Editing Will Geer (section)

===Later years===
In 1951, Geer founded the Will Geer [[Theatricum Botanicum]] in [[Topanga, California]], with his wife, actress [[Herta Ware]]. He combined his acting and botanical careers at the Theatricum, cultivating every plant mentioned in [[Shakespeare]]'s plays. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he played several seasons at the [[American Shakespeare Festival]] in [[Stratford, Connecticut]]. He created a second Shakespeare Garden on the theater's grounds. By that time, he was working sporadically again on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. In 1964, he was nominated for the [[Tony Award]] for [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical|Best Featured Actor in a Musical]] for ''[[110 in the Shade]]''. In 1967, he performed a soliloquy as the prosecutor delivering the closing argument against the two murderers in the film ''[[In Cold Blood (film)|In Cold Blood]]''. In 1972, he  played the part of Bear Claw in ''[[Jeremiah Johnson (film)|Jeremiah Johnson]]''.

In 1972, he was cast as Zebulon Walton, the family patriarch on ''The Waltons,'' a role he took over from [[Edgar Bergen]]. Bergen played the character in the TV movie upon which the series was based. He won an [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series|Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series]] for ''The Waltons'' in 1975.
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 1977–1978 season, showed him reuniting with his onscreen wife Esther (played by [[Ellen Corby]]; she had been absent for the entire season due to a stroke). His character was mourned onscreen during the first episode of the 1978–1979 season, titled "The Empty Nest".