Dead Man Walking (play) work. The University of Scranton was one of the original Jesuit Universities to perform the play in their 2004-2005 season. Sister Helen Prejean, who had become an internationally known human rights activist as a result of writing "Dead Man Walking", first conceived the idea of a stage version of her work in 1998 after reading a "New Yorker" magazine article that said Arthur Miller's play, "Death of a Salesman", had been performed a million times, and was performed every day somewhere in the world. Sister Helen realized that if "Dead Man Walking" could be made into a play its impact
Chris Sarandon surname was originally "Sarondonethes", was born in Istanbul, Turkey, of Greek ancestry; his mother is also of Greek descent. Sarandon graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley. He earned a degree in speech at West Virginia University. He earned his master's degree in theater from The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C.. While attending CUA, he married classmate Susan Tomalin in 1967. After graduating, they both pursued acting careers, with Tomalin taking his surname as her professional name, Susan Sarandon. They were married until 1979. After graduation, he toured with numerous improvisational companies and became much involved