Ralph Meeker
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 21, 1920
- Died
- August 5, 1988 (aged 67)
- Birthplace
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Biography
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
Movie · as Lt. Driscoll (archive footage)
Without Warning
Movie · as Dave
Winter Kills
Movie · as Gameboy Baker
The Alpha Incident
Movie · as Charlie
My Boys Are Good Boys
Movie · as Bert Morton
Hi-Riders
Movie · as Mike
Kaz
TV · 1 ep
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
TV · 1 ep
CHiPs
TV · 1 ep
The Food of the Gods
Movie · as Bensington
The Dead Don't Die
Movie · as Lieutenant Reardon
Johnny Firecloud
Movie · as Colby
Brannigan
Movie · as Capt. Moretti
Barbary Coast
TV · as Big Lou Hobart · 1 ep
The Girl on the Late, Late Show
Movie · as Inspector DeBiesse
Cry Panic
Movie · as Chuck Braswell
Night Games
Movie · as Dutch Armbreck
Run, Joe, Run
TV · 1 ep
Harry O
TV · 1 ep
Police Woman
TV · 1 ep
Birds of Prey
Movie · as Jim McAndrew
You'll Never See Me Again
Movie · as Will Alden
Angela – Love Comes Quietly
Movie · as Ben Hoeksema
The Evil Touch
TV · 1 ep
Police Story
TV · 2 eps
Toma
TV · 1 ep
Faraday and Company
TV · as Ed Kelso · 1 ep
The Night Stalker
Movie · as Bernie Jenks
The Mind Snatchers
Movie · as The Major
The Rookies
TV · 1 ep
The Anderson Tapes
Movie · as Police Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney
The Reluctant Heroes
Movie · as Capt. Luke Danvers
Cannon
TV · 1 ep
Primus
TV · 1 ep
I Walk the Line
Movie · as Carl McCain
Lost Flight
Movie · as Glenn Walkup
The Devil's Eight
Movie · as Burl
Room 222
TV · 1 ep
The Detective
Movie · as Curran
The Name of the Game
TV · as Senator Goddard · 1 ep
The Dirty Dozen
Movie · as Captain Stuart Kinder
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Movie · as George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
Gentle Giant
Movie · as Fog Hanson
Ironside
TV · 2 eps
The High Chaparral
TV · as Tracy Conlin · 1 ep
Custer
TV · 1 ep
Tarzan
TV · 1 ep
The Green Hornet
TV · as Earl Evans · 1 ep
The F.B.I.
TV · as King Hogan, Scott Martin, Graham Newcomb · 1 ep
Wall of Noise
Movie · as Matt Rubio
Kraft Suspense Theatre
TV · as Harly Clay · 1 ep
The Outer Limits
TV · as John Dexter · 1 ep
Going My Way
TV · 1 ep
Something Wild
Movie · as Mike
Ada
Movie · as Colonel Yancey
A Holster Full Of Law
Movie · as Frank Clell
The Defenders
TV · as Floyd Cooper · 1 ep
Tallahassee 7000
TV · 1 ep
Route 66
TV · 2 eps
Not for Hire
TV · as US Army Sergeant Steve Dekker · 39 eps
Wanted: Dead or Alive
TV · as Martin Ash · 1 ep
The Texan
TV · 1 ep
Paths of Glory
Movie · as Cpl. Philippe Paris
Run of the Arrow
Movie · as Lieutenant Driscoll
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
Movie · as Mike Valla
Four Women in Black
Movie · as Carbine Webb
A Woman's Devotion
Movie · as Trevor Stevenson
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV · as Steve Elkins · 1 ep
Big House, U.S.A
Movie · as Geraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
Kiss Me Deadly
Movie · as Mike Hammer
Desert Sands
Movie · as Capt. David Malcolm
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
TV · as Carl Spann, Carl Borden, Mel Reeves, John Forbes · 1 ep
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV · 1 ep
Climax!
TV · as Alex Hill, 'Griff' Griffith · 1 ep
The Naked Spur
Movie · as Roy Anderson
Jeopardy
Movie · as Lawson the Fugitive
Code Two
Movie · as Chuck O'Flair
Letter to Loretta
TV · as Joe Martin, Ed James, Pilot Duke Cavanaugh, Willis Cooper · 1 ep
Shadow in the Sky
Movie · as Burt
Somebody Loves Me
Movie · as Benny Fields
Glory Alley
Movie · as Socks Barbarrosa
Teresa
Movie · as Sgt. Dobbs
Four in a Jeep
Movie · as Sergeant William Long
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV · as Wally Walters · 1 ep
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · as Rich Adams, Barry Brannon · 1 ep
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Nicky Hanks, Mike · 1 ep
Studio One
TV · as Steve Windom, Larry Sheridan · 1 ep
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV · as Self · 3 eps