Jason Miller (playwright)

Jason Miller
As Father Karras in The Exorcist III, 1990
Born	John Anthony Miller April 22, 1939(1939-04-22) Long Island City, Queens, U.S.
Died	May 13, 2001(2001-05-13) (aged 62) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Spouse	Linda Gleason (1963-1973) Susan Bernard (1974-1983) Ruth Josem (1984-1990)

Jason Miller (April 22, 1939 – May 13, 2001) was an American actor and playwright. He received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play That Championship Season, and was widely recognized for his role as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist. He later became Artistic Director of the Scranton Public Theatre in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where That Championship Season was set.

Early years

Miller was born John Anthony Miller in Long Island City, Queens of German and Irish descent, the son of Mary Claire Collins, a teacher, and John A. Miller, an electrician.

His family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Miller was educated at St. Patrick's High School and the Jesuit-run University of Scranton. He attended The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C. At Catholic University, Miller taught drama and English at nearby Archbishop Carroll High School.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Miller was launched into stardom in 1973 by winning a Pulitzer Prize for his play, That Championship Season. The original Broadway cast featured Charles Durning, Richard Dysart, Paul Sorvino, and Michael McGuire. That same year, he was offered the role of the troubled priest, Father Damien, in William Friedkin's horror film The Exorcist (1973), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 1982 Miller directed the screen version of That Championship Season. Featured in the cast were Robert Mitchum (replacing William Holden, who died before filming began), Paul Sorvino, Martin Sheen, Stacy Keach, and Bruce Dern.^{[citation needed]}

Miller's own film career was sporadic, however, and he preferred to work in regional theatre. He starred as Henry Drummond opposite Malachy McCourt as Matthew Brady in the Philadelphia production of Inherit The Wind. The show is to date the longest running production in Philadelphia history.^{[citation needed]}

Miller co-founded the Scranton Public Theatre. With SPT, Miller directed and starred in various productions including Blithe Spirit, California Suite, Crimes of the Heart, and The Lion in Winter.

Miller continued to act occasionally in such films as The Dain Curse (1978), The Ninth Configuration (1980), Toy Soldiers (1984), The Exorcist III (1990) and Rudy (1993), playing a role close to his heart, Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian.

In 1998, he toured the country in his one-man play Barrymore's Ghost, ending the tour with a four-month run Off-Broadway. Miller's last projects included a revival of The Odd Couple for the Pennsylvania Summer Theatre Festival, in which he was appearing in the role of Oscar Madison. In October 2000, he performed Barrymore's Ghost in a successful and critically acclaimed production directed by Michael Leland at Theatre Double mainstage in Philadelphia.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Miller was the father of actors Jason Patric (by first wife Linda Gleason, daughter of Jackie Gleason) and Joshua John Miller (by second wife Susan Bernard). On May 13, 2001, Miller died of a heart attack in Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the age of 62.

In 2004, actor Paul Sorvino, a longtime friend of Miller and a cast member of all three versions of That Championship Season, was commissioned by the city of Scranton to create a bronze bust of the late playwright and actor. The statue was unveiled in December 2008. In March 2011, the first Broadway revival of That Championship Season opened. The cast comprised Brian Cox, Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Gaffigan, and Miller's elder son, actor Jason Patric. The urn containing Miller's ashes was placed on the set by his son, who played the role Miller had based on himself.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1973	The Exorcist	Father Damien Karras	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1974	The Nickel Ride	Cooper
1975	A Home of Our Own	Father William Wasson	TV
1976	F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood	F. Scott Fitzgerald	TV
	El Perro	Aristides Ungria	aka The Dog aka Vengeance (USA Video Title)
1977	The Devil's Advocate		(UK)
1978	The Dain Curse	Owen Fitzstephan	TV mini-series
1979	Vampire	John Rawlins	TV
1980	Marilyn: The Untold Story	Arthur Miller	TV
	The Ninth Configuration	Lt. Frankie Reno	aka Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane
	The Henderson Monster	Dr. Tom Henderson	TV
1981	The Best Little Girl in the World	Clay Orlovsky	TV
1982	That Championship Season		Screenwriter/Director Nominated - Golden Berlin Bear at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival.
	Monsignor	Don Vito Appolini
1984	A Touch of Scandal	Garrett Locke	TV
	Toy Soldiers	Sarge
	Terror in the Aisles		archival footage
1987	Deadly Care	Dr. Miles Keefer	TV
	Light of Day	Benjamin Rasnick
1990	The Exorcist III	Patient X	(Father Damien Karras)
1992	Small Kill	Mikie
1993	Rudy	Ara Parseghian
1995	Mommy	Lieutenant March
	Murdered Innocence	Detective Rollins
1998	Trance	The Doctor	aka The Eternal
1999	That Championship Season		TV Screenwriter
2000	Slice
2002	Paradox Lake
2003	Finding Home	Lester Bownlow

Bibliography

• Nobody Hears a Broken Drum (1970)
• Lou Gehrig Did Not Die Of Cancer (1971)
• That Championship Season (1972)
• Barrymore's Ghost (2000)
• Three One-Act Plays (1973, drama)

External links

• Jason Miller at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jason Miller at Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Jason Miller at the Internet Movie Database
• Jason Miller at Find a Grave