Ralph Meeker

Ralph Meeker
Meeker in a photo for the MGM film Code Two (1953)
Born	Ralph Rathgeber (1920-11-21)November 21, 1920 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	August 5, 1988(1988-08-05) (aged 67) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1945–1980
Spouses	Salome Jens ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1966)​ Millicent Meeker ​ ​ (before 1988)​

Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage, and television 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 known for his portrayal of Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's 1955 Kiss Me Deadly and as condemned infantryman Cpl. Philippe Paris in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory.

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.

Early life

Meeker was born Ralph Rathgeber in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 21, 1920, the son of Ralph and Magnhild Senovia Haavig Meeker Rathgeber. He spent his early life in Michigan and Chicago. Meeker attended the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor Township, Michigan, and later was made a member of its hall of fame. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1942, where he majored in music.

Meeker served in the United States Navy during World War II, but was discharged after a few months with a neck injury.

Career

Stage work

Meeker began his career on stage, appearing in minor roles in the Broadway production of Strange Fruit (1946) directed by José Ferrer, which ran for 60 performances.

He followed it with a minor part in Cyrano de Bergerac (1946), starring Ferrer and directed by Mel Ferrer which went for 163 performances.

Meeker then starred on Broadway in Mister Roberts (1948–1951), directed by Joshua Logan and produced by Leland Hayward. Theatre World said he was one of the 12 most promising actors from the 1947–48 season. He was understudy for Henry Fonda.

Meeker's big breakthrough came when he took over the role of Stanley Kowalski from Marlon Brando in the second year of the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan. Logan and Hayward had Meeker under personal contract but agreed to release him from Mister Roberts. He started appearing in June 1949. He played the role until the Broadway run ended in December and then toured on the road with it.

MGM Films

Meeker made his film debut in the Swiss-made Four in a Jeep (1951), directed by Leopold Lindtberg. He played a starring role alongside Viveca Lindfors.

Meeker was then signed to a term contract by MGM. which put him in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. Meeker played a support role, a sergeant, and the film was very popular.

MGM then cast him in the leading role in Shadow in the Sky (1952), alongside Nancy Davis, later Nancy Reagan. The studio then tried him in Glory Alley (1952), billed above Leslie Caron and directed by Raoul Walsh. Both films flopped.

Paramount borrowed him to play Betty Hutton's leading man in Somebody Loves Me (1952), a musical. It was a minor hit.

Meeker's next two MGM films were very popular. He had a supporting role as a misfit ex-cavalryman in the classic Western The Naked Spur (1953) directed by Anthony Mann starring James Stewart. He was then in Jeopardy (1953), a well-received thriller with Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan. His final film for MGM was the crime movie Code Two (1953), which made a small loss.

Meeker also appeared on TV shows like The Revlon Mirror Theater and Lux Video Theatre.

Picnic

Meeker in a stage production of Picnic, 1954

In 1954, Meeker was cast in a Broadway production of William Inge's Picnic, directed by Logan and also starring Paul Newman and Janice Rule. The play was a critical and commercial success, running for 477 performances. 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.

Meeker returned to films playing a cold-blooded convict in Big House, U.S.A. (1955).

Kiss Me Deadly

In perhaps his most-remembered role, 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.

He then played a member of the French Foreign Legion in Desert Sands (1955). He was discussed to star in a Spillane sequel My Gun Is Quick.

On television, Meeker starred in the 1955 premiere episode, "Revenge", of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, along with Vera Miles. (He later appeared in three other Alfred Hitchcock segments.) He also guest-starred on shows like Studio One in Hollywood, Star Stage, The Alcoa Hour, Goodyear Playhouse, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, Studio 57, Zane Grey Theater, Playhouse 90, and The 20th Century Fox Hour.

In 1957, he portrayed an ex-convict who kidnaps and then falls for Jane Russell in the romantic comedy The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown, which failed at the box office.

More popular was the Sam Fuller Western Run of the Arrow (1957), with Meeker in a supporting role.

He produced the film Kindergarten in Germany.

Paths of Glory

That same year, he appeared in Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory, playing a soldier, Corporal Paris, accused of cowardice during battle in World War I.

Meeker returned to Broadway in 1958 to appear in Cloud 7 but it only ran 11 performances.

