Worthington Miner | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 13, 1900 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 11, 1982 (aged 82) Manhattan, New York City |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1933–1971 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Rachel Miner (granddaughter) |
Worthington Miner (November 13, 1900[citation needed] – December 11, 1982) was an American film producer, screenwriter, actor and director. He was married to actress Frances Fuller, with whom he had three children, including producer/director Peter Miner. He was the paternal grandfather of actress Rachel Miner.[citation needed]
Prior to his work in television, Miner - known as 'Tony' - directed more than 30 plays in about 10 years, starting with Up Pops the Devil in 1929 and including Reunion in Vienna, starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne; Both Your Houses, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Maxwell Anderson; On Your Toes, the Ray Bolger musical; Jane Eyre (starring Katharine Hepburn), and For Love or Money.
In 1939, after more than 10 years in the theater, Mr. Miner publicly criticized it as "highly undemocratic". At a Theatre Guild panel discussion in Williamstown, Massachusetts, he said: "When we speak of the theater, we speak of one city - New York. Yet even within the confines of that one city, the theater isn't democratic. It is a Park Avenue nightclub, a luxury for a selective few with the price of admission. It is for the rich in the richest city of this country, and I believe this situation is deplored by every author, actor and manager in the business."[citation needed]
At CBS Television, he created and produced Studio One (also serving as writer and director for numerous episodes); the television version of The Goldbergs; Mr. I Magination, a children's show, and The Toast of the Town, casting Ed Sullivan as master of ceremonies. He also produced The Play of the Week; Playhouse 90 and Kaiser Aluminum Hour.[citation needed] Miner realized that television could not 'be made to fit into preconceived patterns of motion pictures, theater or radio. Television offers, instead, a superlative opportunity to absorb every type of experiment in all other entertainment media,' he said, adding that 'there is no limit to the scope of its coverage.'[1]
Miner died on December 11, 1982, in New York Hospital, aged 82.[1]