a decent man, which is all that really matters.
    posted by IndigoJones at 6:24 PM on February 11, 2005


    I wish I could remember what pointed to him being very much less than a decent man. Something about him bailing out of a cooperative theater group that had counted on him for his continued participation. I've googled but can't find it - does anyone know what I'm talking about?
    posted by goofyfoot at 11:04 PM on February 11, 2005


    I vaguely recall something about that, too.
    posted by bz at 12:51 AM on February 12, 2005


    I don't understand why ParisParamus thought that Orthogonality was mucking up the thread by mentioning that Miller wrote metaphorically about McCarthyism.
    posted by bingo at 5:00 AM on February 12, 2005


    goofyfoot, I believe that was the brief attempt to create a national repertory theatre at Lincoln Center that, according to Miller's autobiography, imploded due to infighting between the artistic leadership and the board and savage attacks by the press.
    posted by papercake at 6:34 AM on February 12, 2005


    It was the Group Theater, with Elia Kazan and Clifford Odets (so it predates Lincoln Center). I can't find the cite I was looking for.
    posted by goofyfoot at 1:00 AM on February 13, 2005


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    posted by soi-disant at 7:52 PM on February 13, 2005


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