A celebrated playwright, Pulitzer Prize winner, and devoted family man who cherished moments of solitude with his typewriter in his study... That's how Arthur Miller was perceived by himself and those around him. But everything changed when Marilyn Monroe entered his life.
They crossed paths in early 1951. Monroe, already divorced from Jim Dougherty, was ascending rapidly in her career. Miller, accompanied by director Elia Kazan, was in Hollywood pitching the screenplay for "The Hook" to Columbia Pictures. Introduced by Kazan during the filming of "As Young as You Feel" directed by Harmon Jones, Marilyn and Arthur quickly became inseparable for weeks, spending all their free time together. Though chemistry ignited between Miller and Monroe, the playwright returned home to his wife and children. Reflecting years later, he confessed, "There were agonizing evenings when I would get into my car to drive west and push the gas pedal to the floor."
Meanwhile, Monroe's stardom soared with leading roles. In 1952, she met former baseball player Joe DiMaggio. Despite a two-year courtship, their marriage lasted only a few months.Arthur Miller's career was flourishing as well. He penned "The Crucible," which captivated audiences. However, in late 1954, Monroe arrived in New York, and Arthur couldn't resist her allure—they kindled a passionate romance at a party.
Miller decided to divorce his wife and, on June 29, 1956, he and Marilyn Monroe tied the knot. She converted to Judaism for him, and their wedding bands bore the inscription "Now and Forever." After selling his estate, the couple journeyed to England, where they were greeted by Laurence Olivier, director of "The Prince and the Showgirl," in which Marilyn starred alongside him. Yet, her relationship with Olivier proved tumultuous. On set, Marilyn's tardiness, forgetfulness of lines, and emotional instability strained the atmosphere. When she read Miller's diary entries describing her as volatile and childlike, he feared her emotional fragility could imperil his creative endeavors, marking the beginning of the end for their union.
The couple divorced on November 11, 1961. Miller remarried shortly after, while Marilyn embarked on romances, notably with President John F. Kennedy.
Tragically, on August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home, surrounded by empty medicine bottles.
Miller did not attend his ex-wife's funeral. Years later, he would explain his absence, denouncing the ceremony as a spectacle of self-promotion and accusing those present of contributing to Marilyn's demise by exploiting her. Yet, Miller himself played a role in this tragic narrative...
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