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 Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

in the 1930s and 1940s. In California, he befriended rising singer

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

. They both lived in New York City for a time in the 1940s. He was

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

in the 1950s by

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

after refusing, in testimony before Congress, to name persons who had joined the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

. In his later years, Geer was best known for his role as Grandpa Zebulon "Zeb" Walton in the TV series ''

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 ...

'' from 1972 until his 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. 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 a

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

; he received a master's degree in botany at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. He was also a member of the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

fraternity.

Career

Anglicizing his name, Will Geer began his acting career touring in tent shows and on

riverboats A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury u ...

. He worked on several social commentaries for documentaries, including narrating Sheldon Dick's ''Men and Dust'' about

silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...

among miners. He created the role of Mr. Mister in

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and Libretto, librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-Trade union, union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, ...

's 1937 ''

The Cradle Will Rock ''The Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1937 Musical theater, play in music by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman. Set in Steeltown, U.S.A., the Bertold Brecht, ...

'', played Candy in

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...

's theatrical adaptation of his novella ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a 1937 novella written by American author John Steinbeck. It describes the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant worker, migrant ranch workers, as they move from place to place in California ...

'' and appeared in numerous plays and revues throughout the 1940s. From 1948 to 1951, he appeared in more than a dozen movies, including '' Winchester '73'' (as

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman in the American West, including Dodge City, Kansas, Dodge City, Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, and Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone. Earp was involved in the gunfight ...

), '' Broken Arrow'', and '' Comanche Territory,'' all in 1950; as well as ''

Bright Victory ''Bright Victory'' is a 1951 American drama romance war film directed by Mark Robson, and starring Arthur Kennedy and Peggy Dow. Plot During World War II, American sergeant Larry Nevins is blinded by a German sniper while fighting in North ...

'' (1951). He became a dedicated activist touring government work camps of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

in the 1930s with

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

s such as

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

and

(whom he introduced to the ''People's World'' and the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...

'').Michael Bronsk
"The real Harry Hay"
''Boston Phoenix'', October 31, 2002 In 1956, Guthrie and Geer released an album together on Folkways Records, titled ''Bound 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.Stuart Timmons, ''The Trouble With Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement'' (1990) Geer introduced Guthrie to

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

at the 'Grapes of Wrath' benefit, which he organized in 1940 for migrant farm workers. Geer acted with the

Group Theatre (New York) The Group Theatre was a theater collective based in New York City and formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. It was intended as a base for the kind of theatre they and their colleagues believed in—a forceful, ...

studying under Harold Clurman,

Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City a ...

, and

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...

. Geer acted in radio appearing as

Mephistopheles Mephistopheles ( , ), also known as Mephostophilis or Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore, originating as the chief devil in the Faust legend. He has since become a stock character appearing in Mephistopheles in the arts and popular ...

(

the devil Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or 'e ...

) in the 1938 and 1944 productions of

Norman Corwin Norman Lewis Corwin (May 3, 1910 – October 18, 2011) was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing. His earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during th ...

's '' The Plot to Overthrow Christmas''. Geer also acted in the radio soap opera '' Bright Horizon''.

Blacklist

Geer was a Communist Party member since the 1930s and made “repeated appearances at fundraisers for the American Communist Party” over the years. Because of this, Geer was blacklisted in the early 1950s for refusing to testify before the

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...

. As a result, he appeared in very few films over the next decade. Among those was ''

Salt of the Earth Salt of the earth is a phrase used by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, part of a discourse on salt and light. Salt of the earth may also refer to: Film * Salt of the Earth (1954 film), ''Salt of the Earth'' (1954 film), an American drama film ...

'' (1954). He starred in it; it was produced, directed, and written by blacklisted Hollywood personnel. It told the story of a miners' strike in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

from a pro-union standpoint. The film was denounced as "subversive", consequently it faced difficulties during production and in distribution.

Later years

In 1951, Geer founded the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in

Topanga, California Topanga (Tongva language, Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga C ...

, with his wife, actress Herta Ware. He combined his acting and botanical careers at the Theatricum, cultivating every plant mentioned in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's plays. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he played several seasons at the American Shakespeare Festival in

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bri ...

