Hope, Optimism, and Courage

I’m sorry to say that George Kennedy, a personal hero of mine and a champion of “Prisoner of

Her Past,” died Sept. 1 at age 86.

George, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, was one of the first people to support the film, and he appeared on the panel following our premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center, in April.

George epitomized hope, optimism and courage to everyone lucky enough to have known him. He always used to say to me that he went to see all the Holocaust films, even though the subject is so difficult. Why?

“Because I beat the Nazis,” he would explain.
“I lived.”

— Howard Reich