George Louis Schaefer (December 16, 1920 – September 10, 1997) was an American director of television and Broadway theatre, who was active from the 1950s to the 1990s.
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 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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4][5]
In 1996, he released his autobiographyFrom Live to Tape to Film: 60 Years of Inconspicuous Directing.[6]
Schaefer continued directing TV movies until his death in 1997. His final TV movie was an adaptation of Harvey. He was survived by his wife, Mildred Trares (1931-2020), whom he had married in 1954.[7]
^National Student Film Institute/L.A: The Sixteenth Annual Los Angeles Student Film Festival. The Directors Guild Theatre. June 10, 1994. pp. 10–11.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Los Angeles Student Film Institute: 13th Annual Student Film Festival. The Directors Guild Theatre. June 7, 1991. p. 3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Schaefer, George (1996). From Live to Tape to Film: 60 Years of Inconspicuous Directing. Directors Guild of America. ISBN9781882766048. OCLC36145736.
