At the height of his celebrity and success, in the early 60s, the playwright Arthur Miller fathered a Down syndrome child. The baby was "put away" in a home and never mentioned in public, even in his much lauded autobiography "Time Bends". The new issue of Vanity Fair has an excellent feature by Suzanna Andrews telling the whole story of Miller and his son, who is now in his forties.It could explain more about the motivations of celebrities and artists than any number of brow-furrowing profiles.
Amazing article, which made me reassess my thoughts on Miller and will be hard to shift when viewing his work.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for that link, David; great feature. I agree with the conclusion that Miller walked away from events he couldn't control. Also, as a man who was high profile, sexy and once married to Monroe, it wouldn't be seemly for Miller to have an 'imperfect' child, especially a son. And I suppose, at the time, children with Down's were hidden away - but isn't it wonderful to hear that Daniel is so happy? Living well is the best revenge.
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