Ralph Meeker
| Ralph Meeker | |
|---|---|
 in Ada (1961) |
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| Born | Ralph Rathgeber November 21, 1920 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | August 5, 1988 (aged 67) Woodland Hills, California, United States |
| Occupation | actor |
| Years active | 1951–80 |
| Spouse | Salome Jens (1964–66) (divorced) Colleen Meeker (?–88) (his death) |
Ralph Meeker (November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic,[1] and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.
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[edit] Career
He was born Ralph Rathgeber in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Ralph and Magnhild Senovia Haavig Meeker Rathgeber.[2] He made his film debut in 1951 with a small role in MGM's Teresa, followed by a starring role in the Swiss-made Four in a Jeep, directed by Leopold Lindtberg. In 1953 he was cast as a misfit ex-cavalryman in the classic western The Naked Spur directed by Anthony Mann.
For his performance in William Inge's Picnic, Meeker was awarded the New York Critic's Circle Award in 1954. Picnic became a classic film in 1955, with William Holden and Kim Novak starring in the roles originated by Meeker and Janice Rule. According to Turner Classic Movies, Meeker turned down the lead role because he did not wish to sign a long-term contract with the production company, and he never was offered a role of similar stature again. Around the same time, Meeker was cast in several low-budget films, including Code Two (1953), co-starring Keenan Wynn, in which Meeker portrayed a brash young rookie cop in Los Angeles.
Meeker starred as private detective Mike Hammer in the 1955 Robert Aldrich film of Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly. Many years later, this film acquired cult status and was seen as an influence on French New Wave directors such as Jean-Luc Godard.[3] Meeker's portrayal of Hammer came to be lauded as one of the definitive "tough guy" performances. At the time, however, Meeker was unable to parlay the role into further starring film roles.
In 1957, he appeared in Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory, playing the convicted soldier, Corporal Paris. Later films included 1961's Ada with Dean Martin and the 1967 drama The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, in which he played gangster George "Bugs" Moran. He was also in the 1967 box office hit The Dirty Dozen as Captain Kinder, a military psychologist who attempts to analyze the men. Meeker portrayed police officers in 1969's The Detective with Frank Sinatra and The Anderson Tapes (1970) with Sean Connery. He was producer of the movie My Boys Are Good Boys (1978).
During the Cold War, he appeared in a 1963 U.S. Department of Defense informational film Town of the Times, which encouraged the construction of public fallout shelters.
On television, Meeker starred in 1955 in the premiere episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "Revenge", with Vera Miles, as well as in three other episodes of the Hitchcock series. He starred in the 1958 episode "A Man Called Horse" of NBC's Wagon Train. In 1959 and 1960, Meeker starred as U.S. Army Sergeant Steve Dekker in the TV series Not for Hire. In 1963, he appeared in "The Bull Roarer" on ABC's medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point, starring Paul Richards. He guest-starred in the 1964 episode "Swing for the Moon" of ABC's Channing, set on a fictitious college campus and costarring Jason Evers and Henry Jones. In 1967, he appeared in ABC's military-western Custer, with Wayne Maunder in the title role. In 1971 he played FBI agent Bernie Jenks in the highly successful TV movie The Night Stalker.
He made guest appearances on numerous other TV series, including Ironside, CHiPs, Toast of the Town, The Outer Limits "The Green Hornet" and Studio One "The High Chaparral" (episode: 'The Price of Revenge'), "The Men From Shiloh' (episode: 'Experiment At New Life')
[edit] Personal life
He was a graduate of the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor Township, Michigan, and a member of their Hall of Fame.
Meeker married three times: his first wife (1964–66) was actress Salome Jens. His second marriage was to Colleen Meeker.
In 1980, Meeker suffered a severe stroke, which ended his career. His health steadily declined, punctuated by several more strokes. He spent the last year of his life in the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, and died there of a heart attack on August 5, 1988.[1][2] He was survived by his third wife, Millicent.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Rothstein, Mervyn (1988-08-06). "Ralph Meeker, 67, Star of 'Picnic' And Featured Actor in Films, Dies". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5DE1331F935A3575BC0A96E948260. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ a b Stalnaker, Jack (2004). "Ralph Meeker: Biography". The Meeker Museum. http://www.meekermuseum.com/biograph.html. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ Hoberman, J., Review of Kiss Me Deadly in The Village Voice Film Guide, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2007.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ralph Meeker |
- Ralph Meeker at the Internet Movie Database
- Ralph Meeker at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ralph Meeker at Find a Grave
- Town of the Times, 1963 United States Department of Defense informational film at Internet Archive starring Ralph Meeker
