For fans of The Waltons, few episodes resonate as deeply as the Season 7 premiere, titled “The Empty Nest,” in which the Walton family says farewell to their beloved patriarch, Grandpa Zeb Walton. But the mourning you saw on screen wasn’t just fiction; Will Geer, the warm-hearted actor who embodied the elder Walton through Seasons 1–6, passed away from respiratory failure on April 22, 1978, at the age of 76.
His death came shortly after filming wrapped on Season 6, and followed the earlier absence of Ellen Corby (Grandma Esther) due to a debilitating stroke. The show’s creators chose not to recast the role, instead writing Geer’s passing into the storyline, allowing the characters and the audience to grieve together in a heartfelt episode.