Herta Ware was an American actress and political activist.
Background
Ware was born Herta Schwartz in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Helen Ware, a musician and violin teacher, and Lazlo Schwartz, an actor who was born in Budapest. Her mother"s brother was activist Harold Ware and her maternal grandmother was labor organizer and socialist Ella Reeve Bloor. Her father was Jewish and her mother was from a Christian background.
Career
Ware made her Broadway debut in "Let Freedom Ring", co-starring Will Geer, whom she married in 1934. The couple appeared together in other New York plays, including "Bury the Dead" (1936), "Prelude" (1936), "200 Were Chosen" (1936) and "Journeyman (1938). She made her on-screen debut in 1978, when she appeared in the television film A Question of Guilt.
Subsequently, Ware appeared in her first feature film 1980, The Black Marble.
What followed was a number of films between 1980 and 2000. Her second feature film was the comedy-horror Doctor Heckyl and Mr.
Hype, which featured English actor Oliver Reed. She starred in the sci-fi film 2010 in 1984 alongside Roy Scheider and Helen Mirren.
She is perhaps most recognized for her performance in the classic film Ron Howard"s Cocoon, and appeared in the sequel Cocoon: The Return.
She may also be highly recognized for her role in the popular sequel Critters 2: The Main Course, as "Nana", the grandmother of Scott Grimes" character Brad Brown. She received roles in several other well-known films such as, Species, Practical Magic, with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and Cruel Intentions, with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Philippe. Her role in the 1992 television film Crazy in Love earned her a CableACE Award for Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries.
Ware has made many guest appearances on classic television series including, Knots Landing, Highway to Heaven, Cagney & Lacey, The Golden Girls and Emergency, to name a few.
Ware died in 2005, due to complications of Parkinson"s disease. She resided in Topanga, California at the time of her death.
Her and Will Geer"s ashes were scattered at their outdoor theatre.