George Schaefer (director)
George Louis Schaefer (December 16, 1920 – September 10, 1997) was a director of television and Broadway theatre from the 1950s to the 1990s. He was born in Wallingford, Connecticut.
Career
Schaefer studied stage directing at the Yale School of Drama. He began his directing career while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He directed over 50 plays for the troops. After being discharged, he directed for the Broadway theatre. His first production was of Shakespeare's Hamlet starring Maurice Evans. In 1953, Schaefer won a Tony Award his production of The Teahouse of the August Moon which he co-produced with Evans.
During the Golden Age of Television, he directed numerous live TV adaptations of Broadway plays for NBC's Hallmark Hall of Fame. His first episode for Hallmark was an adaptation of his Broadway staging of Hamlet starring Evans. In the 1960s, his productions for Hallmark aired under the title George Schaefer's Showcase Theatre. His television work garnered him five Emmy wins out of 21 total nominations. He also won four Directors Guild of America Awards out of 17 nominations. He holds the record for the most DGA Award nominations. He also directed five theatrical films but to limited success.
From 1979 to 1981, Schaefer was president of the Directors Guild of America. He was as a board member of President Ronald Reagan's National Council on the Arts from 1982 to 1988. In 1985, he was appointed Chairman and later associate Dean at the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television where he stayed until 1991.
In 1996, he released his autobiography From Live to Tape to Film: 60 Years of Inconspicuous Directing.
Schaefer continued directing TV movies until his death in 1997. His final TV movie was an adaptation of Harvey. He is survived by his wife, Mildred, whom he married in 1954.
Selected television work
- Hamlet (1953)
- Macbeth (1954)
- Richard II (1954)
- One Touch of Venus (1955)
- Alice in Wonderland (1955)
- The Taming of the Shrew (1956)
- Man and Superman (1956)
- The Green Pastures (1957)
- The Yeomen of the Guard (1957)
- Kiss Me, Kate (1958)
- The Gift of the Magi (1958)
- Meet Me in St. Louis (1959)
- A Doll's House (1959)
- Winterset (1959)
- The Tempest (1960)
- Macbeth (1960)
- Pygmalion (1963)
- Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1964)
- Inherit the Wind (1965)
- The Magnificent Yankee (1965)
- Eagle in a Cage (1965)
- Saint Joan (1967)
- The Admirable Crichton (1968)
- Gideon (1971)
- The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1976)
- Our Town (1977)
- The Second Barry Manilow Special (1978)
- The Bunker (1981)
- The People vs. Jean Harris (1981)
- A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982)
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983)
- Right of Way (1983)
- Stone Pillow (1985)
- Laura Lansing Slept Here (1988)
- The Man Upstairs (1992)
- Harvey (1998) (TV)
Selected Broadway theatre productions
- Hamlet (1945 - 1946)
- Man and Superman (1947 - 1948)
- The Teahouse of the August Moon (1953 - 1956) (co-producing only)
- The Apple Cart (1956 - 1957)
- Zenda (1963; closed out-of-town)
- The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1972 - 1973)
Filmography
- Pendulum (1969)
- Generation (1969)
- Doctors' Wives (1971)
- Once Upon a Scoundrel (1974)
- An Enemy of the People (1978)