Death of a Salesman (1966 U.S. film) work, while a young Gene Wilder presents a comic but sensitive performance as Bernard. In general, critics spoke well of the Xerox-sponsored CBS adaptation The day after it aired Jack Gould praised it in "The New York Times" with a column that began "An evening of exalted theater came to television last night in a revelation of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' that will stand as the supreme understanding of the tragedy of Willy Loman." Joan Crosby of "The Pittsburgh Press" praised all members of the Loman family for their performances and described the performance as "An evening of
Willy Loman this. In the end, he is determined to not only adopt his father's dream (even when it killed him), but to surpass him as he states "It's the only dream you can have -- to come out No. 1 man." Besides interacting with his wife and his sons, Willy spends much time during the play in fantasy conversations with his long-dead brother Ben, whom Willy still idolizes, calling on him for guidance, for instance, when he is fired from his job. Toward the end of the play - when Willy has dreamed up a scheme to kill himself so that