1915- . US playwright. His plays deal with
family relationships and contemporary
American values, and include Death of a
Salesman 1949 and The Crucible 1953, based on
the Salem witch trials and reflecting the
communist witch-hunts of Senator Joe
McCarthy. He was married 1956-61 to the film
star Marilyn Monroe, for whom he wrote the
film The Misfits 1960. Among other plays are
All My Sons 1947, A View from the Bridge
1955, and After the Fall 1964, based on his
relationship with Monroe. He also wrote the
television film Playing for Time 1980.