Ralph Meeker
Acting
1920-11-21 · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) was an American actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of Mister Roberts (1948–1951) and Picnic (1953), the former of which earned him a Theatre World Award for his performance. In film, Meeker is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's 1955 Kiss Me Deadly. Meeker went on to play a series of roles that used his husky and macho screen presence, including a lead role in Stanley Kubrick's military courtroom drama Paths of Glory (1957), as a troubled mechanic opposite Carroll Baker in Something Wild (1961), as a World War II captain in The Dirty Dozen (1967), and in the gangster film The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967). Other credits include supporting roles in I Walk the Line (1970) and Sidney Lumet's The Anderson Tapes (1971). He also had a prolific career in television, appearing as Sergeant Steve Dekker on the series Not for Hire (1959–1960), and in the television horror film The Night Stalker (1972). After suffering a stroke in 1980, Meeker was forced to retire from acting, and died eight years later of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
2002 · Movie
Without Warning
1980 · Movie
Winter Kills
1979 · Movie
Kaz
1978 · Series
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978 · Series
The Alpha Incident
1978 · Movie
Hi-Riders
1978 · Movie
My Boys Are Good Boys
1978 · Movie
CHiPs
1977 · Series
The Food of the Gods
1976 · Movie
Barbary Coast
1975 · Series
Johnny Firecloud
1975 · Movie
Brannigan
1975 · Movie
The Dead Don't Die
1975 · Movie
Police Woman
1974 · Series
Harry O
1974 · Series
Run, Joe, Run
1974 · Series
The Girl on the Late, Late Show
1974 · Movie
Night Games
1974 · Movie
Cry Panic
1974 · Movie
Toma
1973 · Series
Faraday and Company
1973 · Series
Angela – Love Comes Quietly
1973 · Movie
The Evil Touch
1973 · Series
Police Story
1973 · Series
You'll Never See Me Again
1973 · Movie
Birds of Prey
1973 · Movie
The Rookies
1972 · Series
The Mind Snatchers
1972 · Movie
The Night Stalker
1972 · Movie
The Reluctant Heroes
1971 · Movie
Primus
1971 · Series
Cannon
1971 · Series
The Anderson Tapes
1971 · Movie
I Walk the Line
1970 · Movie
Lost Flight
1970 · Movie
Room 222
1969 · Series
The Devil's Eight
1969 · Movie
The Name of the Game
1968 · Series
The Detective
1968 · Movie
Gentle Giant
1967 · Movie
The High Chaparral
1967 · Series
Custer
1967 · Series
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967 · Movie
The Dirty Dozen
1967 · Movie
Ironside
1967 · Series
The Green Hornet
1966 · Series
Tarzan
1966 · Series
The F.B.I.
1965 · Series
Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963 · Series
The Outer Limits
1963 · Series
Wall of Noise
1963 · Movie
Going My Way
1962 · Series
Something Wild
1961 · Movie
A Holster Full Of Law
1961 · Movie
The Defenders
1961 · Series
Ada
1961 · Movie
Tallahassee 7000
1961 · Series
Route 66
1960 · Series
Not for Hire
1959 · Series
The Texan
1958 · Series
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958 · Series
Paths of Glory
1957 · Movie
Run of the Arrow
1957 · Movie
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
1957 · Movie
Four Women in Black
1957 · Movie
A Woman's Devotion
1956 · Movie
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956 · Series
Desert Sands
1955 · Movie
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955 · Series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955 · Series
Kiss Me Deadly
1955 · Movie
Big House, U.S.A
1955 · Movie
Climax!
1954 · Series
Letter to Loretta
1953 · Series
Code Two
1953 · Movie
Jeopardy
1953 · Movie
The Naked Spur
1953 · Movie
Somebody Loves Me
1952 · Movie
Shadow in the Sky
1952 · Movie
Glory Alley
1952 · Movie
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · Series
Teresa
1951 · Movie
Four in a Jeep
1951 · Movie
Lux Video Theatre
1950 · Series
Studio One
1948 · Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Series