Around The Arts

Arthur Miller to receive prestigious Jerusalem Prize\nJERUSALEM -- Playwright Arthur Miller, known for his works examining the darker sides of American society, will receive the prestigious Jerusalem Prize this year, the city's mayor announced Wednesday.\nThe prize, awarded every two years, singles out literary achievements in the field of freedom of the individual in society, the prize committee said in a statement. Mayor Uri Lupolianski said Miller would receive the award during the biennial Jerusalem International Book Fair, June 23-27.\nThe chairman of the prize committee, Avishay Braverman, said Miller was selected for "his efforts on behalf of the common good, for standing alongside the small, gray individual and placing him in the center of society." The last recipient was Susan Sontag.\nMiller, 87, is best known for his plays "All My Sons" in 1947 and "Death of a Salesman" in 1949. In 1953, his play, "The Crucible," was a thinly veiled critique of the anti-communist McCarthy era, and Miller himself was hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee three years later.\nHe previously received three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. \nIn 1956, he married Marilyn Monroe, but they were divorced in 1961, shortly before her death.\nRodney Dangerfield has brain surgery\nLOS ANGELES -- Comedic actor Rodney Dangerfield underwent an eight-hour arterial brain surgery to improve his body's blood flow in preparation for yet another surgery, a heart valve replacement.\nThe operation began Tuesday morning at University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Afterward, Dangerfield, 81, was placed in an intensive care unit to recover.\nTuesday's surgery is intended to deal with blockages in the main artery in the neck, which carries blood to the brain. Typically, surgeons make a small hole in the skull, then connect an artery in the scalp to another inside the skull, increasing blood flow to the brain.\n"It's all being done because he does have to have heart valve replacement surgery. He needs to have his blood flow going for that," said Dangerfield publicist Kevin Sasaki.\nDangerfield is expected to recover after about 10 days of hospitalization. His heart valve surgery is planned about three weeks after that, Sasaki said.\nThe bug-eyed comic whose self-deprecating schtick hinges on getting "no respect," has appeared frail since a heart attack in November 2001.\nHe has remained active, however, and the straight-to-video release of his 2002 film, "The Fourth Tenor," coincidentally debuted on Tuesday while he was in surgery. Some of his other movies include "Caddyshack," "Back to School," "Easy Money" and "Natural Born Killers."\n"He's taking care of a lot of things that need to be straightened out," Dangerfield's publicist said.\nThe comic displayed a sense of humor about his condition with a statement full of wisecracks Tuesday.\n"After this repair work, I'll be as good as new, but right now I know I'm in rough shape," he said. "I joined a weightlifting class ... they started me with helium balloons."\nDangerfield added: "I checked into the hospital because I have a thing for the nurse. It's a little thing, but it's a thing"