LATC Finds New ‘Salesman’ to Replace Ailing Philip Hall

George Murdock has stepped into the role of Willy Loman, replacing the ailing Philip Baker Hall in the Los Angeles Theatre Center’s production of “Death of a Salesman.” According to a spokeswoman for the theater, performances will go on without any disruption in the schedule.

Hall suffered a detached retina of his left eye in a staged scuffle during a Nov. 22 performance of the Arthur Miller play. The condition did not fully manifest itself until Tuesday, however, during a matinee performance for students. Hall successfully underwent emergency surgery at Midway Hospital at 6:30 p.m. the same day.

The theater, in the grip of financial cutbacks, was caught without an understudy for the role. (Actors’ Equity, the actor’s union, does require understudies, said a union representative, but it cannot make them mandatory.)

Center artistic director Bill Bushnell, who also staged the play, had to perform the part, script in hand, at Wednesday’s student matinee. (There was no scheduled evening performance Wednesday.)

The theatrical community was immediately alerted that LATC was looking for anyone who had recently played the role of Willy Loman and would be willing to stand in for Hall. Murdock, who is a friend of one of the cast members and had seen the show Saturday, offered his services. He had played Loman at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Tex., about three weeks ago and was pressed into immediate service.

“He showed up for rehearsal at 5:30 (p.m., Wednesday) with his costume and the words,” said Bushnell. “All he needed to do was to learn the moves.”

“It was like a miracle,” said LATC producing director Diane White. “For a theater that had to give up understudies because of money problems and constrictions in our budget from the Community Redevelopment Agency, this was an amazing coincidence.”

Murdock is well known for numerous performances around town over the last decade, beginning with a memorably apoplectic Judge Julius Hoffman in the Odyssey Theatre’s “The Chicago Conspiracy Trial” in 1979.

“Life has all these little potholes you don’t know are there,” Hall said from his home Thursday, where he is recuperating. The doctor’s recommendation is a three-week convalescence, but Hall is not ruling out the possibility that he might return to the play next Friday for the final weekend (it closes Dec. 10).

“I’ve waited so long to play this part,” he said wistfully. It is not known whether the theater, whose workman’s compensation insurance will foot the bill for this incident, will allow him to return.

Murdock, in rehearsal, could not be reached for comment.