George Furth

George Furth
George Furth inThe Boston Strangler(1968)
Born	George Schweinfurth (1932-12-14)December 14, 1932 Chicago,Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 11, 2008(2008-08-11)(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(bornGeorge Schweinfurth;December 14, 1932 – August 11, 2008) was an Americanlibrettist,playwright, and actor.

Life and career

Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of George and Evelyn (née Tuerk) Schweinfurth.He was of German and Irish ancestry, and was raised as a Christian Scientist. He received a bachelor of science in speech atNorthwestern Universityin 1954 and received his master's degree fromColumbia University.

A life member of theActors Studio,Furth made his Broadway debut as an actor in the 1961 playA Cook for Mr. General,followed by the musicalHot Spottwo years later. He was also known for his collaborations withStephen Sondheim:the highly successfulCompany,the ill-fatedMerrily We Roll Along,and the equally ill-fated dramaGetting Away with Murder.Furth wrote the playsTwigs,The Supporting Cast,andPrecious Sonsas well as the book for theKander and EbbmusicalThe 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 intoThe 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 toLast CallandHappy Hour,respectively.

Frequently cast as a bespectacled, ineffectual milquetoast, Furth appeared inThe 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,andBulworth.His many television credits includeMary 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 movieThe Scarlett O'Hara War,in which he portrayedGeorge Cukor.He was a regular in the cast of the short-lived 1976 sitcomThe Dumplings.

He adapted his playTwigsas a 1975 television production, starringCarol Burnett.He also worked as a voice actor in several episodes of the animated television seriesThe Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho PandaforHanna-BarberaProductions.

Personal life and death

Furth was gay.He and Stephen Sondheim both repeatedly refused to updateCompanyto give it a gay slant.

Furth died at a hospital inSanta Monica, California,on August 11, 2008, at age 75.

Awards

Furth won both the Tony andDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a MusicalforCompanyand was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play forPrecious 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"

External links

• George Furthat theInternet Broadway Database
• George FurthatIMDb
• George Furth papers, 1932-2008,held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,New York Public Library for the Performing Arts