Miller, Jonathan (1934-2019), was called a “Renaissance man” in modern English culture. Miller began his career as a physician. About 1960, he turned to acting. He then became an internationally recognized director of operas, stage dramas, and plays for television. He was also an author and a theater producer.
Miller’s most notable achievements as a director included a controversial 1966 production of Alice in Wonderland, a play based on a book by the English author Lewis Carroll and filmed for British television. He also directed a controversial version of the play The Merchant of Venice, by the English playwright William Shakespeare, for the Old Vic Theatre in 1970.
Jonathan Wolfe Miller was born on July 21, 1934, in London, England. He studied medicine at Cambridge University and became a neurologist. From 1961 to 1964, Miller acted in the internationally praised satirical revue Beyond the Fringe. The revue also starred Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, and Dudley Moore, all of whom became famous performers. Miller directed his first play in 1962. By the mid-1970’s he was also directing opera and television drama. He produced an acclaimed Shakespeare series on British television from 1979 to 1981.
Miller also wrote several books on science, including The Body in Question (1978), The Human Body (1983), and The Facts of Life (1984). He discussed his views on directing and the theater in the book Subsequent Performances (1986). In 1985, Miller became a research fellow in neuropsychology at the University of Sussex. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 and thus became known as Sir Jonathan Miller. He died on Nov. 27, 2019.
