Ralph Meeker
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 21, 1920
- Died
- August 5, 1988
- Birthplace
- 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
as Lt. Driscoll (archive footage)
Without Warning 1980
as Dave
Winter Kills 1979
as Gameboy Baker
The Alpha Incident 1978
as Charlie
Hi-Riders 1978
as Mike
My Boys Are Good Boys 1978
as Bert Morton, Executive Producer
The Food of the Gods 1976
as Bensington
Johnny Firecloud 1975
as Colby
Brannigan 1975
as Capt. Moretti
The Dead Don't Die 1975
as Lieutenant Reardon
The Girl on the Late, Late Show 1974
as Inspector DeBiesse
Night Games 1974
as Dutch Armbreck
Cry Panic 1974
as Chuck Braswell
Angela – Love Comes Quietly 1973
as Ben Hoeksema
You'll Never See Me Again 1973
as Will Alden
Birds of Prey 1973
as Jim McAndrew
The Mind Snatchers 1972
as The Major
The Night Stalker 1972
as Bernie Jenks
The Reluctant Heroes 1971
as Capt. Luke Danvers
The Anderson Tapes 1971
as Police Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney
I Walk the Line 1970
as Carl McCain
Lost Flight 1970
as Glenn Walkup
The Devil's Eight 1969
as Burl
The Detective 1968
as Curran
Gentle Giant 1967
as Fog Hanson
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre 1967
as George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
The Dirty Dozen 1967
as Captain Stuart Kinder
Wall of Noise 1963
as Matt Rubio
Something Wild 1961
as Mike
A Holster Full Of Law 1961
as Frank Clell
Ada 1961
as Colonel Yancey
Paths of Glory 1957
as Cpl. Philippe Paris
Run of the Arrow 1957
as Lieutenant Driscoll
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown 1957
as Mike Valla
Four Women in Black 1957
as Carbine Webb
A Woman's Devotion 1956
as Trevor Stevenson
Desert Sands 1955
as Capt. David Malcolm
Kiss Me Deadly 1955
as Mike Hammer
Big House, U.S.A 1955
as Geraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
Code Two 1953
as Chuck O'Flair
Jeopardy 1953
as Lawson the Fugitive
The Naked Spur 1953
as Roy Anderson
Somebody Loves Me 1952
as Benny Fields
Shadow in the Sky 1952
as Burt
Glory Alley 1952
as Socks Barbarrosa
Teresa 1951
as Sgt. Dobbs
Four in a Jeep 1951
as Sergeant William Long
Credits from TMDB.