Court Miller (1952–1986) was an American actor most notable for starring in the Broadway production of Torch Song Trilogy.
Early life
Born January 29, 1952, in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Career
Miller studied acting with Uta Hagen and singing with Louise Quinto. Early work includes 1974's starring role as King Arthur in Camelot at Cortland Repertory Theater (alongside wife Barbara Kolsun), as well as work at Rochester Music Theater at the Rochester Opera House, Woodstock Playhouse, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. He had a starring role in Angelface by Susan Horowitz (1978), opposite Martha Schlamme and directed by Susan H. Schulman and appeared in The Runner Stumbles at Studio Arena Theater (1979).. He also toured England and Scotland with the Paper Bag Players.
Lexington Conservatory Theatre
In 1977, he joined Lexington Conservatory Theatre as a company member with a role in the George M. Cohan play The Tavern. He continued his work with the company over four seasons, where he played Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, the title role in Dr Faustus, Oberon and Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Clov in Endgame. He appeared in the 1978 world premiere of Monte Merrick's Nurseryland. In 1979, he originated the role of Meriwether Lewis in the world premiere production of Oakley Hall III's Grinder's Stand. "I cannot possibly do justice to the production and the performances, which often equal the brilliant moments within the play," said critic Dan DiNicola. "One cannot say enough about Miller, who succeeds in creating a disturbed man powerful in stature.". Miller had previously performed the role in a staged reading of the play in 1978.
New York Success
In 1980, he landed a role in the world premiere of Elizabeth and Essex, a musical at Encompass New Opera Theatre starring Estelle Parsons.
In 1981, he made his Broadway debut in the Robert Brush/Martin Charnin musical The First, in a cast that included David Huddleston, David Alan Grier and Lonette McKee. That same year, he played in José Quintero's critically unloved revival of Welded by Eugene O'Neill with Philip Anglim and Ellen Tobie.
Torch Song Trilogy and Beyond
In 1982, Miller was cast in his most prominent role, that of Ed in the Broadway premiere of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy. That fall, he shot his first TV appearance on the made-for-tv film Rage of Angels starring Jaclyn Smith.
A year later, he appeared on the 37th Tony Awards. Torch Song Trilogy received the award for Best Play, while Miller presented the award for Best Lighting Design.
1984's production of Harvey Fierstein's Spookhouse saw him play opposite Anne Meara and Tom Noonan at Playhouse 91.
Later that year, Miller reunited with several Lexington Conservatory alumni including actress Kit Flanagan, director Barbara Rosoff and playwright Elizabeth Diggs at Portland Stage Company, where he starred as Hank in Diggs' Goodbye Freddy. The play had previously been read at Lexington in 1980. The Portland Stage production also included Barbara Eda-Young and Walter Bobbie.
Though Miller was primarily a stage actor, he also performed in movies and TV, including feature films Garbo Talks, Cat's Eye, The New Kids and Playing for Keeps, and television series Ryan's Hope and Heart's Island.
Death
Miller was married to actress turned attorney Barbara Kolsun. According to friend Harvey Fierstein, Miller was diagnosed with HIV in 1982. He died of AIDS on March 7, 1986, in Portland, Maine. His name is memorialized on the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in two panels.
Fierstein's 1987 trilogy Safe Sex is dedicated to Court Miller. One of the plays in the cycle, On Tidy Endings, is based on Miller's relationship with Barbara Kolsun. It was later produced by HBO as a TV movie, starring Fierstein and Stockard Channing, directed by Gavin Millar.
References
External links
American male musical theatre actors
American male stage actors
20th-century American male actors
American LGBT actors
AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)