. He created a second Shakespeare Garden on the theater's grounds. By that time, he was working sporadically again on Broadway. In 1964, he was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1967, he performed a soliloquy as the prosecutor delivering the closing argument against the two murderers in the film '' In Cold Blood''. In 1972, he played the part of Bear Claw in '' Jeremiah Johnson''. In 1972, he was cast as Zebulon Walton, the family patriarch on ''The Waltons,'' a role he took over from

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (né Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen ...

. Bergen played the character in the TV movie upon which the series was based. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for ''The Waltons'' in 1975. When Geer died shortly after completing the sixth season of ''The 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 by

Ellen Corby Ellen Hansen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. She played the role of List of The Waltons characters#Esther Walton, Esther "Grandma" Walton on the Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS television ...

; 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".

Personal life

Geer married actress Herta Ware in 1934; they had three children, Kate Geer, Thad Geer, and actress Ellen 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. Geer and Hay participated in a milk strike in Los Angeles. Later in the year, they performed in support of the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, where they witnessed police firing on strikers and killing two. Geer was a committed communist; Hay later described him as his political mentor. 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 outside

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

and handed out leaflets for the American League Against War and Fascism. 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. Geer became a reader of the ''

People's World ''People's World'', official successor to the '' Daily Worker'', is a Marxist-Leninist and American leftist national daily online news publication. Founded by activists, socialists, communists, and those active in the labor movement in the earl ...

,'' a West Coast Communist newspaper.Denning, Michael, ''The Cultural Front: The Laboring of American Culture in the Twentieth Century,'' Verso (1998), , , p. 14 He maintained a garden at his vacation house, called Geer-Gore Gardens, in Nichols, Connecticut. He was often there and attended the local

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

fireworks celebrations, sometimes wearing a black top hat or straw hat and always his trademark denim overalls with only one suspender hooked. He had a small vacation house in

Solana Beach, California Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish language, Spanish for "sunny side") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, on the South Coast (California), South Coast. Its population was at 12,940 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 ...

, where his front and back yards were cultivated as vegetable gardens rather than lawns.

Death

Geer died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

at the age of 76 on April 22, 1978, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. As he was dying, his family sang folk songs that he and Woody Guthrie had written, and recited poems by

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

at his bedside. His remains were cremated and his ashes are buried at the Theatricum Botanicum in the Shakespeare Garden in Topanga Canyon, California.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 17144). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

TV and filmography

* ''

Misleading Lady ''The Misleading Lady'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Stuart Walker, and starring Claudette Colbert and Edmund Lowe. The film is based on the 1913 Broadway play by Charles W. Goddard and Paul Dickey. It is also a re ...

'' (1932) as McMahon – Asylum Guard * ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

'' (1934) as West Fry * '' Wild Gold'' (1934) as Poker Player (uncredited) * '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (1935) as Village Lamplighter (uncredited) * ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

'' (1939) as Foreman (uncredited) * ''

The Fight for Life ''The Fight for Life'' is a 1940 American medical drama film directed by Pare Lorentz. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, Best Original Score of a Picture composed by Louis Gruenberg and released by Columbia Pic ...

'' (1940) as 2nd Teacher * '' Deep Waters'' (1948) as Nick Driver * '' The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre'' (1948) as Sam Hobbs * '' Johnny Allegro'' (1949) as Schultzy * '' Lust for Gold'' (1949) as Deputy Ray Covin * '' Anna Lucasta'' (1949) as Noah * '' Intruder in the Dust'' (1949) as Sheriff Hampton * '' The Kid from Texas'' (1950) as O'Fallon * '' Comanche Territory'' (1950) as Dan'l Seeger * '' Winchester '73'' (1950) as Wyatt Earp * ''

It's a Small World It's a Small World (stylized in all lowercase and in quotations or with exclamation mark) is an Old Mill boat ride located in the Fantasyland area at various Disney theme parks around the world. Versions of the ride are installed at Disney ...

