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Monday | March 9, 2020.
George William Mayer, Jr., age 90, passed away peacefully in New York City, January 24. 2020.
George, or Mr. Mayer as he was known to the generations of students he taught, was an indefatigable supporter of the arts, in particular the theater. George was a teacher, in the largest possible sense of the word, to many thousands of people of all ages. He was born May 24, 1929 in Pittsburgh where he grew up and did his early teaching, going on to teach in Rye, New York and New York City.
As a teacher of English at Rye Country Day School from 1954 to 1963, George ignited an enthusiasm for literature, an appreciation of the theater and the classics and a rigorous respect for language; as he did at the Trinity School in New York City from 1963 to 1978. With his colleagues at Rye Country Day School, George transformed the pedagogy and the curriculum and earned the life-long respect and affection of his students. “I have very vivid and very fond memories of him as a mentor and an inspiration to my appreciation of literature and drama,” wrote Holly Bishop, RCDS Class of 1963.
He similarly inspired his students at Trinity School in New York who included such notables as director, Doug Hughes, who reflected, “It seems criminally inaccurate to refer to George Mayer as my high school English teacher. When he was introduced to me as such fifty years ago I had no idea that I had signed on for an ever-evolving syllabus that would range from Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella sonnets to Boito’s Mefistofele, from Peter Brook’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Joyce’s Dubliners, from rigorous, sometimes maddening revision of my schoolboy prose to Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. It was all so beautiful. It was all so important. And Mr. Mayer connected the dots. He was interested in everything, most especially his students: who we were and who we were trying to become. The subject may have been English Literature but the course was one in which he led us, sometimes kicking and screaming, to greater knowledge of and respect for ourselves.”
Each of George’s teaching posts brought him closer to his greatest love, the theater. In New York he feasted on the wide range of its many forms. Retiring form Trinity, George continued to inspire other students from many New York schools whom he tutored. In his second act, this self-described “octogenarian who spent his entire life in the world of books,” George devoted himself to supporting many not-for-profit theaters in New York City, in particular, the Mint, Red Bull Theater, and Theater for a New Audience - joining his love for the arts, actors and directors with his devotion to education, especially sharing Shakespeare with young people. Generously giving of his many talents to nurture these young companies, he helped to build audiences, to find funders, to write program notes, and he served as a cheerleader, singing their respective praises to every available ear. He took pride in mentoring, cajoling, prodding and inspiring lifelong learners, and he reveled in seeing them thrive. George dazzled us all with fascinating insights about literature, theater, people and quite a few other topics that provoked spirited conversations. He touched many lives; he had many circles of friends who mourn his passing and celebrate his having been part of their lives.
Following complications from a fall over two years ago George was moved to a nursing home and never returned to live in the cherished apartment on the upper Westside, his home and atelier since the 1970s. As he had always, he clipped articles from the New York Times to have them available to discuss with visitors or to send them to the apartment to await a hoped for return. There were piles of theater and concert programs at the bedside, brought by friends, news of plays and concerts that he eagerly welcomed. The room brightened with talk of the arts he loved, and with his total recall he could provide historic context. George celebrated his 90th birthday last May with a one-day visit to his apartment where friends toasted him midst balloons and streamers.
George will be laid to rest near his parents in the family plot at Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Mary E. Mayer, two nephews, Gregory and Clifford Mayer, a niece Melanie Evans and many thousands of friends.
George William Mayer, Jr., age 90, passed away peacefully in New York City, January 24. 2020.
George, or Mr. Mayer as he was known to the generations of students he taught, was an indefatigable supporter of the arts, in particular the theater. George was a teacher, in the largest possible sense of the word, to many thousands of people of all ages. He was born May 24, 1929 in Pittsburgh where he grew up and did his early teaching, going on to teach in Rye, New York and New York City.
As a teacher of English at Rye Country Day School from 1954 to 1963, George ignited an enthusiasm for literature, an appreciation of the theater and the classics and a rigorous respect for language; as he did at the Trinity School in New York City from 1963 to 1978. With his colleagues at Rye Country Day School, George transformed the pedagogy and the curriculum and earned the life-long respect and affection of his students. “I have very vivid and very fond memories of him as a mentor and an inspiration to my appreciation of literature and drama,” wrote Holly Bishop, RCDS Class of 1963.
He similarly inspired his students at Trinity School in New York who included such notables as director, Doug Hughes, who reflected, “It seems criminally inaccurate to refer to George Mayer as my high school English teacher. When he was introduced to me as such fifty years ago I had no idea that I had signed on for an ever-evolving syllabus that would range from Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella sonnets to Boito’s Mefistofele, from Peter Brook’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Joyce’s Dubliners, from rigorous, sometimes maddening revision of my schoolboy prose to Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. It was all so beautiful. It was all so important. And Mr. Mayer connected the dots. He was interested in everything, most especially his students: who we were and who we were trying to become. The subject may have been English Literature but the course was one in which he led us, sometimes kicking and screaming, to greater knowledge of and respect for ourselves.”
Each of George’s teaching posts brought him closer to his greatest love, the theater. In New York he feasted on the wide range of its many forms. Retiring form Trinity, George continued to inspire other students from many New York schools whom he tutored. In his second act, this self-described “octogenarian who spent his entire life in the world of books,” George devoted himself to supporting many not-for-profit theaters in New York City, in particular, the Mint, Red Bull Theater, and Theater for a New Audience - joining his love for the arts, actors and directors with his devotion to education, especially sharing Shakespeare with young people. Generously giving of his many talents to nurture these young companies, he helped to build audiences, to find funders, to write program notes, and he served as a cheerleader, singing their respective praises to every available ear. He took pride in mentoring, cajoling, prodding and inspiring lifelong learners, and he reveled in seeing them thrive. George dazzled us all with fascinating insights about literature, theater, people and quite a few other topics that provoked spirited conversations. He touched many lives; he had many circles of friends who mourn his passing and celebrate his having been part of their lives.
Following complications from a fall over two years ago George was moved to a nursing home and never returned to live in the cherished apartment on the upper Westside, his home and atelier since the 1970s. As he had always, he clipped articles from the New York Times to have them available to discuss with visitors or to send them to the apartment to await a hoped for return. There were piles of theater and concert programs at the bedside, brought by friends, news of plays and concerts that he eagerly welcomed. The room brightened with talk of the arts he loved, and with his total recall he could provide historic context. George celebrated his 90th birthday last May with a one-day visit to his apartment where friends toasted him midst balloons and streamers.
George will be laid to rest near his parents in the family plot at Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Mary E. Mayer, two nephews, Gregory and Clifford Mayer, a niece Melanie Evans and many thousands of friends.
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