Jonathan Miller’s accidental career
Miller has had a distinguished career as an entertainer, but he wishes he had made better use of the medical degree he earned 50 years ago.
Jonathan Miller regrets that he became an entertainer, says Christina Patterson in the London Independent. In 1960, with Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, and Dudley Moore, Miller revolutionized sketch comedy with the widely acclaimed British stage review Beyond the Fringe. The troupe’s success led Miller to a distinguished career as a producer, TV host, and theatrical and opera director. Yet he wishes he’d made better use of the medical degree he earned 50 years ago. “I had an ambition or determination at least to become a research neurologist, because I was interested in behavior and perception and language,” he says. “It remains a regret and a sort of contempt as well.” It’s not that Miller feels his present work is without value: “I actually think some of the things I’ve done, outside the laboratory, without any test tubes, is about as deep as you can get.” It’s just that he believes he has the gift of “a brilliant mind,” and at 75, wonders if he could have used his gifts to greater good than entertaining people. “I’ve never been able to rid myself of the theater’s reputation for shabby vulgarity, and that no serious person does it.’’
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published