The Houston Baptist University family mourns the loss of Mrs. Jeannette Clift George. George is known throughout the world for her role as Corrie ten Boom in the 1975 film dramatization of Boom’s autobiographical book, “The Hiding Place.”
George is celebrated in the Houston region especially for founding the A.D. Players. Her beloved After Dinner Players began as a small group of student performers at Houston Baptist University (then College). George, Actress-in-Residence at the college, founded the group in 1967. She said, “I wanted to find a way to relate biblical scripture, which has been so vital in my life, to individuals who had never come under its influence.”
Dr. Don Looser, who served in the leadership of HBU from 1964 to 2010, remembers helping recruit George to the college. He included George in his book, “An Act of Providence,” which chronicles the history of HBU. “Jeannette loved life and laughter,” he said. “Many of her stories remain alive today, full of her delightful enthusiasm and boundless creativity, and borne on the memories of those students and faculty who shared her years on campus.”
Her ability to translate timeless and traditional ideas into modern and fresh performances blessed the lives of many. In 1969, A.D. Players became a nonprofit organization, and an independent location was acquired in 1979, when the organization converted a former church into Grace Theater.
George remained a friend and supporter of HBU throughout the years, and received a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from the school in 1995.
In 2017, 50 years after its founding, the Jeannette & L.M. George Theater (named in honor of her late husband Lorraine M. George) opened on Westheimer Road. Located in the Galleria-Uptown area of Houston, the modern theater is 35,000 square feet and seats 450.
“In God’s perfect timing, Jeannette lived to see the fulfillment of her dream of a professional theater to house remarkable productions,” Looser said.
Chairman of the A.D. Players Board of Directors and lifelong friend Susan Santangelo said, “Jeannette’s talents — as an actress, a playwright, a speaker and teacher — were well-known and prolific. Her legacy will live in the hearts of those whose lives she touched with these gifts, and in the ongoing work of A.D. Players, which she founded and led for nearly five decades. Those of us who knew and loved Jeannette well will remember her laughter, her winsome teaching, her life-long passion for theater and her steadfast love for her Lord Jesus Christ. Her presence among us will be sorely missed.”