Broadway playwright, actor George Furth dies at 75

Actor and playwright George Furth, best known for his collaborations with Stephen Sondheim, has died at the age of 75.

The Chicago-born Furth died at hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., on Monday, according to his agent, Dennis Aspland.

Furth started his show business career as an actor in the 1960s, often cast as nerdy characters on Broadway, in TV and in film, including popular movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cannonball Run and Blazing Saddles.

He is better known, however, for his theatre writing. His plays include the comedies Twigs and The Supporting Cast as well as the family drama Precious Sons. He also wrote the book for the John Kander-Fred Ebb musical The Act.

His most acclaimed work, however, came during his collaborations with Sondheim, including the 1970 musical Company for which Furth wrote the book, Sondheim the music, Harold Prince served as director and Michael Bennett choreographed.

The unconventional, revue-like musical — which won Furth Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his writing — has also had two Broadway revivals, most recently in 2006.

He teamed up with Sondheim again for the 1981 musical Merrily We Roll Along, which closed after just a few weeks, but has since become musical theatre cult favourite.

They also worked together on Getting Away with Murder, which also had a short Broadway run in 1996.

No immediate survivors were identified.