George Furth, 'Company' Writer, Dies At 75

 It was just confirmed that George Furth, best known for writing the books of  Merrily We Roll Along and Company, has passed away. He was 75 years old.

Mr. Furth was a Tony Award winning actor, playwright and librettist. He made his Broadway debut as an actor in 1961 in the play A Cook For Mr. General. In 1963 he starred in the musical Hot Spot. Throughout his career as an actor he appeared in the films Blazing Saddles, The Best Man, Myra Breckinridge, Oh God!, Hooper, The Cannonball Run, Young Doctors in Love, Doctor Detroit, Bulworth, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where he played Woodcock.

On television he has appeared in Tammy, McHale's Navy, F Troop, Ironside, I Dream of Jeannie, That Girl, Green Acres, The Monkees, The Odd Couple, Bonanza, Happy Days, All in the Family, Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Murder, She Wrote.

While he was a very prolific actor, Mr. Furth is best known as a writer in particular for his work with Stephen Sondheim in the musicals Merrily We Roll Along and Company, for which he wrote the books. He also wrote the book for the Kander and Ebb musical The Act in addition to his own plays: Twigs, The Supporting Cast, and Precious Sons.

He won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Company and received another Drama Desk Award nomination for Precious Sons. 

Photo Credit Linda Lenzi