ABSTRACT
I saw the Salesman Dustin Hoffman did on Broadway; and, later that week, had the pleasure of spending part of an afternoon with Mr Miller. I needed a telephone and he led me to a joint in the theatre district which had recently sold him a telephone he found particularly useful. It took me a while to muster courage sufficient to address Mr Miller on the subject of his work, and, finally, said, 'you know, Arthur, watching Salesman, I felt I was watching my own story - that you had written the story of my father and me - don't you think that's strange?' I saw a small courteous smile on his face that said that he did not find my remark strange at all - that, on the contrary, he had heard it from the vast majority of men who had seen the play and offered him a comment on it - that our response to a work of genius on stage is: that is my story - not only did you write it about me, but I could go up on stage right now and act it.
