John Furia, Jr.

Who was John Furia, Jr.?

John Furia, Jr. was an American television writer, whose credits included Bonanza, Hawaii Five-O, The Twilight Zone, The Waltons and Dr. Kildare.

Furia was elected President of the Writers Guild of America, West from 1973 until 1975. He also served on the Writers Guild of America's board of directors for two terms. Furia co-chaired the WGA's negotiating committee on several different occasions, including for the WGA's 2004 negotiations.

Furia received several honors from the WGA for his work, including the Morgan Cox, Valentine Davies and Edmund H. North awards for "leadership and guild service."

Additionally, Furia was a professor and director of film writing at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television.

Furia died on May 7, 2009, at the age of 79. He is survived by his wife and seven children.