Arthur Miller

One of America's most renowned playwrights, Arthur Miller has had a number of his works adapted for the screen and has also served as a screenwriter and actor on occasion. Miller, who was born in New York City on October 17, 1915, and educated at the University of Michigan, first earned international acclaim and recognition in 1949 when his play, Death of a Salesman, won three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Salesman has since become one of the most popular plays in American theatre history, with numerous productions on both the stage and screen.
Another of Miller's most acclaimed works, The Crucible, was adapted for the screen by Miller himself in 1996. Written in 1953 as an allegory for the Communist witch hunts that were then raging across the U.S., the play was a very resonant one for Miller, himself summoned before the House of Un-American Activities Committee in 1957 to name names (he refused, and was found guilty of contempt toward Congress). The Crucible's 1996 film adaptation earned Miller two Best Adapted Screenplay nominations, from the American and British Academies.
On a more personal note, Miller also earned a certain amount of fame for his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe, to whom he was married from 1956 to 1960.

~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide