Feb. 23, 1962 - William Bendix (pictured), veteran film actor, has dropped out of the title role in “General Seeger,” the Ira Levin dramatic play that completes a two-week run in Detroit tonight. The actor, who gave his last performance in the play Thursday night, said today that he withdrew because of a difference of opinion over the role’s interpretation with George C. Scott, the director and co-producer of the venture. Mr. Scott, last seen as an actor on screen in “The Hustler,” stepped into the part last night, and the play will open in New York on schedule next Wednesday. Asked to elaborate on the nature of the disagreement, Mr. Bendix replied: “There were so many disagreements that I could not enumerate them all.” He said, however, that one of the major factors for his resignation was the incorporation of new material. “I just couldn’t absorb any more,” he said. The actor said that he finally suggested to Mr. Scott that he do his own interpretation “and everybody would be happy.” “It was an amicable parting of the ways, and that’s about all there is to it,” he added. Mr. Scott and Theodore Mann, the producers, emphatically denied a report from Detroit that they had fired Mr. Bendix. “Mr. Bendix left after a mutual discussion with Mr. Scott,” they said.
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