Jeannette Clift George, Founder Of A. D. Players, Star Of 'The Hiding Place' And Pioneer For Christian Theater, Dies At 92

Friends and colleagues from Houston and around the world mourn the death of Jeannette Clift George, Founder and Artistic Director of the A.D. Players, Golden Globe-nominated film and stage actress, playwright, author, Bible teacher, radio personality and national speaker. Mrs. George, a native Houstonian, was the beloved wife of Lorraine M. George and the daughter of Hubert E. Clift and Jeannette C. Clift, all of whom preceded her in death.

Jeannette Clift George passed away on Saturday, December 23, 2017. Her life will be celebrated in January with a memorial service at Second Baptist Church, 6400 Woodway Drive, Houston, Texas.

For her starring role as Corrie ten Boom in the film 'The Hiding Place,' Mrs. George was nominated for a Golden Globe Award by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and a Golden Apple Award by the Hollywood Women's Press Club, and was named Most Promising Newcomer by the British Academy of Arts and Sciences. 'The Hiding Place' chronicled the life of Corrie ten Boom, whose family sheltered their Jewish neighbors in the Netherlands during the Holocaust and were later imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. Jeannette said of that experience, "This filming was more than a story; it was a life lived again with the hurts and heroes that had survived it..." 'The Hiding Place' by World Wide Pictures Inc. was released in 1975 and a copy of the film is archived in the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.

In five decades as Artistic Director of the Houston-based A.D. Players Theater Company, Jeannette Clift George embodied her prayer that "God would do something about the need for Christian theater." Recognized for her leadership in the arts, Jeannette received the Matrix Award for outstanding contribution to the community through her playwriting; the Delta Gamma Fraternity Shield Award for distinguished achievement; an honorary membership in Alpha Delta Kappa International Teacher's Sorority and the Rotary International's Jean Harris Award. She received the 1998 Texas Baptist Communications Award, as well as the CITA (Christians in Theater Arts) Outstanding Achievement Award, and was honored by the Theresians International, a contemporary organization for women in support of the gospel. Mrs. George held an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Dallas Baptist University and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Houston Baptist University. She is a distinguished alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin Theatre and Dance Department.

Mrs. George's extensive background in professional theater included touring with the New York Shakespeare Company and many seasons with Houston's Alley Theatre. She performed at the Playhouse in the Park in Philadelphia and the Arena Stage in Washington, as well as Houston's Stages Repertory Theatre. Jeannette was voted Houston's Best Actress, winning the drama critics' Sidney Holmes Acting Award for her work as Sabina in 'Skin of Our Teeth.'

As an author and Bible teacher, Jeannette Clift George traveled around the world giving her testimony, taught four Bible classes a week, taped a popular inspirational radio program and authored many books. Her friendship, her teaching, and her writing have been treasured by many. Her book, "Troubling Deaf Heaven," written after the death of her husband, Lorraine Malcolm George, shares her hope in time of great sorrow. "In the silence of God, hold to three words," she wrote. "God is able. In the lightning, in the fire, in the earthquake, in the rain-and most especially in the silence-God is able."

Gifts in memory of Jeannette and Lorraine M. George May be made to A. D. Players, 5420 Westheimer, Houston, Texas 77056, or at www.adplayers.org. For more information about Jeannette Clift George, visit www.adplayers.org or www.jeannettecliftgeorge.com.

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