Will Geer

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia 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 Blitzsteins The Cradle Will Rock played Candy in John Steinbecks 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 Peoples 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 Peoples 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 Geers 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 Corwins 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 UnAmerican 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 prounion standpoint The film was denounced as subversive and faced difficulties in its production and distribution as a consequence Description above from the Wikipedia article Will Geer licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia