American actor and writer (1939-2001). He was born in Queens, but his family moved to Scranton, New Jersey, and Miller attended St. Patrtick's High School and the University of Scranton. He also attended the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. as a graduate student.
Miller wrote a play called "That Championship Season" in 1972 -- and he won both the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. He also performed as Father Damien Karras in "The Exorcist," which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Miller directed the film version of "That Championship Season" in 1982, but only rarely appeared in movies himself -- "The Devil's Advocate," "The Ninth Configuration," "The Exorcist III," "Rudy," and a few others. He was much more interested in regional theater, including serving as artistic director for the Scranton Public Theatre, where he also directed or starred in productions of "Blithe Spirit," "Harvey," "Crimes of the Heart," and "The Lion in Winter."
He toured the country with a one-man play called "Barrymore's Ghost" in 1998 and was set to play Oscar Madison in a 2001 revival of "The Odd Couple" when he died of a heart attack.
He was the father of actors Jason Patric, by his first wife, Linda Gleason, and Joshua John Miller, by his second wife, Susan Bernard. Patric performed in a Broadway revival of "That Championship Season" in 2011; he placed an urn containing his father's ashes on the set for the duration of the play.