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.
Filmography (88)
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
2002
Without Warning
1980
Winter Kills
1979
The Alpha Incident
1978
My Boys Are Good Boys
1978
Hi-Riders
1978
Kaz
1978
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
CHiPs
1977
The Food of the Gods
1976
The Dead Don't Die
1975
Johnny Firecloud
1975
Brannigan
1975
Barbary Coast
1975
The Girl on the Late, Late Show
1974
Cry Panic
1974
Night Games
1974
Run, Joe, Run
1974
Harry O
1974
Police Woman
1974
Birds of Prey
1973
You'll Never See Me Again
1973
Angela – Love Comes Quietly
1973
The Evil Touch
1973
Police Story
1973
Toma
1973
Faraday and Company
1973
The Night Stalker
1972
The Mind Snatchers
1972
The Rookies
1972
The Anderson Tapes
1971
The Reluctant Heroes
1971
Cannon
1971
Primus
1971
I Walk the Line
1970
Lost Flight
1970
The Devil's Eight
1969
Room 222
1969
The Detective
1968
The Name of the Game
1968
The Dirty Dozen
1967
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967
Gentle Giant
1967
Ironside
1967
The High Chaparral
1967
Custer
1967
Tarzan
1966
The Green Hornet
1966
The F.B.I.
1965
Wall of Noise
1963
Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963
The Outer Limits
1963
Going My Way
1962
Something Wild
1961
Ada
1961
A Holster Full Of Law
1961
The Defenders
1961
Tallahassee 7000
1961
Route 66
1960
Not for Hire
1959
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
The Texan
1958
Paths of Glory
1957
Run of the Arrow
1957
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
1957
Four Women in Black
1957
A Woman's Devotion
1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
Big House, U.S.A
1955
Kiss Me Deadly
1955
Desert Sands
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Climax!
1954
The Naked Spur
1953
Jeopardy
1953
Code Two
1953
Letter to Loretta
1953
Shadow in the Sky
1952
Somebody Loves Me
1952
Glory Alley
1952
Teresa
1951
Four in a Jeep
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Lux Video Theatre
1950
Studio One
1948
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
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