'' (1950) as William Musk – Father * '' Broken Arrow'' (1950) as Ben Slade * ''

Convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

'' (1950) as Convict Mapes * '' To Please a Lady'' (1950) as Jack Mackay * '' Double Crossbones'' (1951) as Tom Botts * ''

'' (1951) as Mr. Lawrence Nevins * '' The Tall Target'' (1951) as Homer Crowley – Train Conductor * ''

Racket Squad ''Racket Squad'' is an American TV crime drama series that aired from 1951 to 1953. The format was a narrated anthology drama, as each individual episode featured various ordinary citizens getting ensnared in a different confidence scheme. Ep ...

'' (1951) as Harry Robinson * ''

The Barefoot Mailman ''The Barefoot Mailman'' is a 1951 American historical comedy adventure film directed by Earl McEvoy and starring Robert Cummings, Terry Moore and Jerome Courtland. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film was based on the 1943 novel ...

'' (1951) as Dan Paget – Miami Mayor / Postmaster * ''

'' (1954) as Sheriff * '' Mobs, Inc.'' (1956) as Harry Robinson (archive footage) * ''

Advise and Consent ''Advise and Consent'' is a 1959 political fiction novel by Allen Drury that explores the United States Senate confirmation of controversial Secretary of State nominee Robert Leffingwell, whose promotion is endangered due to growing evidence ...

'' (1962) as Senate Minority Leader * ''

East Side/West Side ''East Side/West Side'' is an American Dramatic programming, drama series starring George C. Scott, Elizabeth Wilson, Cicely Tyson, and, later on, Linden Chiles. The series aired for one season (1963–1964), and was shown Monday nights on CBS. ...

'' (1964) as Brian Lincoln * '' Black Like Me'' (1964) as Truckdriver * ''

The Trials of O'Brien ''The Trials of O'Brien'' is a 1965 television series starring Peter Falk as sordid, Shakespeare-quoting lawyer Daniel J. "Danny" O'Brien, and featuring Elaine Stritch as his secretary "Miss G", and Joanna Barnes as his ex-wife Katie. The ser ...

'' (1966) as Judge Lindemann / Sheldon * ''

Seconds The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

'' (1966) as Old Man * ''The Crucible'' (1967) as Giles * '' Garrison's Gorillas'' (1967) as Laski * '' In Cold Blood'' (1967) as Prosecutor * '' The President's Analyst'' (1967) as Dr. Lee-Evans * '' I Spy'' (1968) as Uncle Harry * '' Run for Your Life'' (1968) as Judge David P. Andrews * ''

'' (1968) as Candy * '' Mission: Impossible'' (1968) as Doc * '' The Invaders'' (1968) as Hank Willis * '' Bandolero!'' (1968) as Pop Chaney * ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' (1968) as Slocum * '' Certain Honorable Men'' (1968) as Malcolm Stoddard * '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1969) as Captain Wolford * '' Here Come the Brides'' (1969) as Benjamin Pruitt * ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' (1969–1971) as Ferris Callahan / Zach Randolph / Calvin Butler * '' Hawaii Five-O'' (1969) as Professor Harold Lochner * '' Then Came Bronson'' (1969) as Oliver Hidemann * ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

'' (1969) as Adam * '' The Reivers'' (1969) as Boss McCaslin * ''

I Walk The Line "I Walk the Line" is a song written and recorded in 1956 by Johnny Cash. After moderate chart success, it soon became Cash's first #1 hit on the ''Billboard'' country chart, and eventually crossed over to the pop charts, reaching #19 on the Bil ...

'' (1970) (Grandpa Tawes voice dub) * '' The Name of the Game'' (1970) as Mac * '' The Moonshine War'' (1970) as Mr. Baylor * '' The Brotherhood of the Bell'' (1970) as Mike Patterson * '' Pieces of Dreams'' (1970) as The Bishop * '' The Bold Ones: The Senator'' (1970–1971) as Elliot Leveridge / Judge Scanlon / Ralph Turner * '' The Bill Cosby Show'' (1970) as Mr. Kane * '' Medical Center'' (1970–1974) as Coughlin * ''Shooting the Moonshine War'' (1970) as Himself (uncredited) * '' The Bold Ones: The Lawyers'' (1970–1971) as Elliot Leveridge / Judge Scanlon / Ralph Turner * ''Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster?'' (1971) as Simon Anderson * ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'' (1971) as Desk Clerk (segment "Love and the Pulitzer Prize") * '' Brother John'' (1971) as Doc Thomas * '' Cade's County'' (1971) as Hurley Gaines * ''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western television series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel (and, after Duel's death, Roger Davis) as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy ...

'' (1971) as Seth * ''

O'Hara, U.S. Treasury ''O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'' (titled onscreen as ''O'Hara, United States Treasury'') is an American crime drama television series starring David Janssen and broadcast by CBS during the 1971–72 television season. Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited ...

'' (1971) as Singlefoot * '' The Jimmy Stewart Show'' (1971) as Uncle Everett * ''

'' (TV series) (1972–1978) as Zebulon Tyler Walton * '' Dear Dead Delilah'' (1972) as Roy Jurroe * '' The Scarecrow'' (1972) as Justice Gilead Merton * '' Bewitched'' (1972) as President George Washington * '' The Sixth Sense (TV series)'' (1972) as Rev. Jordan * '' Jeremiah Johnson'' (1972) as Bear Claw * '' The Rowdyman'' (1972) as Stan * '' Napoleon and Samantha'' (1972) as Grandpa * ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...

'' (1973) as Walt Peckinpah * '' Columbo: A Stitch in Crime'' (1973) as Dr. Edmund Hidemann * ''Brock's Last Case'' (1973) as J. Smiley Krenshaw * ''

Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American private detective series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was executive producer. ''Harry O'' followed the broad ...

'' (1973) as Len McNeil * '' Savage'' (1973) as Joel Ryker * ''The Gift of Terror'' (Made for TV Film) (1973) as Ben * ''

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

'' (1973) as Judge Emmitt Marcus * '' Isn't It Shocking?'' (1973) as Lemuel Lovell * '' Doc Elliot'' (1973) as Paul Bartlett * '' Executive Action'' (1973) as Harold Ferguson * '' The Hanged Man'' (1974) as Nameless * ''Silence'' (1974) as Crazy Jack * ''Honky Tonk'' (1974) as Judge Cotton * ''Memory of Us'' (1974) as Motel Manager * ''

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

'' (1974) as Dr. McCutcheon * '' The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery'' (1975) as Dr. Simpson * '' The Night That Panicked America'' (1975) as Reverend Davis * '' The Blue Bird'' (1976) as Grandfather * ''Law and Order'' (1976) as Pat Crowley * ''

Moving Violation A moving violation or traffic violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "moving" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include ...

'' (1976) as Rockfield * '' Hollywood on Trial'' (1976) as Himself * ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired ...

'' (1976) as Commodore Atwater * ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on ...

'' (1976) as Himself * '' The Billion Dollar Hobo'' (1977) as Choo-Choo Trayne * ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American comedy-drama/sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 15, 1977, to May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight childre ...

'' (1977) as Sam * ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' (1977) as Franklyn Bootherstone * '' A Woman Called Moses'' (1978) as Thomas Garrett * ''Unknown Powers'' (1978) as Host * ''CBS: On the Air'' (1978) * '' The Mafu Cage'' (1978) as Zom

Discography

* ''Folkways: The Original Vision'' (2005)

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was f ...

* ''Ecology Won: Readings by Will Geer and Ellen Geer'' (1978) Folkways Records * ''Woody's Story: As Told by Will Geer and Sung by Dick Wingfield'' (1976) Folkways Records * ''American History in Ballad and Song, Vol.2'' (1962) Folkways Records * ''Mark Twain: Readings from the Stories and from "Huckleberry Finn"'' (1961) Folkways Records * ''Hootenanny at Carnegie Hall'' (1960) Folkways Records * ''Bound for Glory: Songs and Stories of Woody Guthrie'' (1956) Folkways Records

References

External links

* * * *
Discography
of Will Geer on Folkways {{DEFAULTSORT:Geer, Will 1902 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male radio actors American LGBTQ singers Bisexual male musicians Bisexual singers Deaths from respiratory failure Hollywood blacklist LGBTQ people from Indiana Male actors from Indiana Male actors from Los Angeles County, California Members of the Communist Party USA Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners People from Frankfort, Indiana Entertainers from Topanga, California 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American LGBTQ people American bisexual male actors American bisexual musicians American activists University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American botanists People from Trumbull, Connecticut People from Solana Beach, California Federal Theatre Project people