Paul Muni Born", written by Ben Hecht, to help promote the creation of a Jewish state in Israel. This play was directed by Luther Adler and co-starred Marlon Brando. Years later, in response to a question put to him by Alan King, Brando stated that Muni was the greatest actor he ever saw. At London's Phoenix Theatre on July 28, 1949, Muni began a run as Willy Loman in the first English production of "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller. He took over from Lee J. Cobb, who had played the principal role in the original Broadway production. Both productions were
Willy Loman to charge again." Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance came at a time when the Occupy Wall Street ongoings echoed the play while its actors could not afford the $120 ticket price. The March version of Loman presented him as a bit more of a lunatic than other versions. Miller noted that although he wrote the play in 1947 and 1948, the play grew out of his life experiences, that included his father losing everything in the 1929 stock market crash. Miller claims that the role was actually modeled on one of his uncles. Dustin Hoffman says that the play was the