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George Furth
George Furth
	George Furth in The Boston Strangler (1968)
Born	George Schweinfurth; December 14, 1932; Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 11, 2008 (aged 75); Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Education	Northwestern University; Columbia University;
Occupations	Librettist; playwright; actor;
Years active	1961–1998
Notable work	Company; Merrily We Roll Along;

George Furth (born George Schweinfurth; December 14, 1932 – August 11, 2008) was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.

Life and career

Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of George and Evelyn (née Tuerk) Schweinfurth.^[1] He was of German and Irish ancestry, and was raised as a Christian Scientist. He received a bachelor of science in speech at Northwestern University in 1954 and received his master's degree from Columbia University.^[2]

A life member of the Actors Studio,^[3] Furth made his Broadway debut as an actor in the 1961 play A Cook for Mr. General, followed by the musical Hot Spot two years later. He was also known for his collaborations with Stephen Sondheim: the highly successful Company, the ill-fated Merrily We Roll Along, and the equally ill-fated drama Getting Away with Murder.^[4] Furth wrote the plays Twigs, The Supporting Cast, and Precious Sons as well as the book for the Kander and Ebb musical The Act.

One of Furth's latter writing projects was a foray into an area where he had not previously explored. He wrote the lyrics for a musical revue, with music by Doug Katsaros. Furth and Katsaros shaped the work with San Francisco director Mike Ward into The End-a new musical revue. The piece was performed at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center during the summer of 2004 and was billed as a "Pre-U.S. Tour Workshop Production". The piece was reworked twice, with the title changing to Last Call and Happy Hour, respectively. ^{[citation needed]}

Frequently cast as a bespectacled, ineffectual milquetoast, Furth appeared in The Boston Strangler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (as a devoted railroad employee travelling in the car that contains the safe that Butch and his gang twice rob), Myra Breckinridge, Blazing Saddles, Shampoo (as a bank officer dealing with Warren Beatty’s character’s loan request), Oh, God! (as a newspaper editor who refuses to publicize John Denver’s character’s claims that God has communicated with him), The Cannonball Run, The Man with Two Brains, and Bulworth. His many television credits include Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Tammy; McHale's Navy; Ironside; I Dream of Jeannie; That Girl; Green Acres; The Monkees; Batman; The Odd Couple; Bonanza; Happy Days; All in the Family; Murphy Brown; L.A. Law; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; Murder, She Wrote; Little House on the Prairie; Love, American Style; Adam-12; F Troop; and the 1980 TV movie The Scarlett O'Hara War, in which he portrayed George Cukor. He was a regular in the cast of the short-lived 1976 sitcom The Dumplings.

He adapted his play Twigs as a 1975 television production, starring Carol Burnett.^[5] He also worked as a voice actor in several episodes of the animated television series The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda for Hanna-Barbera Productions.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life and death

Furth was gay.^[6]^[7] He and Stephen Sondheim both repeatedly refused to update Company to give it a gay slant.^[6]

Furth died at a hospital in Santa Monica, California, on August 11, 2008, at age 75.^[8]

Awards

Furth won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical for Company and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play for Precious Sons.

Filmography

The Best Man (1964) as Tom
The New Interns (1964) as Dr. Phil Osterman
A Very Special Favor (1965) as Pete
A Rage to Live (1965) as Paul Rutherford

The Cool Ones (1967) as Howie
Tammy and the Millionaire (1967) as Dwayne Whitt
Games (1967) as Terry, Party Guest
Nobody's Perfect (1968) as Hamner
How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968) as Roger
P.J. (1968) as Sonny Silene
What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968) as Murgatroyd
The Boston Strangler (1968) as Lyonel Brumley
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) as Woodcock
Myra Breckinridge (1970) as Charlie Flager Jr.
The Third Girl from the Left (1973) as Zimmy
Sleeper (1973) as Guest at Luna's Party (uncredited)
Blazing Saddles (1974) as Van Johnson
Shampoo (1975) as Mr. Pettis
Norman... Is That You? (1976) as Mr. Sukara
American Raspberry (1977) as President
Airport '77 (1977) as Gerald Lucas
Oh God! (1977) as Briggs
Hooper (1978) as Bidwell
The Cannonball Run (1981) as Arthur J. Foyt
Megaforce (1982) as Professor Eggstrum
Young Doctors in Love (1982) as The Patients - Disgusting Looking Patient
Doctor Detroit (1983) as Arthur Skridlow
The Man with Two Brains (1983) as Timon
Murder, She Wrote (1986) as Farley Pressman
Foofur (1986) as Additional voices
The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda (1990) as Additional voices
The Munsters Today (1990) as Dr. Carver (in "Just Another Face")
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993) as Jedidiah Bancroft
Goodbye Lover (1998) as Mr. Merritt
Bulworth (1998) as Older Man

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Charlie	Season 2 Episode 6: "Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale"
1964	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Jack Terola	Season 2 Episode 21: "Beast in View"
1966	The Monkees	Ronnie Farnsworth	S1:E13, "One Man Shy"
1967	The Monkees	Henry	S2:E11, "A Coffin Too Frequent"
1969	I Dream Of Jeannie	Charlie Farnum, reporter	S4:E26, "Blackmail Order Bride"