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Despite her meek, gamin, childlike demeanor and petite frame, this seasoned character actress possessed a remarkable survival instinct and strong liberal resolve. Herta Ware Schwartz was born on June 9, 1917, in Wilmington, Delaware, to Helen (Ware), a musician and violin instructor, and Laszlo Schwartz, an actor. Her father was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant from Budapest, while her mother, a violinist, descended from many generations of colonial American lineage. Her maternal grandfather was a union activist who joined the Socialist Party in early 20th-century America; her maternal grandmother was labor organizer and socialist Ella Reeve Bloor, and her uncle was activist Harold Ware.
A guitarist and folk singer in the Washington D.C. area, she moved to New York City in the early 1930s to pursue acting. She made her Broadway debut in the 1935 leftist play "Let Freedom Ring," co-starring with future husband Will Geer, whom she married in 1938. The couple appeared together in other New York productions, including "Bury the Dead" (1936), "Prelude" (1936), "200 Were Chosen" (1936), and "Journeyman" (1938). Politically engaged, they relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1940s and settled in Santa Monica while Geer pursued a film career.
They had three children—Kate Geer, Ellen Geer, and Thad Geer—all of whom became actors. In 1951, Geer was blacklisted in Hollywood during the McCarthy era after invoking the Fifth Amendment and refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Financial hardships followed, and they eventually lost their Los Angeles home. Fortunately, Herta had purchased five acres in Topanga Canyon anticipating political fallout. Leveraging Geer's botany degree, they cultivated the land and supported themselves by selling vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
Years later, Geer and Ware co-founded the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum on their Topanga Canyon property. The theater served as an outdoor venue for politically targeted writers, singers, and actors to continue developing their craft. Outspoken friends and performers like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger often supported and performed in their productions. The theater officially opened as a summer venue in 1973. Although Will and Herta divorced in 1954, they maintained a close personal and professional relationship. She was by Geer's side when he died of a respiratory illness in 1978. After his passing, Ware, her family, and a dedicated group of actors worked tirelessly to develop the Theatricum into a professional repertory theater, incorporating educational programs and musical events. The artistic directorship was eventually assumed by her daughter, actress Ellen Geer.
Herta remarried near the end of 1954 to actor and singer David Marshall. They had one child, actress Melora Marshall, before divorcing in 1978. In the 1970s, Herta experienced a career resurgence, making her film debut in The Memory of Us (1974), which starred her ex-husband Will and daughter Ellen. She subsequently portrayed a variety of gentle elderly women in films including The Black Marble (1980), Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype (1980), 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), Slam Dance (1987), Promised Land (1987), Dirty Laundry (1987), Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Dakota (1988), Soapdish (1991), Lonely Hearts (1991), Top Dog (1995), Species (1995), St. Patrick's Day (1997), Practical Magic (1998), The Politics of Desire (1998), Cruel Intentions (1999), Held Up (1999), Beautiful (2000), and Desperate But Not Serious (1999). She is best remembered as the compassionate wife of Jack Gilford’s grumpy character in the popular senior citizen film Cocoon (1985), directed by Ron Howard, and its sequel Cocoon: The Return (1988), directed by Daniel Petrie.
Herta also appeared on television, portraying Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s mother in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), as well as roles on established series such as Knots Landing, Highway to Heaven, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Amazing Stories, Beauty and the Beast, Cagney & Lacey, The Golden Girls, The Munsters Today, and Tracy Takes On...
In 2000, she published her memoir, Fantastic Journey: My Life with Will Geer, and continued performing at the Theatricum as the "Matriarch of the Topanga Community." Many of her children and grandchildren became regular performers at the theater. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, she passed away from complications in Topanga on August 15, 2005. Her ashes, like those of her ex-husband, were scattered at the outdoor theater.
