After graduating high school, Miller worked a few odd jobs to save enough money to attend the University of Michigan. The affluent Miller family lost almost everything in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and had to move from Manhattan to Flatbush, Brooklyn. His father, Isidore, owned a successful coat manufacturing business, and his mother, Augusta, to whom he was closer, was an educator and an avid reader of novels. Miller was born in Harlem, New York, on October 17, 1915, to an immigrant family of Polish and Jewish descent.

The playwright died in 2005 at the age of 89, leaving a body of work that continues to be re-staged internationally and adapted for the screen. Miller's public life was painted in part by his rocky marriage to Hollywood sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. He received more acclaim for his award-winning follow-up, The Crucible, which reflected his unwavering refusal to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. He earned widespread praise for Death of a Salesman, which opened on Broadway in 1949 and won the Pulitzer Prize along with multiple Tonys. Playwright Arthur Miller attended the University of Michigan before moving back East to write dramas for the stage.