George Schaefer

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 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 US Army 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 Shakespeares Hamlet starring Maurice Evans In 1953 Schaefer won a Tony Award for his production of The Teahouse of the August Moon which he coproduced with Evans During the Golden Age of Television Schaefer directed numerous live TV adaptations of Broadway plays for NBCs 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