Life and career
Schaefer was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, and lived in Oak Park, Illinois for much of his boyhood and young adulthood. He was the son of Elsie (née Otterbein) and Louis Schaefer, who worked in sales. Schaefer studied stage directing at the Yale School of Drama. He began his directing career while serving in the U.S. Army Special Services (entertainment), Special Services 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 (actor), Maurice Evans. In 1953, Schaefer won a Tony Award for his production of ''The Teahouse of the August Moon (play), The Teahouse of the August Moon'' which he co-produced with Evans. During the Golden Age of Television, Schaefer 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 1980s, several of his productions for ''Hallmark'' aired in syndication under the title ''George Schaefer 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. In February 1962, actors who had worked with Schaefer, including Ed Wynn, Ethel Griffies and Boris Karloff, participated in a tribute to him on the late-night talk show ''PM East/PM West'' that was syndicated by Westinghouse Broadcasting, Group W Productions to Westinghouse-owned television stations in Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and San Francisco, as well as to other stations in Washington D.C., New York, and Los Angeles. This telecast holds the distinction of being the only episode of ''PM East/PM West'', which aired five nights a week for more than a year, to survive in its entirety. A videocassette of the 1962 telecast is available for viewing at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. ''PM East/PM West'' was never accessible in Chicago, Illinois, the American South, the Southwestern United States, the Pacific Northwest or in the states of Florida or Texas. From 1979 to 1981, George 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 (education), Dean at the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television where he stayed until 1991. During the 1980s and 1990s Schaefer served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute. Schaefer also was the Honorary Chairperson of the Institute for a one-year term. 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 (play), Harvey''. He was survived by his wife, Mildred Trares (1931-2020), whom he had married in 1954.Selected television work
*''Hamlet'' (1953) *''Macbeth (1954 TV drama), Macbeth'' (1954) *''Richard II (play), 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 (musical), Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1959) *''A Doll's House (1959 TV drama), A Doll's House'' (1959) *''Winterset (play), Winterset'' (1959) *''The Tempest'' (1960) *''Macbeth (1960 American film), Macbeth'' (1960) *''Victoria Regina (TV film), Victoria Regina'' (1961), adapted from Laurence Housman's Victoria Regina (play), play of the same name *''Arsenic & Old Lace'' (1962) *''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' (1963) *''Abe Lincoln in Illinois (play), Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1964) *''Inherit the Wind (1965 film), Inherit the Wind'' (1965) *''The Magnificent Yankee (1965 film), The Magnificent Yankee'' (1965) *''Eagle in a Cage'' (1965) *''Lamp at Midnight'' (1966) *''Barefoot in Athens'' (1966) *''Saint Joan (play), Saint Joan'' (1967) *''The Admirable Crichton'' (1968) *''Gideon (play), Gideon'' (1971) *''A War Of Children'' (1972) *''F. Scott Fitzgerald and 'The Last of the Belles''' (1974) *''Carl Sandburg's Lincoln (1974 miniseries), Lincoln'' (1974–76) *''The Last of Mrs. Lincoln'' (1976) *''Amelia Earhart (miniseries), Amelia Earhart'' (1976) *''Our Town'' (1977) *''The Second Barry Manilow Special'' (1978) *''First, You Cry'' (1978) *''Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure'' (1979) *''The Bunker (1981 film), The Bunker'' (1981) *''The People vs. Jean Harris'' (1981) *''The Deadly Game (1982 film), The Deadly Game'' (1982) *''A Piano for Mrs. Cimino'' (1982) *''The Best Christmas Pageant Ever'' (1983) *''Right of Way (film), Right of Way'' (1983) *''Stone Pillow'' (1985) *''Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry'' (1986) *''Laura Lansing Slept Here'' (1988) *''The Man Upstairs (1992 film), The Man Upstairs'' (1992) *''Harvey (1996 film), Harvey'' (1996)Selected Broadway theatre productions
*''Hamlet'' (1945–1946) *''Man and Superman'' (1947–1948) *''The Teahouse of the August Moon (play), The Teahouse of the August Moon'' (1953–1956) (co-producing only) *''The Apple Cart'' (1956–1957) *''Zenda (musical), Zenda'' (1963; closed out-of-town) *''The Last of Mrs. Lincoln'' (1972–1973)Filmography
*''Pendulum (film), Pendulum'' (1969) *''Generation (film), Generation'' (1969) *''Doctors' Wives (1971 film), Doctors' Wives'' (1971) *''Once Upon a Scoundrel'' (1974) *''An Enemy of the People (1978 film), An Enemy of the People'' (1978) *''Children In The Crossfire'' (1984)References
Further reading
* Memorial remarks for Schaefer from Mann and several others. * Obituary for Schaefer.External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, George 1920 births 1997 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American television directors American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers People from Wallingford, Connecticut Presidents of the Directors Guild of America United States Army soldiers 20th-century American businesspeople Film directors from Connecticut Television producers from Connecticut