Will Geer

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Will Geer , actually William Auge Ghere (born March 9, 1902 in Frankfort , Indiana , † April 22, 1978 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American film and stage actor . He is best known to today's audience for his age role as the grandfather in the family series The Waltons .

Life

Will Geer, who grew up in rural Indiana, was introduced to botany through his father , which led to a degree in botany at Columbia University in New York City in the early 1920s . During this time he came into contact with the theater for the first time . He joined a touring stage under the direction of Eva Le Gallienne . In 1928 he made his Broadway debut in The Merry Wives of Windsor . During the Great Depression in the 1930s, he toured labor camps with Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie and was a member of the Group Theater in New York. Geer took on engagements in socially critical plays such as Tobacco Road based on the novel by Erskine Caldwell and as Slim in the theater adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel Von Mäusen und Menschen .

Although Geer saw himself primarily as a stage actor throughout his life, he also repeatedly took on supporting roles in Hollywood cinema. He made his film debut in 1932 in Misleading Lady at the side of Claudette Colbert . After he had played only irregularly in films for a long time, Geer took part in a number of important films from the late 1940s, such as Griff in den Staub , The Broken Arrow and Winchester '73 . However, Geer's social commitment was fatal in the early 1950s when he was suspected of communism in the USA during the McCarthy era and was blacklisted . He had to withdraw from the film business and instead concentrated entirely on his theater work. With his wife he founded a private theater : the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, near Malibu in the Los Angeles area. He returned to the big screen in the early 1960s, starring as a sought-after character actor in films such as Storm Over Washington , Cold Blood and Jeremiah Johnson . In addition, he mainly took on guest roles in television series , not least because of his massive stature, he was mostly cast in rogue roles.

Geer achieved world fame at an advanced age with the role of grandfather Samuel in the television series The Waltons , which he played from the beginning of the series in 1972 until his death in 1978. He died of respiratory failure at the age of 76 . As a young man, Geer had a love affair with communist, union supporter and gay activist Harry Hay . In 1934 he married the actress Herta Ware . They had three children, the daughter Ellen Geer is also an actress. Although Geer and Ware divorced in 1954, they remained close friends throughout their lives.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 1964: Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 110 in the Shade
  • 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988: Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Drama Series for The Waltons
1975: Emmy Award - Winner for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Drama Series for The Waltons
  • 1974, 1975: Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series for The Waltons

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Will Geer at Allmovie
  2. ↑ Will Geer at Allmovie
  3. ^ Will Geer at the IBDB
  4. ↑ Will Geer at Allmovie
  5. ^ IMDb biography of Will Geer
personal data
SURNAME Geer, Will
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ghere, William eye
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfort , Indiana , USA
DATE OF DEATH April 22, 1978
Place of death Los Angeles , California , USA