Will Geer
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.
Fotos
Películas (75)
Will Geer: America's Grandpa
2019
Woody Guthrie All-Star Tribute Concert 1970
2019 · Narrator
In Hollywood's Backyard: Topanga in the 1970s
2017 · Self
Mysterious Miracles: World Beyond Death
2005 · Host
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987 · Self (archive footage)
The Man Who Loved Bears
1979 · Narrator
Rip Van Winkle
1978 · Narrator (voice)
The Mafu Cage
1978 · Zom
Unknown Powers
1978 · Host
The Billion Dollar Hobo
1977 · Choo-Choo Trayne
Bunco
1977
The New Deal for Artists
1976 · Self
Moving Violation
1976 · Rockfield
Law and Order
1976 · Pat Crowley
The Blue Bird
1976 · Grandfather
The Night That Panicked America
1975 · Reverend Davis
The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery
1975 · Dr. Simpson
Hurricane
1974 · Dr. McCutcheon
Memory of Us
1974 · Motel Manager
Silence
1974 · Crazy Jack
Honky Tonk
1974 · Judge Cotton
The Hanged Man
1974 · Nameless
Executive Action
1973 · Ferguson
Isn't It Shocking?
1973 · Lemuel Lovell
A Gift of Terror
1973 · Ben
Savage!
1973 · Joel Ryker
Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On
1973 · Len McNeil
Brock's Last Case
1973 · J. Smiley Krenshaw
Jeremiah Johnson
1972 · Bear Claw
Napoleon and Samantha
1972 · Grandpa
The Rowdyman
1972 · Stan
Dear Dead Delilah
1972 · Roy Jurroe
Scarecrow
1972 · Justice Gilead Merton
Brother John
1971 · Doc Thomas
Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?
1971 · Simon Anderson
Pieces of Dreams
1970 · The Bishop
The Brotherhood of the Bell
1970 · Mike Patterson
The Moonshine War
1970 · Mr. Baylor
The Reivers
1969 · Boss
Certain Honorable Men
1968 · Malcolm Stoddard
Bandolero!
1968 · Pop Chaney
Of Mice and Men
1968 · Candy
The President's Analyst
1967 · Dr. Lee-Evan
In Cold Blood
1967 · Prosecutor
The Crucible
1967 · Giles Corey
Seconds
1966 · Old Man
Black Like Me
1964 · Truckdriver
Advise & Consent
1962 · Senate Minority Leader
Mobs, Inc.
1956 · Harry Robinson
Salt of the Earth
1954 · Sheriff
The Barefoot Mailman
1951 · Dan Paget - Miami Mayor / Postmaster
The Tall Target
1951 · Homer Crowley
Bright Victory
1951 · Mr. Nevins
Double Crossbones
1951 · Tom Botts
To Please a Lady
1950 · Jack Mackay
Convicted
1950 · Convict Mapes
Broken Arrow
1950 · Ben Slade
Winchester '73
1950 · Wyatt Earp
It's a Small World
1950 · William Musk - Father
Comanche Territory
1950 · Dan'l Seeger
The Kid from Texas
1950 · O'Fallon
Intruder in the Dust
1949 · Sheriff Hampton
Anna Lucasta
1949 · Noah
Lust for Gold
1949 · Deputy Ray Covin
Johnny Allegro
1949 · Schultzy
Deep Waters
1948 · Nick Driver
Men and Dust
1940 · Narrator (voice)
The Fight for Life
1940 · Ballou
Tall Tales
1940 · Self
Union Pacific
1939 · Foreman (uncredited)
Becky Sharp
1935 · Spectator (uncredited)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
1935 · Village Lamplighter (uncredited)
Wild Gold
1934 · Poker Player (uncredited)
Spitfire
1934 · West Fry
The Misleading Lady
1932 · McMahon - Asylum Guard
Series (34)
A Woman Called Moses
1978 · Thomas Garrett
Vacaciones en el mar
1977 · Franklyn Bootherstone
Eight Is Enough
1977
Starsky & Hutch
1975 · Commodore Atwater
Tony Orlando and Dawn
1974 · Self
The Lives of Benjamin Franklin
1974
Dinah!
1974 · Self
Doc Elliot
1973 · Paul Bartlett
The ABC Afternoon Playbreak
1972 · Ben
Kung Fu
1972 · Judge Emmitt Marcus
The Waltons
1972 · Grandfather Walton
The Sixth Sense
1972
Colombo
1971 · Edmund Hidemann
Alias Smith and Jones
1971 · Seth
The Bold Ones: The Senator
1970 · Senator Homer Bryant Wydell
Medical Center
1969
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
1969 · Harry I. Madison
Then Came Bronson
1969 · Oliver Hidemann
The Bill Cosby Show
1969 · Mr. Kane
Hawaii Five-O
1969 · Professor Harold Lochner
Mayberry R.F.D.
1968 · Captain Charles Wolford
Garrison's Gorillas
1967
The Invaders
1967 · Hank Willis
Mission: Impossible
1966 · Doc
The Trials of O'Brien
1965 · Judge Lindemann
Run for Your Life
1965 · Judge David P. Andrews
Daniel Boone
1964 · Adam Jarrett
Bewitched
1964 · George Washington
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · Self
Bonanza
1959 · Zach Randolph, Ferris Callahan, Calvin Butler
Tony Awards
1956 · Self - Performer
Gunsmoke
1955 · Slocum
Racket Squad
1951