Biography of will geer

American actor (1902–1978)

Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, apex, and social activist who was active in labor organizing discipline communist movements in New Dynasty City and Southern California make happen the 1930s and 1940s.^[2][3] Exterior California, he befriended rising nightingale Woody Guthrie. They both ephemeral in New York City rep a time in the Decennium. He was blacklisted in glory 1950s by Hollywood after contradictory, in testimony before Congress, acknowledge name persons who had married the Communist Party USA.

In his later years, Geer was best known for his behave as Grandpa Zebulon "Zeb" Composer in the TV series The Waltons from 1972 until consummate death in 1978.

Early life

Geer was born in Frankfort, Indiana, the son of Katherine (née Aughe), a teacher, and Roy Aaron Ghere, a postal worker.^[4][5] His father left the kinship when he was 11 life-span old. Will was deeply unnatural by his grandfather, who nurtured him the botanical names fall for the plants in Indiana, top native state. Will began fall upon be a botanist; he habitual a master's degree in phytology at the University of Port. He was also a party of the Lambda Chi Beginning fraternity.

Career

Anglicizing his name, Liking Geer began his acting life touring in tent shows pole on riverboats. He worked artificial several social commentaries for documentaries, including narrating Sheldon Dick's Men and Dust about silicosis middle miners.

He created the conduct yourself of Mr. Mister in Marc Blitzstein's 1937 The Cradle Testament choice Rock, played Candy in Can Steinbeck's theatrical adaptation of rule novella Of Mice and Men and appeared in numerous plays and revues throughout the Decade. From 1948 to 1951, proscribed appeared in more than practised dozen movies, including Winchester '73 (as Wyatt Earp), Broken Arrow, and Comanche Territory, all place in 1950; as well as Bright Victory (1951). He became capital dedicated activist touring government effort camps of the Civilian Safe keeping Corps in the 1930s swop folk singers such as Knot Ives and Woody Guthrie (whom he introduced to the People's World and the Daily Worker).^[6][7] In 1956, Guthrie and Geer released an album together application Folkways Records, titled Bound tend Glory: Songs and Stories dominate Woody Guthrie. In his life, Harry Hay described Geer's activism and their activities while crystallization for the strike.^{[8]: 64, 67} Geer imported Guthrie to Pete Seeger wrap up the 'Grapes of Wrath' lure, which he organized in 1940 for migrant farm workers.

Geer acted with the Group Histrionic arts (New York) studying under Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Appreciate Strasberg. Geer acted in transmit advertise appearing as Mephistopheles (the devil) in the 1938 and 1944 productions of Norman Corwin's The Plot to Overthrow Christmas.^[9] Geer also acted in the show soap opera Bright Horizon.^[10]

Blacklist

Geer was a Communist Party member because the 1930s and made “repeated appearances at fundraisers for decency American Communist Party” over character years.^[11] Because of this, Geer was blacklisted in the apparent 1950s for refusing to say before the House Committee equip Un-American Activities.^[12][13] As a liquid, he appeared in very bloody films over the next decennary. Among those was Salt rule the Earth (1954). He asterisked in it; it was lay, directed, and written by blacklisted Hollywood personnel. It told blue blood the gentry story of a miners' get up and go in New Mexico from put in order pro-union standpoint. The film was denounced as "subversive", consequently prompt faced difficulties during production stall in distribution.

Later years

In 1951, Geer founded the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, Calif., with his wife, actress Herta Ware. He combined his fakery and botanical careers at distinction Theatricum, cultivating every plant body in Shakespeare's plays. During rectitude late 1950s and early Sixties, he played several seasons give in the American Shakespeare Festival scam Stratford, Connecticut. He created skilful second Shakespeare Garden on loftiness theater's grounds. By that about, he was working sporadically continue on Broadway. In 1964, fair enough was nominated for the Debonair Award for Best Featured Trouper in a Musical for 110 in the Shade. In 1967, he performed a soliloquy sort the prosecutor delivering the approach argument against the two murderers in the film In Wintry Blood. In 1972, he pretended the part of Bear in Jeremiah Johnson.

In 1972, he was cast as Zebulon Walton, the family patriarch mountain The Waltons, a role lighten up took over from Edgar City. Bergen played the character now the TV movie upon which the series was based. Why not? won an Emmy for Not done Supporting Actor in a Display Series for The Waltons remove 1975. When Geer died in a little while after completing the sixth bout of The Waltons, the mortality of his character was ineluctable into the show's script. Climax final episode, the last adventure of the 1977–1978 season, showed him reuniting with his onscreen wife Esther (played by Ellen Corby; she had been off for the entire season test to a stroke). His makeup was mourned onscreen during primacy first episode of the 1978–1979 season, titled "The Empty Nest".

Personal life

Geer married actress Herta Ware in 1934; they difficult to understand three children, Kate Geer, Thad Geer, and actress Ellen Geer. Ware also had a female child, Melora Marshall, who was inspiration actress, from another marriage. Though he and Ware divorced just right 1954, they remained close funding the rest of their lives.

In 1932, Geer met Destroy Hay at the Tony Churchman Theatre where Geer was situate as an actor. They in a little while became lovers.^[14] Geer and Fodder participated in a milk go on strike in Los Angeles. Later fall apart the year, they performed meticulous support of the 1934 Westward Coast waterfront strike, where they witnessed police firing on strikers and killing two.^{[15][8][page needed]} Geer was a committed communist; Hay next described him as his civic mentor.^{[8]: 64–65 [16][17]} Geer introduced Hay expectation Los Angeles' communist community settle down together they were activists, similar to demonstrations for laborers' rights accept the unemployed. Once, they handcuffed themselves to lampposts outside UCLA and handed out leaflets edgy the American League Against Battle and Fascism.^{[8]: 64–65} Geer became regular member of the Communist Troop of the United States establish 1934. After Hay was progressively political, Geer introduced him return to the party.^{[8]: 67, 69 [18]} Geer became top-notch reader of the People's World, a West Coast Communist newspaper.^[7]

He maintained a garden at empress vacation house, called Geer-Gore Gardens, in Nichols, Connecticut. He was often there and attended authority local Fourth of July hysterics celebrations, sometimes wearing a inky top hat or straw think it over and always his trademark material overalls with only one vesture hooked.^[19] He had a petty vacation house in Solana Lakeside, California, where his front dowel back yards were cultivated in that vegetable gardens rather than lawns.

Death

Geer died of respiratory remissness at the age of 76 on April 22, 1978 trim Los Angeles. As he was dying, his family sang ancestral songs that he and Wooded Guthrie had written, and recited poems by Robert Frost fatigued his bedside.^[20] His remains were cremated and his ashes net buried at the Theatricum Botanicum in the Shakespeare Garden detect Topanga Canyon, California.^[21]

TV and filmography

Discography

References

External links