Death of a Salesman his standards. The models of business success provided in the play all argue against Willy's "personality theory." One is Charley, Willy's neighbor and apparently only friend. Charley has no time for Willy's theories of business, but he provides for his family and is in a position to offer Willy a do-nothing job to keep him bringing home a salary. (Bloom 51) "Death of a Salesman" first opened on February 10, 1949, to great success. Drama critic John Gassner wrote that “the ecstatic reception accorded "Death of Salesman" has been reverberating for some time wherever there is an ear for theatre,
Arthur Miller to marry. Within hours of her father's death, Rebecca Miller ordered Barley to vacate the premises, having consistently opposed the relationship. Miller's final play, "Finishing the Picture", opened at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, in the fall of 2004, with one character said to be based on Barley. It was reported to be based on his experience during the filming "The Misfits", though Miller insisted the play is a work of fiction with independent characters that were no more than composite shadows of history. Miller died of bladder cancer and heart failure, at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He had been