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Jason Miller
As Father Karras in The Exorcist III, 1990
Born	John Anthony Miller April 22, 1939(1939-04-22) Long Island City, Queens, USA
Died	May 13, 2001 (aged 62) Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
Spouse(s)	Linda Miller (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 his play That Championship Season was set.

Biography

Early years

Miller was born John Anthony Miller in Long Island City, Queens, the son of Mary Claire Collins, a teacher, and John A. Miller, an electrician.^[1][2] He was of Greek Cypriot ancestry. His family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Miller was educated at St. Patrick's High School and the Jesuit-run University of Scranton. He also attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C..

Career

Miller was launched into stardom in 1973 by winning a Pulitzer Prize for his play, That Championship Season. That same year, he was offered the role of the troubled priest in William Friedkin's horror film The Exorcist (1973), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Miller's film career was sporadic, however, and he preferred to work in regional theatre. He starred as Henry Drummond opposite Malachy McCourt as Matt Brady in the Philadelphia production of Inherit The Wind. The show is to date the longest running production in Philadelphia history. He was also co-founder of Scranton Public Theatre. With SPT, Miller directed and starred in varous 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.

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 at Farley's Pub and Eatery in Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the age of 62.^[3]

In 2004, actor Paul Sorvino, a longtime friend of Miller, 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.

Filmography

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)

References

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