Will Geer Death
Will passed away on April 22, 1978 at the age of 76 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Will's cause of death was respiratory ailment.
When did Will Geer die?
April 22, 1978How did Will Geer die? What was the cause of death?
Respiratory ailmentHow old was Will Geer when died?
76Where did Will Geer die? What was the location of death?
Los Angeles, California, USA
Will Geer Birthday and Date of Death
Will Geer was born on March 9, 1902 and died on April 22, 1978. Will was 76 years old at the time of death.
Birthday: March 9, 1902
Date of Death: April 22, 1978
Age at Death: 76
Will Geer - Biography
William Aughe Ghere, known as Will Geer (March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978), was an American actor and social activist, known for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series The Waltons.
Geer became involved with Harry Hay, a homosexual activist. In 1934, Hay met Geer at the Tony Pastor Theatre, where Geer worked as an actor. They became lovers, and Hay credited Geer as his political mentor. Hay and Geer participated in a milk strike in Los Angeles. There Hay was first exposed to radical gay activism in the person of "Clarabelle", a drag queen who held court in the Bunker Hill neighborhood and who hid Hay from police. Later that year, Hay and Geer performed in support of the San Francisco General Strike, where they witnessed police firing on strikers, killing two.
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 1977–78 season, depicted his being reunited with his onscreen wife Esther (played by Ellen Corby; she had been absent for the entire season, due to a stroke). Geer's character was mourned onscreen during the first episode of the 1978–79 season.
His former wife, actress Herta Ware, was best known for her performance as the wife of Jack Gilford in the film Cocoon (1985). Geer and Ware had three children, Kate Geer, Thad Geer, and actress Ellen Geer. Ware also had a daughter, actress Melora Marshall, from another marriage. Although Geer and Ware eventually divorced, they remained close for the rest of their lives.
As Will Geer was dying on April 22, 1978, of respiratory failure at the age of 76, his family sang Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" and recited poems by Robert Frost at his deathbed. Geer's remains were cremated; his ashes are buried at the Theatricum Botanicum in the "Shakespeare Garden" in Topanga Canyon, near Santa Monica, California.
