Will Geer
Acting • Born 1902-03-09 – Died 1978-04-22
Biography
Will Geer (March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons. Geer made his Broadway debut as Pistol in a 1928 production of Much Ado About Nothing, created the role of Mr. Mister in Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, played Candy in John Steinbeck's theatrical adaptation of his novella Of 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, including Winchester '73 (as Wyatt Earp), Broken Arrow, Comanche Territory (all 1950) and Bright Victory (1951). Geer became a member of the Communist Party of the United States in 1934. Geer was also influential in introducing Harry Hay to organizing in the Communist Party. In 1934, Geer and Hay gave support to a labor strike of the port of San Francisco; the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike which lasted 83 days. Though marred by violence, it was an organizing triumph, one that became a model for future union strikes Geer became a reader of the West Coast Communist newspaper People's World. Geer became a dedicated activist, touring government work camps in the 1930s with folk singers like Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie (whom he introduced to the People's World and the Daily Worker; Guthrie would go on to write a column for the latter paper). In 1956, the duo released an album together on Folkways Records, titled Bound for Glory: Songs and Stories of Woody Guthrie. In his biography, fellow organizer and homosexual rights pioneer Harry Hay described Geer's activism and outlined their activities while organizing for the strike. Geer is credited with introducing Guthrie to Pete Seeger at the 'Grapes of Wrath' benefit Geer organized in 1940 for migrant farm workers. Geer acted with the Group Theatre (New York) studying under Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. Geer also acted in radio, appearing as Mephistopheles (the Devil) in the 1938 and 1944 productions of Norman Corwin's The Plot to Overthrow Christmas. He also acted in the radio soap opera Bright Horizon. Geer was blacklisted in the early 1950s for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. As a result, Geer appeared in very few films over the next decade. Among them was Salt of the Earth (1954) which was produced, directed, written, and starring blacklisted Hollywood personnel and told the story of a miners' strike in New Mexico from a pro-union standpoint. The film was denounced as "subversive" and faced difficulties in its production and distribution as a consequence.
Filmography
111 credits
Seconds
Movie • 1966
Old Man
Salt of the Earth
Movie • 1954
Sheriff
Jeremiah Johnson
Movie • 1972
Bear Claw
The Tall Target
Movie • 1951
Homer Crowley
Executive Action
Movie • 1973
Ferguson
Convicted
Movie • 1950
Convict Mapes
Deep Waters
Movie • 1948
Nick Driver
Winchester '73
Movie • 1950
Wyatt Earp
Napoleon and Samantha
Movie • 1972
Grandpa
Broken Arrow
Movie • 1950
Ben Slade
Johnny Allegro
Movie • 1949
Schultzy
The Kid from Texas
Movie • 1950
O'Fallon
Advise & Consent
Movie • 1962
Senate Minority Leader
In Cold Blood
Movie • 1967
Prosecutor
Wild Gold
Movie • 1934
Poker Player (uncredited)
Becky Sharp
Movie • 1935
Spectator (uncredited)
Of Mice and Men
Movie • 1968
Candy
Certain Honorable Men
Movie • 1968
Malcolm Stoddard
Intruder in the Dust
Movie • 1949
Sheriff Hampton
It's a Small World
Movie • 1950
William Musk - Father
Double Crossbones
Movie • 1951
Tom Botts
Lust for Gold
Movie • 1949
Deputy Ray Covin
Pieces of Dreams
Movie • 1970
The Bishop
Comanche Territory
Movie • 1950
Dan'l Seeger
The Hanged Man
Movie • 1974
Nameless
The Man Who Loved Bears
Movie • 1979
Narrator
Brother John
Movie • 1971
Doc Thomas
Bright Victory
Movie • 1951
Mr. Nevins
Savage
Movie • 1973
Joel Ryker
Dear Dead Delilah
Movie • 1972
Roy Jurroe
To Please a Lady
Movie • 1950
Jack Mackay
Rip Van Winkle
Movie • 1978
Narrator (voice)
Hurricane
Movie • 1974
Dr. McCutcheon
Anna Lucasta
Movie • 1949
Noah
Isn't It Shocking?
Movie • 1973
Lemuel Lovell
The Fight for Life
Movie • 1940
Ballou
Bandolero!
