Ellen Geer is an American actress, professor, and theatre director.

Personal life

Geer was born in New York City, the daughter of actors Herta Ware and

Will Geer Will Geer (born William 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 and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940 ...

. Her father was best-known for playing Grandpa Zebulon "Zeb" Walton on ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...

''. She is married to children's musician Peter Alsop, and was previously married to actor Ed Flanders. She and Flanders had a son, Ian Geer Flanders. She and Alsop have two daughters, Megan and

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

Career

In 1963, Geer joined the Minnesota Theatre Company for the opening seasons of the original Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, where, among other roles, she played the lead in Douglas Campbell’s production of Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan''. Geer began her film career appearing as a nun in the 1968 Richard Lester drama '' Petulia''. She followed this with an appearance in 1969's ''

The Reivers ''The Reivers: A Reminiscence'', published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. It was published a month before his death. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previou ...

'' with her father,

. In 1971, Geer played the deceased wife of the lead character in ''

Kotch ''Kotch'' is a 1971 American comedy-drama film directed by Jack Lemmon and starring Walter Matthau, Deborah Winters, Felicia Farr (Lemmon's wife), Charles Aidman and Ellen Geer. Adapted by John Paxton from Katharine Topkins's 1965 novel, ...

'', appearing throughout the movie in flashbacks. That same year, she became a regular on '' The Jimmy Stewart Show'' (which aired until the following year) and had a supporting role in the acclaimed comedy '' Harold and Maude''. In 1974, she starred in two films which she also wrote: ''Silence'' and ''Memory of Us'', both of which featured her father. The remainder of Geer's 1970s career consisted primarily of guest appearances and made-for-television movies. Television series on which she appeared during this time included '' Police Story'', ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is an American television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ow ...

'', ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

'', ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective fiction, detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law. They run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, Califor ...

'', ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

'', ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

'' and two episodes of '' Fantasy Island''. Her television movie credits during this time included ''Babe'' (1975), ''The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case'' (1976), '' The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald'' (1977) and ''A Shining Season'' (1979). The only theatrical film on which she worked in the late 1970s was Jonathan Kaplan's '' Over the Edge'' in 1979. The remainder of her television credits include guest appearances in the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode " Silicon Avatar"; ''

''; '' Quincy, M.E.''; ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

''; ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

''; ''

Stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

''; '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''; '' ER''; ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'' and ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

''. She also had recurring roles on ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...

'' and ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''. She played elderly Piper Halliwell on the WB series ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...

'' in the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

. In October 2007, the actress returned briefly to ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...

'' which she briefly appeared in before. She appeared in the fourth season of ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'' in the episode called "The Blue Butterfly". Geer has served since 1978 as artistic director of the

Theatricum Botanicum, a professional repertory, open-air theater in Topanga Canyon, California. Geer has also served as a visiting associate professor, teaching acting, at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

School of Theater for 12 years.UCLA School of Theater
, accessed on June 6, 2008.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geer, Ellen 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American film actresses Film directors from New York City American television actresses American theatre directors American women theatre directors Living people Educators from New York City American women educators Screenwriters from New York (state) American women film directors American women screenwriters UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty Year of birth missing (living people)