He continued to work heavily in TV on such shows as Climax!, Wagon Train, Kraft Theatre, Pursuit, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Schlitz Playhouse, The Loretta Young Show and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Meeker was cast with Dorothy Provine in the 1959 episode "Blood Money" of the Western series The Texan, starring Rory Calhoun. He had the title role in the TV movie Dillinger (1960).

Not for Hire

From 1959 to 1960, Meeker had the leading role as Army Sergeant Steve Dekker in the 39-episode television series Not for Hire.

For Disney TV, he did Texas John Slaughter: Frank Clell's in Town (1961) with Tom Tryon. He also was seen in Tallahassee 7000.

In 1961, he starred in the political story Ada with Dean Martin, and in Jack Garfein's experimental drama Something Wild, in which he portrayed a mechanic who saves a young woman (Carroll Baker) from committing suicide, but then holds her captive in his apartment.

Meeker went back to Broadway to replace Eli Wallach in the production of Rhinoceros starring Zero Mostel. He was then in Something About a Soldier (1962) with Sal Mineo directed by Dore Schary; it ran 12 performances.

In 1962, Meeker portrayed Jack Slade in the episode "The Crooked Angel" of the drama series Going My Way, starring Gene Kelly as a Catholic priest in New York City and loosely based on 1944 film of the same name. He was also cast in 1962 as Barney Swanton in the episode "Walk Like a King" of the Western series Empire, starring Richard Egan. He was also in episodes of The United States Steel Hour, and Route 66.

In 1963, he appeared as Murray Knopf in "The Bull Roarer" on Breaking Point, starring Paul Richards and Eduard Franz.

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. He was in the feature film Wall of Noise (1963) at Warners.

Meeker guest-starred as Frank Marin in the 1964 episode "Swing for the Moon" of Channing, co-starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones. He was also in The Outer Limits, The Defenders, Suspense, The Doctors and the Nurses, and Kraft Suspense Theatre.

Repertory on Broadway

He returned to Broadway in 1964 for After the Fall by Arthur Miller, directed by Kazan and starring Jason Robards Jr. and Barbara Loden. It ran for 208 performances. The play was done in repertory with But For Whom Charlie, also directed by Kazan with Meeker (and Faye Dunaway), but it was not as successful.

In 1965 Meeker was in Mrs. Dally Had a Lover on Broadway, which ran 53 performances. He guest-starred on The Long, Hot Summer, Seaway, The Green Hornet, and Tarzan.

Meeker later appeared in the 1967 crime drama The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, in which he played gangster George "Bugs" Moran.

Meeker was also in the 1967 war film The Dirty Dozen as Captain Stuart Kinder, a military psychologist who attempts to analyze the men. Meeker portrayed police officers in The Detective (1969) with Frank Sinatra and The Anderson Tapes (1970) with Sean Connery.

Meeker also starred in Gentle Giant (1967), A Punt, a Pass, and a Prayer (1968), and The Devil's 8 (1968) and guest starred on Dundee and the Culhane, The High Chaparral, and The Name of the Game.

1970s

Meeker worked steadily through the 1970s. He was in the TV film Lost Flight (1970), the feature I Walk the Line (1970), and episodes of The Virginian and The F.B.I., as well as the TV movie The Reluctant Heroes of Hill 656 (1971).

In 1971, he appeared on television as Kermit Teller in the episode "Glory Rider" of the Western Custer, with Wayne Maunder in the title role.

That year, he was a replacement cast member in a stage production of The House of Blue Leaves.

Meeker was in episodes of Primus, Room 222, Faraday & Company, Ironside, Toma, The Evil Touch, Police Surgeon, Cannon, The Rookies, Movin' On, Barbary Coast, Police Story, Run, Joe, Run, Harry O, Police Woman, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, and CHiPs.

In 1971, Meeker played FBI agent Bernie Jenks in the TV movie The Night Stalker. He was in TV movies The Mind Snatchers (1972), Birds of Prey (1973), You'll Never See Me Again (1973), Cry Panic (1974), Night Games (1974), The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974), and The Dead Don't Die (1975).

He made Love Comes Quietly (1973) in Holland and worked in the John Wayne film Brannigan (1974). He was second-billed in Johnny Firecloud (1975) and had a part in The Food of the Gods (1976).

He was also in Hi-Riders (1978) and starred in The Alpha Incident (1978).

