George W. George
George W. George (born George Warren Goldberg, February 8, 1920 – November 7, 2007) was an American theater, Broadway and film producer. His credits included the 1981 film My Dinner With Andre and several hit Broadway productions.[1]
Early life
George Warren Goldberg was born in Manhattan on February 8, 1920.[1] His parents were the well known cartoonist Rube Goldberg and Goldberg's wife, Irma Seeman.[1] George attended Williams College.[1]
George's father, Rube Goldberg, often received hate mail for his political cartoons during World War II.[1] Rube insisted that both of his sons, George and Thomas, change their surnames to protect themselves.[1] When Thomas chose the last name of "George", George decided to take the same surname as his brother. The newly renamed George W. George wanted to keep a sense of family togetherness by having the same name as his brother.[1]
Career
George W. George made his film producing debut with the 1957 documentary The James Dean Story, which was directed and produced by Robert Altman.[1] Other films to his credit included Rich Kids in 1979, which was written by his wife, Judith Ross George[1] and 1973's Night Watch, which starred Elizabeth Taylor.[1]
George's most well known film was My Dinner With Andre, which was released in 1981. George co-produced the film with Beverly Karp.[1] Starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, it opened to little enthusiasm but soon received critical acclaim and ultimately pulled in a 5 million-dollar box office gross.[1] At the time, five million was considered a good total for a low-budget, independent film.[1]
George made his Broadway debut in 1964 when he produced Dylan, starring Sir Alec Guinness as Dylan Thomas and written by Sidney Michaels.[1] George soon enjoyed a second consecutive hit with Any Wednesday, which opened shortly after Dylan. Any Wednesday, a comedy which starred Sandy Dennis and Gene Hackman, ran for more than two years on Broadway and was made into a film.[1] Other hits that George W. George produced include Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce, which earned a Tony Awards nomination for best play in 1979, and Ben Franklin in Paris, (1964) which starred Robert Preston.[1]
However, despite a string of hits, George was not always successful. His less successful Broadway flops included Happily Never After, which ran for only four shows, and Via Galactica, which closed after just seven Broadway performances.[1]
George W. George also worked as a television and film screenwriter in the 1950s and early 1960s.[1] His television credits included The Nevadan, Peter Gunn and Smoke Signal.[1] He and his wife Judith also wrote storylines and screenplays for the ABC television series Combat!, including the episode "The Chateau".[2]
George had a daughter Jennifer, born in 1960. She is a writer and jewelry designer.
Death
George W. George died of Parkinson's disease in Manhattan on November 7, 2007. He was 87 years old.[1]
References
External links
- George W. George at the Internet Movie Database
- George W. George at the Internet Broadway Database
- Boston Globe: George W. George, at 87; writer, producer of films and Broadway plays
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