Court Miller

Court Miller, born J. Courtlandt Miller on January 29, 1952, in New Canaan, Connecticut, was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was one of three children and grew up to train with acting teacher Uta Hagen and vocal coach Louise Quinto. Miller died of AIDS on March 7, 1986, in Portland, Maine, at the age of 34.

Miller's early regional career took him to multiple theaters across the country. In 1974, he took on the starring role of King Arthur in a production of Camelot at the Cortland Repertory Theater, appearing alongside his wife, Barbara Kolsun. He subsequently performed at the Rochester Opera House, Woodstock Playhouse, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. In 1978, he appeared opposite Martha Schlamme in Susan Horowitz's play Angelface, and the following year he was cast in The Runner Stumbles at Studio Arena Theater. He also toured England and Scotland with the Paper Bag Players.

Beginning in 1977, Miller spent four seasons as a company member at Lexington Conservatory Theatre, where he played a range of classical and contemporary roles. His credits with the company included Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, the title role in Dr. Faustus, both 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 and that same year participated in a staged reading of Oakley Hall III's Grinder's Stand. In 1979, he originated the role of Meriwether Lewis in the world premiere of that play. The Albany Times Union described his performance as excellent, noting his portrayal of a man withdrawing from drug use. In March 1980, Miller starred in The Tavern, the first full production of Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, marking his final work with the Lexington company.

Also in 1980, Miller appeared in the world premiere of Elizabeth and Essex, a musical at Encompass New Opera Theatre featuring Estelle Parsons. His Broadway debut came in 1981 in The First, a musical by Robert Brush and Martin Charnin, with a cast that included David Huddleston, David Alan Grier, and Lonette McKee. That same year he appeared in José Quintero's revival of Eugene O'Neill's Welded alongside Philip Anglim and Ellen Tobie.

Miller's most prominent Broadway role came in 1982, when he was cast as Ed in the Broadway premiere of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy. Later that year he made his television debut in the movie Rage of Angels, starring Jaclyn Smith. In 1983, he appeared at the 37th Tony Awards, where he presented the award for Best Lighting Design; Torch Song Trilogy won the award for Best Play at that ceremony.

In 1984, Miller appeared opposite Anne Meara and Tom Noonan in Fierstein's Spookhouse at Playhouse 91. Later that year he starred as Hank in Elizabeth Diggs's Goodbye Freddy at Portland Stage Company, a production that also featured Barbara Eda-Young and Walter Bobbie and reunited him with several Lexington Conservatory alumni, including actress Kit Flanagan, director Barbara Rosoff, and Diggs herself. His film credits included Garbo Talks, Cat's Eye, The New Kids, and Playing for Keeps, and he appeared on the television series Ryan's Hope and Heart's Island.

Miller was married to actress and attorney Barbara Kolsun. According to Harvey Fierstein, Miller received an HIV diagnosis in 1982. His name appears on two panels of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Fierstein dedicated his 1987 trilogy Safe Sex to Miller, and one of its plays, On Tidy Endings, draws on Miller's relationship with Kolsun. That play was later produced by HBO as a film starring Fierstein and Stockard Channing and directed by Gavin Millar.