George Schaefer

A highly distinguished director and producer with credits mostly in theater and television, George Schaefer is best remembered for his work for TV's "Hallmark Hall of Fame," for which he directed and produced a host of renditions of classic plays. He may also be recalled for handling TV-movies that featured several of America's most renowned film stars, such as James Stewart, Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, Schaefer attended high school in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, where he began his career at age 17, directing a stage production of "Leave It to Smith" for the Pastime Players, a troupe he helped to form. During WWII, he served as director of productions for the US Army special services and first met up with Maurice Evans. After the war, Schaefer directed a version of "Hamlet" also known as "G.I. Hamlet," starring Evans, that first played Off-Broadway, then at the City Center Theatre on Broadway and on tour. He became the artistic director and executive producer of the City Center Theatre from 1949-52, and directed productions at the State Fair Music Hall of Dallas, TX, from 1952-56. He and Evans reteamed for a Broadway production of Shaw's "Man and Superman" in 1947. Six years later, the pair co-produced John Patrick's "Teahouse of the August Moon" which won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award. Schaefer staged the London production of "Teahouse" in 1954 then returned to New York to guide a 1955 revival of "Kiss Me, Kate" at City Center (1955). He also directed and produced "Write Me a Murder" in New York (1961) and London (1962). As his TV work increased, Schaefer's stage work became more sporadic after 1970, although he directed the 1980 Los Angeles production of "On Golden Pond."