Will Geer

Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In California he befriended rising singer Woody Guthrie. They both lived in New York for a time in the 1940s. He was blacklisted in the 1950s by Hollywood after refusing, in testimony before Congress, to name persons who had joined the Communist Party.

In his later years, Geer was best known for his role as Grandpa Zebulon "Zeb" Walton in the TV series ''The Waltons'' from 1972 until his death in 1978. Provided by Wikipedia