Ellen Geer's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Jimmy Stewart Show Wendy Howard

Main Movie Roles 2007 - Man in the Chair 2006 - The Visitation 2005 - Me and You and Everyone We Know 2004 - Criminal 1998 - The Odd Couple II 1998 - Practical Magic 1997 - Crossworlds 1997 - The Postman 1996 - Phenomenon 1994 - Clear and Present Danger 1994 - When a Man Loves a Woman 1992 - Patriot Games 1985 - Creator 1984 - Irreconcilable Differences 1983 - Something Wicked This Way Comes 1983 - Heart Like A Wheel 1979 - Over the Edge 1971 - Harold and Maude 1969 - The Reivers 1968 - Petulia

BIOGRAPHY:

Ellen Geer, the daughter of Will Geer, has worked continuously for 40 years in television and motion pictures since making her debut in Richard Lester (I)'s "Petulia (1968)" (1968) in support of Julie Christie (I) and George C. Scott. Probably best remembered for her turn as the committed actress who is lined up as the third (and last) date for Harold by his mother in the cult classic "Harold and Maude (1971)" (1971) (and who confounds Harold by recognizing his "suicide" by hari-kari as an act and eagerly joins in, playing Juliet to his Romeo), Geer has played character and supporting parts in scores of movies and television shows.

Upon the death of her father in 1978, Ellen took over as artistic director of Theatrical Botanicum, an outdoor amphitheater in Topanga Canyon, California, where she has both acted and directed in 50 productions, including "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Medea" and "The Madwoman of Chaillot." Under Geer's direction over the past 28 years, the "Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum" has developed from essentially a workshop to a respected theatrical company with an Equity contract. In the year 2000, the Theatricum Botanicum put on a dramatization of "Harold and Maude" in which Ellen played the free-spirited Maude, the senior citizen who befriends, comforts and ultimately romances the 20-year-old Harold, who is obsessed with death and suicide. The Theatricum Botanicum has also put on works written by Ellen Geer.

Ellen Geer is a visiting associate professor of acting at the University of California, Los Angeles' School of Theater, Film, and Television, working both with undergraduate and Master of Fine Arts student, concentrating on acting in Shakespeare and other classics. She is a major force in the Los Angeles area in providing theater education to public school children through several Theatricum Botanicum-sponsored programs. Despite this commitment to theatrical education, she continues with her own busy acting career, appearing in films and on TV while acting at major regional theaters, including the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, the American Conservatory Theatre of San Francisco and the Globe Shakespeare Festival of San Diego.


TRIVIA:

• Daughter of actors 'Will Geer' (qv) and 'Herta Ware' (qv). Mother of actress 'Willow Geer' (qv)-Alsop.
• Since the death of her father 'Will Geer' (qv) in 1978, she has served as the artistic director of the family's beloved "Theatrical Botanicum," an outdoor theater in Topanga Canyon, California. She has displayed her talents as both director and actress in scores of productions over the decades, including "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Harold and Maude," "Medea" and "The Madwoman of Chaillot."