Who is Will Geer? TOPANGA, CALIF.--Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum was founded by a McCarthy era actor who was blacklisted as a communist sympathizer. As one of the many 1950s actors victimized by Blacklisting, he opened a theatre for Blacklisted actors and folk singers on his Topanga property. Unemployable Will and his wife, actress Herta Ware, earned their living by growing & selling vegetables, fruit, herbs--and theatre! The advent of television finally provided an opportunity for Will Geer to work in the industry he loved, and his portrayal of Grandpa in The Waltons TV series in 1973 earned him the success and financial stability he sought to fulfill a dream. He brought together his family who were now working actors at theatres across the country and together they formed a non-profit corporation, The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. Audiences flocked to free workshop performances of Shakespeare, folk plays, and concerts featuring such well-known artists as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Della Reese & Burl Ives, among others.

At the death of Mr. Geer in 1978, the family and a small band of players decided to work towards becoming a professional repertory theatre, incorporating educational programs and musical events. The local community and surrounding environs encouraged the theatre's artistic goals and proved their support by donating the labor and materials to begin a campaign which would expand and improve the theatre's facilities.

Advertisement