Theatre and Opera Director Sir Jonathan Miller Has Died at 85

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that theatre and opera director Sir Jonathan Miller, best known for directing and starring in the Beyond the Fringe satirical revue, has died at age 85.

According to the BBC, his family said that he had been battling Alzheimer's.

Miller began his career in the arts with Beyond the Fringe, in which he appeared with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett. The revue premiered at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival before transferring to the West End and Broadway.

On Broadway, he also directed King Lear in 2004, as well as Long Day's Journey Into Night in 1986.

He made his debut as a theatre director in 1962 with a production of John Osborne's Under Plain Cover.

Miller became editor and presenter of BBC arts programme Monitor and a director of plays at The National Theatre, including a modern-dress staging of The Merchant of Venice, with Laurence Olivier as Shylock.

He also went on to direct six of the BBC's 1980s Shakespeare productions, including The Taming of the Shrew with John Cleese and Othello with Anthony Hopkins.

Although Miller was unable to read music, he directed operas for the ENO, Glyndebourne and the Met in New York.

Miller was knighted in 2002 for services to music and the arts.

Read more on the BBC.