Jeannette Clift George, often credited professionally as Jeannette Clift (June 1, 1925 – December 23, 2017), was an American film and stage actress,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, and founder of the A.D. Players theater company in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Clift was best known for her portrayal of

Corrie ten Boom Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, who worked with her father, Casper ten Boom, her sister Betsie ten Boom and other family membe ...

, a Dutch woman who hid

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

from the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in the 1975

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

, '' The Hiding Place''. The role earned Clift a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

nomination in 1975 and a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles in 1977.

Early years

Born in Houston, Texas, George was the daughter of Hubert E. and Jeannette C. Clift. She earned her degree from the Department of Theater and Dance at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Acting

George's professional experience included acting with the Alley Theatre in Houston, Philadelphia's Playhouse in the Park, the District of Columbia's Arena Stage, and Houston’s Stages Repertory Theatre. She also toured with the New York Shakespeare Company. In 1967, George founded the After Dinner (A.D.) Players Theater Company in Houston. She led the company, which produces six main shows annually, for more than 50 years until her death in December 2017. Her acting with the group spanned 44 years, beginning with ''IBID'' (1968) and ending with ''Whatever Happened to the Villa Real'' (2012). In addition to her acting and theater careers, Clift was also an author and Bible teacher. In the 1980s, George performed in the one-act, one-woman play ''Rachel, Woman of Masada'', portraying a grandmother who survived a mass suicide at the ancient

Masada Masada ( ', 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BCE, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising ov ...

fortress in Israel. On screen, George (billed as Jeannette Clift) was best known for her role as

in the 1975 film, '' The Hiding Place''. The film recounted the real-life story of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian woman who hid and rescued Jews from the Nazis during the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of ''Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the Rotterdam Blitz, bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces ...

Writing

Plays that George wrote include ''John, His Story'', ''IBID'', ''Whatever Happened to the Villa Real'', ''Rowena'', ''Virgule'' and ''Ret''.

Personal life

George was married to Lorraine Malcom George, who died in 2004.

Death

George died on December 23, 2017, in

, at the age of 92.

Recognition

George was named a "distinguished alumnus" by the University of Texas, and she received honorary degrees from Houston Baptist University and Dallas Baptist University. She received a 1976

nomination for New Star of the Year—Actress for her role in ''The Hiding Place''. In addition to that nomination, George was honored by the Association for Women in Communications with a Matrix Award for "outstanding contributions" as a

. She also received a Texas Baptist Communications Award in 1988, as a well as a

Delta Gamma Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a North American women's fraternity. It was established in 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in Oxford, Mississippi. It has 151 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's exe ...

fraternity Shield Award.

Legacy

The Jeannette & L.M. George Theater in Houston is named for George and her husband. Dedicated in 2017, the 450-seat theater is in the city’s Galleria-Uptown area.

References

External links

*
Jeannette Clift George websitePortions of George's book, ''Troubling Deaf Heaven: Assurance in the Silence of God'' are available on Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Jeannette 1925 births 2017 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American women dramatists and playwrights Moody College of Communication alumni Actresses from Houston 21st-century American women