Arthur Miller’s Unveiled Reflections on His Marriage to Marilyn Monroe

In recordings made between the mid-1970s and 2005, playwright Arthur Miller recounts his brief marriage to actress Marilyn Monroe, describing her as perpetually shadowed by death and describing an incident when he called doctors after she ingested a lethal drug dose. He says Monroe’s intense lifestyle and barbiturate use made survival “impossible,” and that after a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy their relationship collapsed, ending during the production of *The Misfits* (1960). Miller admits that staying married would have “killed” him and that he felt powerless to stop Monroe’s 1962 overdose death.

The Guardian

Miller’s career exploded after *Death of a Salesman* (1949) won a Pulitzer, Tony and Critics’ Circle award, a success he says heightened his sense of dominance and contributed to the breakup of his first marriage to Mary Slattery. He began an affair with Monroe in 1955, married her in 1956, and endured her demanding film schedule, including *The Prince and the Showgirl* (1957). Their marriage effectively ended by 1960, and Monroe died in 1962. The tapes, recorded over nearly three decades, were transcribed by Professor Christopher Bigsby and published in 2026 as *The Arthur Miller Tapes*.

The Guardian

The recordings span almost 30 years; *Death of a Salesman* earned three major awards in 1949; Miller estimated only a “minor percentage” of his work was published.

The Guardian

The tapes give scholars a direct view of Monroe’s mental state and the marital strain that preceded her death, enriching biographical research on both figures. They also show how Miller’s fame and self-perception intersected with his private life.

The Guardian

Professor Christopher Bigsby, now 84, confirmed the tapes were transcribed for the book and called the material “a life in his own words.” Cambridge University Press announced the 2026 publication of *The Arthur Miller Tapes* as a primary source for future Miller scholarship. The Guardian described the tapes as a rare glimpse into Miller’s candid reflections.

The Guardian

The tapes provide no independent verification of the medical incidents Miller describes.

The Guardian

• “death was always on her [Monroe’s] shoulder – always” — Arthur Miller, Playwright

The Guardian

• “One time I brought doctors to pump her out because she had swallowed enough stuff [drugs] to kill her,” — Arthur Miller, Playwright

The Guardian

• “It was impossible for her to live, let alone with anybody. You couldn’t go on with that intensity of life, and those drugs, and manage to survive,” — Arthur Miller, Playwright

The Guardian

• “I couldn’t have gone on. It would have killed me. I couldn’t work anymore.” — Arthur Miller, Playwright

The Guardian

The 2026 book is expected to spark scholarly analysis of Miller’s personal disclosures and their impact on mid-century American cultural history.

The Guardian