George Clarke Jenkins was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1908. He studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania but left before completing his degree to construct and design sets for two amateur theater companies in Philadelphia: Plays and Players, with whom he worked on productions of ONCE IN A LIFETIME and THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, and the Savoy Company. His work brought him to the attention of Broadway scenic designer Jo Mielziner, who hired Jenkins as his assistant in 1938. Jenkins assisted Mielziner on productions of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE and WATCH ON THE RHINE, among others, and in 1943 undertook his own set and lighting design for the production EARLY TO BED. He was soon hired for several more shows, including MEXICAN HAYRIDE, DARK OF THE MOON, ARE YOU WITH IT?, and STRANGE FRUIT. His greatest stage success from this period was the 1944 production of I REMEMBER MAMA, which ran for over 700 performances and led to his first film credit. Samuel Goldwyn had seen the show and subsequently hired Jenkins to serve as art director on THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946).

Jenkins moved to Hollywood to work on the film and later served as art director for several other Goldwyn productions, including THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (1947), THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1947), and A SONG IS BORN (1948). In the 1950s he returned to New York and ventured into television, working as a color specialist for NBC and CBS and serving as production designer for an episode of FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE and for a live studio production of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. He remained active on Broadway as well, designing the sets and lighting for such notable shows as BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE, THE BAD SEED, THE DESK SET, TWO FOR THE SEESAW, and THE MIRACLE WORKER. For the latter, Jenkins was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design (Play) and the play’s director, Arthur Penn, enlisted Jenkins as art director for the film adaptation as well.

Penn had also directed the stage production of TWO FOR THE SEESAW and felt that he and Jenkins were excellent collaborators. Jenkins would serve as production designer for Penn’s films MICKEY ONE (1965) and NIGHT MOVES (1975) and Penn’s Broadway productions of SLY FOX, both during its initial run in 1976 and its revival in 2004. Jenkins also had an extensive working relationship with Alan J. Pakula. He worked with Pakula on nearly a dozen films, including KLUTE (1971), THE PARALLAX VIEW (1974), ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976), SOPHIE’S CHOICE (1982), and PRESUMED INNOCENT (1990), which would be Jenkins’ final film credit. For ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, Jenkins, along with George Gaines, received the Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. Jenkins was also the production designer for several other major films of the era, such as 1776 (1972), FUNNY LADY (1975), THE CHINA SYNDROME (1979), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, shared with Arthur Jeph Parker, and THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1981). As with THE MIRACLE WORKER, he designed the sets for both the Broadway production and film production of WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967). He continued to design for Broadway throughout his career, though less consistently after returning to Hollywood in the early 1970s to concentrate on film. Jenkins died in 2007.