William Anthony Furness, 2nd Viscount Furness

He died in the Order's Hospice of St John and St Elizabeth in London on 1 May 1995. Since he did not marry and had no children—according to an obituary, he took a vow of celibacy upon being rejected by the only woman he ever asked to marry him, Joyce Reeves – both titles became extinct.

For many years Lord Furness was an active member of the Royal Central Asian Society, now the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. His theatrical and Central Asian interests culminated in his visit to Mongolia in 1960, in an attempt to bring the Mongolian National Opera to London. And although this did not succeed, due largely to difficulties made by the Soviet government of the day, this interest did lead to the founding of The Anglo-Mongolian Society in 1963.

In addition to his parliamentary duties he also ran Furness Enterprises from his grandfather's offices at 60 St James's Street, which gave him easy access to his favourite clubs. In the fifties and sixties he was a theatrical producer or "angel", his preferred term, most particularly with the actor Alan Badel, with whom he ran Furndel Productions, based at the Westminster Theatre. Of these productions probably the 1959 production of Ulysses in Nighttown, directed by Burgess Meredith, which transferred from New York and ran in London and later in Paris, and James Saunders' The Ark were the most prestigious; although Furndel productions also mounted the London production of Gore Vidal’s Visit to a Small Planet. When his partnership with Alan Badel ended, he continued to work as a producer, most particularly through his financing of Jeremy Brett's Hamlet, and a memorable production of Heartbreak House at Wyndham's Theatre, with Roger Livesey as Captain Shotover.

Tony Furness, as he was known, was educated in England at Downside School and in America. He succeeded to the title in 1940 on the death of his father, his half brother Christopher Furness having been killed in action earlier that year at Arras whilst serving with the Welsh Guards for which Christopher Furness was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

William Anthony Furness, 2nd Viscount Furness (31 March 1929 – 1 May 1995) was a British peer. He was the producer and financier of many West End plays, and an active member of the Royal Central Asian Society. He was also a knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.