Ralph Meeker
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.
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Movies (47)
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
2002 · Lt. Driscoll (archive footage)
Without Warning
1980 · Dave
Winter Kills
1979 · Gameboy Baker
The Alpha Incident
1978 · Charlie
Hi-Riders
1978 · Mike
My Boys Are Good Boys
1978 · Bert Morton, Executive Producer
The Food of the Gods
1976 · Bensington
Johnny Firecloud
1975 · Colby
Brannigan
1975 · Capt. Moretti
The Dead Don't Die
1975 · Lieutenant Reardon
The Girl on the Late, Late Show
1974 · Inspector DeBiesse
Night Games
1974 · Dutch Armbreck
Cry Panic
1974 · Chuck Braswell
Angela – Love Comes Quietly
1973 · Ben Hoeksema
You'll Never See Me Again
1973 · Will Alden
Birds of Prey
1973 · Jim McAndrew
The Mind Snatchers
1972 · The Major
The Night Stalker
1972 · Bernie Jenks
The Reluctant Heroes
1971 · Capt. Luke Danvers
The Anderson Tapes
1971 · Police Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney
I Walk the Line
1970 · Carl McCain
Lost Flight
1970 · Glenn Walkup
The Devil's Eight
1969 · Burl
The Detective
1968 · Curran
Gentle Giant
1967 · Fog Hanson
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967 · George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
The Dirty Dozen
1967 · Captain Stuart Kinder
Wall of Noise
1963 · Matt Rubio
Something Wild
1961 · Mike
A Holster Full Of Law
1961 · Frank Clell
Ada
1961 · Colonel Yancey
Paths of Glory
1957 · Cpl. Philippe Paris
Run of the Arrow
1957 · Lieutenant Driscoll
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
1957 · Mike Valla
Four Women in Black
1957 · Carbine Webb
A Woman's Devotion
1956 · Trevor Stevenson
Desert Sands
1955 · Capt. David Malcolm
Kiss Me Deadly
1955 · Mike Hammer
Big House, U.S.A
1955 · Geraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
Code Two
1953 · Chuck O'Flair
Jeopardy
1953 · Lawson the Fugitive
The Naked Spur
1953 · Roy Anderson
Somebody Loves Me
1952 · Benny Fields
Shadow in the Sky
1952 · Burt
Glory Alley
1952 · Socks Barbarrosa
Teresa
1951 · Sgt. Dobbs
Four in a Jeep
1951 · Sergeant William Long
TV shows (41)
Kaz
1978
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
CHiPs
1977
Barbary Coast
1975 · Big Lou Hobart
Police Woman
1974
Harry O
1974
Run, Joe, Run
1974
Toma
1973
Faraday and Company
1973 · Ed Kelso
The Evil Touch
1973
Police Story
1973
The Rookies
1972
Primus
1971
Cannon
1971
Room 222
1969
The Name of the Game
1968 · Senator Goddard
The High Chaparral
1967 · Tracy Conlin
Custer
1967
Ironside
1967
The Green Hornet
1966 · Earl Evans
Tarzan
1966
The F.B.I.
1965 · King Hogan, Scott Martin, Graham Newcomb
Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963 · Harly Clay
The Outer Limits
1963 · John Dexter
Going My Way
1962
The Defenders
1961 · Floyd Cooper
Tallahassee 7000
1961
Route 66
1960
Not for Hire
1959 · US Army Sergeant Steve Dekker
The Texan
1958
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958 · Martin Ash
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956 · Steve Elkins
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955 · Carl Spann, Carl Borden, Mel Reeves, John Forbes
Climax!
1954 · Alex Hill, 'Griff' Griffith
Letter to Loretta
1953 · Joe Martin, Ed James, Pilot Duke Cavanaugh, Willis Cooper
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · Wally Walters
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · Rich Adams, Barry Brannon
Lux Video Theatre
1950 · Nicky Hanks, Mike
Studio One
1948 · Steve Windom, Larry Sheridan
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self