A part of Scranton is gone

By Wendy Maopolski Electric City Editor

Scranton lost a piece of its soul on Sunday with the passing of esteemed playwright Jason Miller.

This brilliant yet capricious man was more than a local legend. His devilish wit and wicked humor were tempered by an intelligence so keen and sharp that to sit in his presence, you could only listen in awe to his stories.

Yet Jason was far from a braggard, and instead, would close his eyes and shrug his shoulders any time praise was bestowed upon him. Whenever an aspiring writer (such as myself) would ask the secret of his pen, he'd throw his hands up in the air and respond: "It's just what I do."

And although I have only gotten to know Jason personally in the past year or so, I grew up, like so many others around here, in awe of his accomplishments. When the "Exorcist" came out in the movie theaters, I swooned at his visceral portrayal of Father Damien Karras, the tortured Catholic priest with a face more handsome than any priest I ever knew.

When Jason brought Hollywood to our own back yards with the filming of "That Championship Season," I was one of 600 desperate locals elbowing our way to the Nay Aug Park grandstand to snare a part in the film. And sure enough, I managed to get cast as a rollerskater in the Viewmont Mall, where I had to crash into Martin Sheen and Bruce Dern as they exited a television store.

When I moved back to Scranton after living six years in northern California, the first play that I saw was Jason's "Barrymore's Ghost" at a packed house at the Scranton Cultural Center. With me that night were a pair of out-of-town colleagues from The Scranton Times, and I was so proud to tell them of Jason's past accomplishments, so proud that he was from Scranton.

And perhaps that, in a nutshell, is why I got out of bed on a Sunday night and headed down to the paper when I learned that Jason had died. For many of us, Jason injected our sometimes sullen streets with a hint of magic, a touch of charisma, that otherwise wasn't there. A mysterious figure, he was not often recognizable with his sometimes disheveled appearance. But to Jason, appearances were never given a second thought. Even though there were some who may have scoffed at his tousled exterior, there were many more who recognized the brilliance within.

Often, when I'd see him walking downtown, I'd watch other people recognize him, and like me, they'd all smile as he walked by. For this was THE Jason Miller, the Academy-Award nominated movie star, the Pulitzer Prize winner, the Scrantonian.

You see, Jason gave us all yet another reason to be proud of our heritage. After all, his Pulitzer Prize-winning play was a testament to life here in NEPA. And when it came time to make "Championship" into a movie, he introduced the likes of Paul Sorvino, Martin Sheen and Robert Mitchum to all us living here at the time.

And what an exciting time it was.

And what an exciting time it was whenever I had the honor of being with Jason.

He'd breeze into our offices regularly with a filthy joke and hint of cognac on his breath. And every single one of us would still swoon at his most welcome presence. At any of the downtown watering holes, he'd have all of us in stitches at one of his many ribald tales. But most times, he would inspire in me the love of writing that so often leaves you after years of pounding a keyboard from 9 'til 5.

And in one of our rare, serious conversations, Jason once confided in me: "I have so much I want to do, yet I don't think I have many summers left."

And sure enough, this will be the first summer Scranton will be without Jason. And yet, when you're walking the streets downtown, you may want to watch out for a mysterious figure, scurrying his way over to Farley's. But don't be alarmed if on further inspection, that figure dissipates before it gets to the door. After all, Scranton will never be without Jason Miller ...and Jason Miller will never leave Scranton.

WENDY MAOPOLSKI is the editor of Electric City.

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