George Furth (Book) was born George Schweinfurth on December 14, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Speech in 1954 and received a master’s in Fine Arts from Columbia University in 1956. After appearing in more than 85 films and countless television shows as a character actor, (best remembered for his role as Woodcock in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in 1969), he went on to write the book for Company with Stephen Sondheim, for which he won a Tony and Drama Desk Award and again, with Sondheim writing the lyrics and music, Merrily We Roll Along, the 1981 musical based on the George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play. They also co-wrote the 1996 mystery Getting Away With Murder. Furth wrote the book for the 1971 play Twigs, the 1977 musical The Act, the 1981 comedy The Supporting Cast, and in 1986 Precious Sons, (which was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play). He also won the Outer Critics Circle, London’s Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award, Chicago’s Jefferson, the Andy, and Drama League Awards. He was a member of the Actors Studio and the Dramatists Guild. Furth passed away on August 11, 2008 in Santa Monica, California at the age of 75.