From: ahk@chinet.com   
      
   Bill Anderson  wrote:   
   >Mack A. Damia  wrote:   
   >>Sun, 24 Dec 2023 05:42:47 -0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman :   
   >>>Mack A. Damia  wrote:   
   >>>>Sun, 24 Dec 2023 01:30:32 -0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman :   
   >>>>>Mack A. Damia  wrote:   
      
   >>>>>>>. . .   
      
   >>>>>>"12 Angry Men"   
      
   >>>>>>The one guy I don't like in that movie is Lee J. Cobb.  Not certain   
   >>>>>>why, maybe his acting is a little too phony, too much of an   
   >>>>>>affectation.   
      
   >>>>>He and Biff weren't on speaking terms.   
      
   >>>>Is it common knowledge who "Biff" is?   
      
   >>>Sigh   
      
   >>Just answer the question, fool.   
      
   >Lee J. Cobb is noted for playing Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a   
   >Salesman. Willy's oldest son, with whom he did not see eye to eye, was   
   >named Biff.   
      
   >I actually remembered the name, but I would not consider it "common   
   >knowledge."  Biff in Back to the Future might qualify, especially here in a   
   >movie discussion group, but answering the question rather than showing off   
   >would have been a more reasonable response I think. Merry Christmas.   
      
   I certainly wasn't "showing off". And in this newsgroup, in which there   
   are discussions of old movies, yes, I was expecting it to be common   
   knowledge. As the joke fell flat, I wasn't in the mood to explain the   
   reference, but I really expected I'd need to. Nor did I expect to be the   
   target of Mack's foul mood.   
      
   Death of a Salesman is one of the most successful and most famous plays   
   ever written for the American stage. Lee J. Cobb was the original Willy   
   Loman on Broadway. He played the part again in the 1966 adaptation for   
   tv. This is the part that Lee J. Cobb is most famous for.   
      
   While Cobb was not in the 1954 teleplay "12 Angry Men", he played #3 in   
   the 1955 adaptation for Broadway and the 1957 adaptation for film.   
      
   I'm sure casting him in 1955 was well worth the money and both the   
   Broadway audience and movie audience would have understand why he was   
   cast.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)