Movie • 1968
Pop Chaney
The Mafu Cage
Movie • 1978
Zom
Moving Violation
Movie • 1976
Rockfield
The Billion Dollar Hobo
Movie • 1977
Choo-Choo Trayne
Spitfire
Movie • 1934
West Fry
Union Pacific
Movie • 1939
Foreman (uncredited)
Men and Dust
Movie • 1940
Narrator (voice)
Scarecrow
Movie • 1972
Justice Gilead Merton
In Hollywood's Backyard: Topanga in the 1970s
Movie • 2017
Self
Black Like Me
Movie • 1964
Truckdriver
Brock's Last Case
Movie • 1973
J. Smiley Krenshaw
The Barefoot Mailman
Movie • 1951
Dan Paget - Miami Mayor / Postmaster
The Rowdyman
Movie • 1972
Stan
Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On
Movie • 1973
Len McNeil
The Misleading Lady
Movie • 1932
McMahon - Asylum Guard
Silence
Movie • 1974
Crazy Jack
The Brotherhood of the Bell
Movie • 1970
Mike Patterson
The Moonshine War
Movie • 1970
Mr. Baylor
The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery
Movie • 1975
Dr. Simpson
Unknown Powers
Movie • 1978
Host
The Crucible
Movie • 1967
Giles Corey
The Blue Bird
Movie • 1976
Grandfather
Memory of Us
Movie • 1974
Motel Manager
Bunco
Movie • 1977
Woody Guthrie All-Star Tribute Concert 1970
Movie • 2019
Narrator
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Movie • 1987
Self (archive footage)
Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?
Movie • 1971
Simon Anderson
The Reivers
Movie • 1969
Boss
Will Geer: America's Grandpa
Movie • 2019
Law and Order
Movie • 1976
Pat Crowley
The New Deal for Artists
Movie • 1981
Self
Honky Tonk
Movie • 1974
Judge Cotton
The President's Analyst
Movie • 1967
Dr. Lee-Evan
The Night That Panicked America
Movie • 1975
Reverend Davis
Mobs, Inc.
Movie • 1956
Harry Robinson
A Gift of Terror
Movie • 1973
Ben
Tall Tales
Movie • 1940
Self
Mysterious Miracles: World Beyond Death
Movie • 2005
Host
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Movie • 1935
Village Lamplighter (uncredited)
Garrison's Gorillas
TV • 1967
Kung Fu
TV • 1972
Judge Emmitt Marcus
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Franklyn Bootherstone
Hawaii Five-O
TV • 1968
Professor Harold Lochner
Alias Smith and Jones
TV • 1971
Seth
The Bill Cosby Show
TV • 1969
Mr. Kane
Medical Center
TV • 1969
Gunsmoke
TV • 1955
Slocum
Bewitched
TV • 1964
Mission: Impossible
TV • 1966
Doc
Eight Is Enough
TV • 1977
The Waltons
TV • 1972
Grandfather Walton
Run for Your Life
TV • 1965
Judge David P. Andrews
Daniel Boone
TV • 1964
Adam Jarrett
The Sixth Sense
TV • 1972
Racket Squad
TV • 1951
Tony Orlando and Dawn
TV • 1974
Self
Columbo
TV • 1971
Edmund Hidemann
Bonanza
TV • 1959
Zach Randolph
Mayberry R.F.D.
TV • 1968
Captain Charles Wolford
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
TV • 1969
Harry I. Madison
The Lives of Benjamin Franklin
TV • 1974
A Woman Called Moses
TV • 1978
Thomas Garrett
Bonanza
TV • 1959
Ferris Callahan
The Trials of O'Brien
TV • 1965
Judge Lindemann
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
Starsky & Hutch
TV • 1975
Commodore Atwater
Doc Elliot
TV • 1973
Paul Bartlett
The Invaders
TV • 1967
Hank Willis
Dinah!
TV • 1974
Self
Bonanza
TV • 1959
Calvin Butler
The Bold Ones: The Senator
TV • 1970
Senator Homer Bryant Wydell
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
Then Came Bronson
TV • 1969
Oliver Hidemann
Bewitched
TV • 1964
George Washington
The ABC Afternoon Playbreak
TV • 1972
Ben