The original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a play by Tennessee Williams,opened at the Morosco Theater in New York. It was directed Elia Kazan
and starred Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie; Ben Gazzara as Brick; and Burl
Ives as Big Daddy. The play had 694 performances and won the Pulitzer
Prize for Drama in 1955.

 
From left: Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan

Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie

From left: Art Carney and Walter Matthau

"The Odd Couple" began as a play written by Neil Simon. It premiered on
Broadway in 1965 at the Plymouth Theatre in New York City and starred
Walter Matthau as Oscar and Art Carney as Felix. Later in the show’s run,
Jack Klugman took over the role of Oscar, which he played until the show
ended its Broadway run on July 2, 1967. Simon’s inspiration for the play
was his brother Danny, who was divorced and was rooming with a
divorced friend. The play was eventually made into a movie and a
successful television series.

Playwright Neil Simon

1968

 
On ABC (1970-1975)

John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914 – January 5, 1990)

Arthur Kennedy got his big break when he was discovered by James
Cagney. His first film role was of Cagney’s younger brother in City for
Conquest in 1940. He appeared in many Western films and police
dramas, equally adapting as hero or villain.

Kennedy won a Tony Award for best supporting actor for his stage
portrayal of Biff in Death of a Salesman in 1949. His role in Trial
(1955) won him a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor
and his part as the newspaper reporter in Elmer Gantry (1960)
gained him a Film Daily Award and a Limelight Award.   

1952

Rock Hudson, Arthur Kennedy, and James Stewart from Bend of the River

 
Arthur Kennedy as seen in Elmer Gantry

Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by play wright Arthur Miller. It
received the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best
Play. The production premiered at the Morosco Theater in New York
City. The original play ran for a total of 742 performances.. 

 
Lee J. Cobb (shown above) starred as salesman Willy Loman