NEW YORK (Reuters) - Playwright Arthur Miller, a titan of American theater who wrote "Death of a Salesman" and was revered for works that spoke for the common man, has died. He was 89.
Miller's personal life, including a stormy marriage to sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, often captivated America. His left-wing views had brought a face-to-face clash with the U.S. Congress during the 1950s crackdown on communist sympathizers.
The playwright died of congenital heart failure Thursday night at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, his assistant Julia Bolus said on Friday. His son, Robert Miller, said he was surrounded by relatives and friends when he died.
"Death of a Salesman," a tragedy whose central character, failed businessman Willy Loman, became an archetype for shattered dreams, is considered a 20th-century classic. The play won him a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award at age 33.
His other major works included "All My Sons," "A View from the Bridge," and "The Crucible."
"He was a big man and a deeply American man," said Zoe Caldwell, one of the great Broadway actresses who worked with Miller. "He was busy working on plays right until he got sick. He had such a great life that you don't feel sad for Arthur."
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