Final years

Meeker was an executive producer on My Boys Are Good Boys (1978), which he also appeared in. He had a role in Winter Kills (1979).

Meeker's final screen role was in the independent science-fiction-horror film Without Warning (1980), about an alien landing. The film received negative reviews from critics, with Tom Buckley of The New York Times calling the film "illogical and predictable."

Personal life

Meeker married actress Salome Jens on July 20, 1964, and they were divorced in 1966. He also married Millicent Meeker.

Death

In 1980, he suffered a severe stroke, which forced him to retire from acting. His health steadily declined, punctuated by several more strokes. He spent the last year of his life in the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles, and died there, age 67, of a heart attack.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	Die Vier im Jeep	Sergeant William Long
1951	Teresa	Sergeant Dobbs
1952	Shadow in the Sky	Burt
1952	Glory Alley	Socks Barbarrosa
1953	Somebody Loves Me	Ben 'Benny' Fields
1953	The Naked Spur	Roy Anderson
1953	Jeopardy	Lawson
1953	Code Two	Chuck O'Flair
1955	Big House, U.S.A.	Jerry Barker
1955	Kiss Me Deadly	Mike Hammer
1955	Desert Sands	Captain David Malcolm
1956	A Woman's Devotion	Trevor Stevenson
1957	The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown	Mike Vala
1957	Run of the Arrow	Lieutenant Driscoll
1957	Paths of Glory	Corporal Philippe Paris
1960	Dillinger	John Dillinger	television film
1961	Ada	Colonel Yancey
1961	Something Wild	Mike
1963	Wall of Noise	Matt Rubio
1967	The Dirty Dozen	Captain Stuart Kinder
1967	The St. Valentine's Day Massacre	George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
1967	Gentle Giant	Fog Hanson
1968	The Detective	Curran
1968	A Punt, a Pass, and a Prayer	Wally Walters	television film
1969	The Devil's 8	Burl
1969	Lost Flight	Glenn Walkup	TV movie
1970	I Walk the Line	Carl McCain
1971	The Anderson Tapes	'Iron Balls' Delaney
1971	The Reluctant Heroes	Captain Luke Danvers	TV movie
1972	The Night Stalker	Bernie Jenks	TV movie
1972	The Happiness Cage	The Major	also known as The Mind Snatchers and The Demon
1973	Birds of Prey	Jim McAndrew	TV movie
1973	You'll Never See Me Again	Will Alden	TV movie
1973	Love Comes Quietly	Ben Hoeksema
1974	Cry Panic	Chuck Brunswell	TV movie
1974	Night Games	Dutch Armbreck	TV movie
1974	The Girl on the Late, Late Show	Inspector DeBiesse	TV movie
1975	The Dead Don't Die	Police Lieutenant Reardon	TV movie
1975	Brannigan	Captain Moretti
1975	Johnny Firecloud	Colby
1976	The Food of the Gods	Bensington
1978	Hi-Riders	Mike
1978	The Alpha Incident	Charlie
1978	My Boys Are Good Boys	Bert Morton
1979	Winter Kills	Gameboy Baker
1980	Without Warning	Dave

