Jason Miller (born John Anthony Miller Jr.; April 22, 1939 â€" May 13,
2001) was an American playwright and actor. He received the 1973
Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for his play
That Championship Season and was nominated for the Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Father Damien Karras in
the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, a role he reprised in The Exorcist
III. He later became artistic director of the Scranton Public Theatre
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where That Championship Season was
set.Miller was born John Anthony Miller Jr. in Queens, New York City
to Mary Claire (née Collins), a teacher, and John Anthony Miller Sr.,
an electrician. His ancestry was primarily Irish Catholic, with some
German.His family moved to Scranton in 1941, where Miller was educated
at St. Patrick's High School and the Jesuit-run University of
Scranton, where he received a degree in English and philosophy. He
then attended the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.,
as a graduate student in the speech and drama department; although the
Associated Press reported upon his passing that he earned a master's
degree there, Miller had claimed that he was asked to leave the school
before taking a degree "for never attending classes, never taking
tests and never getting the girls back to their dormitory by 10
o'clock." During this period, he taught drama and English at nearby
Archbishop Carroll High School.Miller attracted fame in 1972 by
winning a Pulitzer Prize for his play, That Championship Season, which
also won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. The original Broadway cast
featured Charles Durning, Richard Dysart, and Paul Sorvino. That same
year, he was offered the role of the troubled priest, Father Damien
Karras, in William Friedkin's horror film The Exorcist (1973), for
which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
After his nomination for The Exorcist, he was offered the lead role in
Taxi Driver but turned it down to do Robert Mulligan's The Nickel
Ride.
2001) was an American playwright and actor. He received the 1973
Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for his play
That Championship Season and was nominated for the Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Father Damien Karras in
the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, a role he reprised in The Exorcist
III. He later became artistic director of the Scranton Public Theatre
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where That Championship Season was
set.Miller was born John Anthony Miller Jr. in Queens, New York City
to Mary Claire (née Collins), a teacher, and John Anthony Miller Sr.,
an electrician. His ancestry was primarily Irish Catholic, with some
German.His family moved to Scranton in 1941, where Miller was educated
at St. Patrick's High School and the Jesuit-run University of
Scranton, where he received a degree in English and philosophy. He
then attended the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.,
as a graduate student in the speech and drama department; although the
Associated Press reported upon his passing that he earned a master's
degree there, Miller had claimed that he was asked to leave the school
before taking a degree "for never attending classes, never taking
tests and never getting the girls back to their dormitory by 10
o'clock." During this period, he taught drama and English at nearby
Archbishop Carroll High School.Miller attracted fame in 1972 by
winning a Pulitzer Prize for his play, That Championship Season, which
also won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. The original Broadway cast
featured Charles Durning, Richard Dysart, and Paul Sorvino. That same
year, he was offered the role of the troubled priest, Father Damien
Karras, in William Friedkin's horror film The Exorcist (1973), for
which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
After his nomination for The Exorcist, he was offered the lead role in
Taxi Driver but turned it down to do Robert Mulligan's The Nickel
Ride.
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