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George Furth

On film, George Furth usually portrayed slight, anxious, and recessive characters like Mr. Pettis, the peevish banker who turned down Warren Beatty's hairdresser George when he asked for a loan in "Shampoo." But Furth was no small fry when it came to the Great White Way. His second role on Broadway was in the musical satire "Hot Spot," which featured additional music composed by Stephen Sondheim, who was just then coming into his own as a Broadway powerhouse. Thus began a fruitful collaboration between the two; Furth was also a playwright and librettist. He wrote the book for the conceptual musical "Company," which consisted of a series of vignettes, while Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics. This play, which dealt with graver and more realistic subject matter than most of the works in its frequently frivolous genre, became a smash hit. They worked together on another vignette play, "Twigs," which Furth later adapted for a TV version starring Carol Burnett and Ed Asner, as well as "Getting Away with Murder" and "Merrily We Roll Along," which were not so well received. But Furth was able to support his behind-the-scenes career with one in front of the camera; aside from numerous guest spots on shows like "All in the Family" and "The Monkees," he graced the big screen for a couple of classics: the Western "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Mel Brooks's spoof "Blazing Saddles," and the darkly comic political satire "Bullworth"--where he worked again with his longtime friend Beatty.