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952–1956	Goodyear Television Playhouse	—	2 episodes
1952–1956	Lux Video Theatre	Mike / Nicky Hanks	2 episodes
1953	The Revlon Mirror Theater	—	2 episodes
1953	The Alcoa Hour	Billy Hepburn	1 episode
1955–1956	Studio One in Hollywood	Mr. Sheridan / Steve	2 episodes
1955	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Carl Spann	Season 1 Episode 1: "Revenge"
1956	Star Stage	—	1 episode
1956	Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre	Joe Novak	1 episode
1956	Studio 57	Ranson	1 episode
1957	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Carl Borden	Season 2 Episode 20: "Malice Domestic"
1957	Zane Grey Theater	Steve Elkins	1 episode
1957	Playhouse 90	Carbine Webb	1 episode
1957	The 20th Century Fox Hour	Commander John Lawrence	1 episode
1957–1958	Climax!	'Griff' Griffith / Alex Hill	2 episodes
1958	Pursuit	—	1 episode
1958	Wagon Train	Horse	1 episode
1958–59	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	Barry Brannon / Rich Adams	2 episodes
1958–1961	The Loretta Young Show	Various	4 episodes
1959	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Mel Reeves	Season 4 Episode 17: "Total Loss"
1959	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	John Forbes	Season 4 Episode 23: "I'll Take Care of You"
1959	Wanted: Dead or Alive	Martin Ash	1 episode
1959	The Texas	Sam Kerrigan	1 episode
1959–1960	Not for Hire	Sergeant Steve Dekker	39 episodes
1961	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	Franc Clell	1 episode
1961	Tallahassee 7000	Harry Griffold	1 episode
1962	Going My Way	Jack Slade	1 episode
1962	Empire	Barney Swanton	1 episode
1962–1963	The United States Steel Hour	Charlie Williams	2 episodes
1962–1963	Route 66	Parker Smith / Willard McIntyre	2 episodes
1963	Breaking Point	Murray Knopf	1 episode
1963	The Outer Limits	John Dexter	1 episode
1964	The Defenders	Floyd Cooper	1 episode
1964	Channing	Frank Martin	1 episode
1964	The Doctors and the Nurses	Sheffer	1 episode
1964	Suspense	—	1 episode
1964	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Harly Clay	1 episode
1966	The Long, Hot Summer	Jess Corbett	1 episode
1966	Seaway	Roy Burke	1 episode
1966–1971	The F.B.I.	Graham Newcomb / Scott Martin / King Hogan	3 episodes
1967	The Green Hornet	Earl Evans	1 episode
1967	Tarzan	Karnak	1 episode
1967	Custer	Kermit Teller	1 episode
1967	Dundee and the Culhane	Maximus Tobin	1 episode
1967	The High Chaparral	Tracy Conlin	1 episode
1968	The Name of the Game	Senator Goddard	1 episode
1968–1974	Ironside	Wescott / Ex-Detective	2 episodes
1970	The Virginian	August Gruber	1 episode
1972–1974	Police Surgeon	James Blinn	2 episodes
1973–1975	Police Story	Alfred Attles / Sergeant Emit Howard / Chief Harry Stahlgaher	3 episodes
1974	Room 222	Mr. Jones	1 episode
1974	Faraday & Company	Ed Kelso	1 episode
1974	Toma	Frank Beecher	1 episode
1974	The Evil Touch	Frank Drake	2 episodes
1975	Cannon	Phil Dexter	1 episode
1975	The Rookies	Officer Menteer	1 episode
1975	Movin' On	Dave Bennet	1 episode
1975	Barbary Coast	Big Lou Hobart	1 episode
1975	Run, Joe, Run	Gant	1 episode
1975	Harry O	Sergeant Frank Brannen	1 episode
1977	Police Woman	Bellwood	1 episode
1979	CHiPs	Jerry Borgman	1 episode

Stage credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1945–46	Strange Fruit	Chuck
1946–47	Cyrano de Bergerac	Lackey
1947–49	A Streetcar Named Desire	Stanley Kowalski
1948–1951	Mister Roberts	Mannion	Theatre World Award
1953–54	Picnic	Hal Carter
1958	Cloud 7	Newton Reece
1961	Rhinoceros	Berrenger
1962	Something About a Soldier	Toat
1964	But for Whom Charlie	Charles Taney
1964–65	After the Fall	Mickey
1965	Mrs. Dally Had a Lover	Sam

Works cited

• Hoberman, J. (2007). "Review of Kiss Me Deadly". In Lim, Dennis (ed.). The Village Voice Film Guide – 50 Years of Movies from Classics to Cult Hits. New York City: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-78781-5.
• Maltin, Leonard (1994). Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide: 1990 Edition. Plume. ISBN 978-0-452-26316-1.
• Keaney, Michael F. (2010). Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era, 1940–1959. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-46366-4.
• Monush, Barry (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the Silent Era to 1965. Vol. 1. Applause. ISBN 978-1-557-83551-2.
• Muir, Kenneth (2012). Horror Films of the 1980s. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-47298-7.

External links

• Ralph Meeker at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Ralph Meeker at the British Film Institute at the British Film Institute
• Ralph Meeker at Find a Grave
• Ralph Meeker at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ralph Meeker at IMDb
• Ralph Meeker at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Ralph Meeker at the TCM Movie Database
• Ralph Meeker papers, donated by Meeker in 1983 to the Margaret Herrick Library
• Town of the Times, 1963 United States Department of Defense informational film at Internet Archive starring Ralph Meeker