Will Geer | |
|---|---|
 Geer (withEllen Corby) as Grandpa "Zeb" Walton inThe Waltons | |
| Born | William Aughe Ghere (1902-03-09)March 9, 1902 Frankfort, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 1978(1978-04-22) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1927–1978 |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Harry Hay (1932-1934)[1] |
| Children | 3, includingEllen Geer |
| Relatives | Willow Geer (granddaughter) |
Will Geer (bornWilliam Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist who was active in labor organizing and communist movements in New York City andSouthern California in the 1930s and 1940s.[2][3] In California, he befriended rising singerWoody Guthrie. They both lived in New York City for a time in the 1940s. He wasblacklisted in the 1950s byHollywood after refusing, in testimony before Congress, to name persons who had joined theCommunist Party USA.
In his later years, Geer was best known for his role as Grandpa Zebulon "Zeb" Walton in the TV seriesThe Waltons from 1972 until his death in 1978.
Geer was born inFrankfort, Indiana, the son of Katherine (née Aughe), a teacher, and Roy Aaron Ghere, a postal worker.[4][5] His father left the family when he was 11 years old. Will was deeply influenced by his grandfather, who taught him the botanical names of the plants in Indiana, his native state. Will began to be abotanist; he received a master's degree in botany at theUniversity of Chicago. He was also a member of theLambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
Anglicizing his name, Will Geer began his acting career touring intent shows and onriverboats. He worked on several social commentaries for documentaries, including narratingSheldon Dick'sMen and Dust aboutsilicosis among miners.
He created the role of Mr. Mister inMarc Blitzstein's 1937The Cradle Will Rock, played Candy inJohn Steinbeck's theatrical adaptation of his novellaOf Mice and Men and appeared in numerous plays and revues throughout the 1940s. From 1948 to 1951, he appeared in more than a dozen movies, includingWinchester '73 (asWyatt Earp),Broken Arrow, andComanche Territory, all in 1950; as well asBright Victory (1951). He became a dedicated activist touring government work camps of theCivilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s withfolk singers such asBurl Ives andWoody Guthrie (whom he introduced to thePeople's World and theDaily Worker).[6][7] In 1956, Guthrie and Geer released an album together onFolkways Records, titledBound for Glory: Songs and Stories of Woody Guthrie. In his biography,Harry Hay described Geer's activism and their activities while organizing for the strike.[8]: 64, 67 Geer introduced Guthrie toPete Seeger at the 'Grapes of Wrath' benefit, which he organized in 1940 for migrant farm workers.
Geer acted with theGroup Theatre (New York) studying underHarold Clurman,Cheryl Crawford, andLee Strasberg. Geer acted in radio appearing asMephistopheles (the devil) in the 1938 and 1944 productions ofNorman Corwin'sThe Plot to Overthrow Christmas.[9] Geer also acted in the radio soap operaBright Horizon.[10]
Geer was a Communist Party member since the 1930s and made “repeated appearances at fundraisers for the American Communist Party” over the years.[3] Because of this, Geer was blacklisted in the early 1950s for refusing to testify before theHouse Committee on Un-American Activities.[11][12] As a result, he appeared in very few films over the next decade. Among those wasSalt of the Earth (1954). He starred in it; it was produced, directed, and written by blacklisted Hollywood personnel. It told the story of a miners' strike inNew Mexico from a pro-union standpoint. The film was denounced as "subversive", consequently it faced difficulties during production and in distribution.
In 1951, Geer founded the Will GeerTheatricum Botanicum inTopanga, California, with his wife, actressHerta Ware. He combined his acting and botanical careers at the Theatricum, cultivating every plant mentioned inShakespeare's plays. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he played several seasons at theAmerican Shakespeare Festival inStratford, Connecticut. He created a second Shakespeare Garden on the theater's grounds. By that time, he was working sporadically again onBroadway. In 1964, he was nominated for theTony Award forBest Featured Actor in a Musical for110 in the Shade. In 1967, he performed a soliloquy as the prosecutor delivering the closing argument against the two murderers in the filmIn Cold Blood. In 1972, he played the part of Bear Claw inJeremiah Johnson.
In 1972, he was cast as Zebulon Walton, the family patriarch onThe Waltons, a role he took over fromEdgar Bergen. Bergen played the character in the TV movie upon which the series was based. He won anEmmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series forThe Waltons in 1975.When Geer died shortly after completing the sixth season ofThe Waltons, the death of his character was written into the show's script. His final episode, the last episode of the 1977–1978 season, showed him reuniting with his onscreen wife Esther (played byEllen Corby; she had been absent for the entire season due to a stroke). His character was mourned onscreen during the first episode of the 1978–1979 season, titled "The Empty Nest".
Geer married actress Herta Ware in 1934; they had three children, Kate Geer, Thad Geer, and actressEllen Geer. Ware also had a daughter, Melora Marshall, who was an actress, from another marriage. Although he and Ware divorced in 1954, they remained close for the rest of their lives.
In 1932, Geer met Harry Hay at the Tony Pastor Theatre where Geer was working as an actor. They soon became lovers.[13] Geer and Hay participated in a milk strike in Los Angeles. Later in the year, they performed in support of the1934 West Coast waterfront strike, where they witnessed police firing on strikers and killing two.[14][8][page needed] Geer was a committed communist; Hay later described him as his political mentor.[8]: 64–65 [15][16] Geer introduced Hay to Los Angeles' communist community and together they were activists, joining demonstrations for laborers' rights and the unemployed. Once, they handcuffed themselves to lampposts outsideUCLA and handed out leaflets for theAmerican League Against War and Fascism.[8]: 64–65 Geer became a member of the Communist Party of the United States in 1934. After Hay was increasingly political, Geer introduced him to the party.[8]: 67, 69 [17] Geer became a reader of thePeople's World, a West Coast Communist newspaper.[7]
He maintained a garden at his vacation house, called Geer-Gore Gardens, inNichols, Connecticut. He was often there and attended the localFourth of July fireworks celebrations, sometimes wearing a black top hat or straw hat and always his trademark denim overalls with only one suspender hooked.[18] He had a small vacation house inSolana Beach, California, where his front and back yards were cultivated as vegetable gardens rather than lawns.
Geer died ofrespiratory failure at the age of 76 on April 22, 1978, inLos Angeles. As he was dying, his family sang folk songs that he and Woody Guthrie had written, and recited poems byRobert Frost at his bedside.[19] His remains were cremated and his ashes are buried at the Theatricum Botanicum in the Shakespeare Garden inTopanga Canyon, California.[20]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Appeared Apr. 11, 1951, and refused to affirm or deny membership in Communist Party.
