Born in Tokyo, Japan. The son of Protestant American missionaries, he was raised in Japan till age five, when his father's death forced the family back to the US. He grew up in Lancaster, PA, and graduated from Franklin & Marshall College where he majored in government and English. He took up law at Columbia University, but his studies there were interrupted by WW II service as a lieutenant with the Navy Amphibious Forces in North Africa and Europe and with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in India, Burma and China. Returning to civilian life, he joined "The March of Time" as an assitant director, then joined CBS TV's news and public affairs department, soon graduating to a director of such programs as Edward R. Murrow's "Person to Person." Switching to the drama department, he directed many note-worthy programs for such distinguished dramatic series as "Studio One," "Playhouse 90," "Kaiser Aluminum Hour" and "Dupont Show of the Week." Among the many plays he directed for TV were such memorable productions as "Twelve Angry Men" and "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial." He won Emmy Awards for his TV work in 1954, 1955 and 1962 and a special Emmy for his documentary "Tour of the White House," which featured First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In 1960 he directed the successful Broadway production of Advise and Consent and in 1963 turned out his first feature film, THE STRIPPER, an adaptation of the William Inge play, A Loss of Roses, starring Joanne Woodward as an aging stripper who falls in love with a younger man. He won a prize at the Karlovy Vary festival for his next film, THE BEST MAN (1964), a political drama scripted by Gore Vidal from his own stage play. In these, as in his subsequent films, Schaffner proved himself a proficient craftsman who was capable of handling large-scale productions as well as intimate dramas. He won the best director Academy Award for PATTON (1970), a film that reaped seven other Oscars®, including best picture. He scored another triumph with PAPILLON (1983, also producer), eliciting a great performance from Dustin Hoffman, but ended his career on a downslide with LIONHEART (1987) and WELCOME HOME (1989). Other notable directing screen credits include THE WAR LORD (1965), THE DOUBLE MAN (1967), PLANET OF THE APES (1968), NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA (1971), ISLANDS IN THE STREAM (1977), THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (1978), SPHINX (1981) and YES, GIORGIO (1982).  Directing 1970: PATTON 1 nomination, 1 Award