Ralph Meeker

Ralph Meeker

Barbara Stanwyck and Meeker in 1953
Born Ralph Rathgeber
(1920-11-21)November 21, 1920
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died August 5, 1988(1988-08-05) (aged 67)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Heart attack
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, United States
Occupation Actor
Years active 1951–1980
Spouse(s) Salome Jens (1964–1966; divorced)
Colleen Meeker (?-?; divorced)
Millicent Meeker (?–1988; his death)

Ralph Meeker (November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988)[1] was an American film, stage and television actor best known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic,[1] and for playing Mike Hammer in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.

Early life and education

Meeker was born Ralph Rathgeber in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Ralph and Magnhild Senovia Haavig Meeker Rathgeber. He was a graduate of the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor Township, Michigan, and would later be made a member of its hall of fame. Meeker served in the United States Navy during World War II, but was discharged after a few months with a neck injury.[2]

Career

Meeker 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 (1951), 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.[2]

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. He played an escaped killer who terrorizes Barbara Stanwyck in the 1953 thriller Jeopardy and a cold-blooded convict in Big House, U.S.A. (1955).

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.[3]

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. 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. Later films included 1961's political story Ada with Dean Martin, the drama Something Wild that same year, in which Meeker portrayed a mechanic who saves a young woman (Carroll Baker) from committing suicide but then holds her captive in his apartment, and 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. He was producer of the film 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.[4]

Television

On television, Meeker starred in the 1955 premiere episode, "Revenge," of CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents, along with Vera Miles. He later appeared in three other Alfred Hitchcock segments. He starred in the 1958 episode "A Man Called Horse" of NBC's Wagon Train.

From 1959–1960, Meeker had the leading role as United States Army Sergeant Steve Dekker in the 39-episode television series Not for Hire. Dekker is an investigator in the Army Criminal Investigations Division; the series was somewhat a precursor 40 years earlier of the 21st century hit NCIS, with Mark Harmon in a Navy role akin to Meeker's Army screen assignment in 1959.

Meeker was cast with Dorothy Provine in the 1959 episode, "Blood Money", of the CBS western series The Texan, starring Rory Calhoun.[5]

In 1962, Meeker portrayed Jack Slade in the episode "The Crooked Angel" of ABC's drama series Going My Way, starring Gene Kelly as a Roman Catholic priest in New York City and loosely based on the Bing Crosby 1944 film of the same name. He was also cast in 1962 as Barney Swanton in the episode "Walk Like a King" of the NBC modern western series Empire, starring Richard Egan.

In 1963, he appeared as Murray Knopf in "The Bull Roarer" on ABC's medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point, starring Paul Richards and Eduard Franz. Meeker guest-starred as Frank Marin in the 1964 episode "Swing for the Moon" of ABC's Channing, set on a fictitious college campus and co-starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones. In 1967, he appeared as Kermit Teller in the episode "Glory Rider" of the ABC military-western Custer, with Wayne Maunder in the title role. In 1971, Meeker played FBI agent Bernie Jenks in the television movie The Night Stalker.

He made guest appearances on numerous other television series, including Ironside, CHiPs, Dundee and the Culhane, Toast of the Town, The Outer Limits, The Green Hornet, Studio One, The High Chaparral (episode "The Price of Revenge"), The Men from Shiloh (episode "Experiment At New Life"), and The Eddie Capra Mysteries (episode "Murder Plays a Dead Hand").

Filmography

List of acting performances in film
Title Year Role
Glory Alley 1952 Socks Barbarrosa
Naked Spur, TheThe Naked Spur 1953 Roy Anderson
Jeopardy 1953 Lawson
Kiss Me Deadly 1955 Mike Hammer
Big House, U.S.A. 1955 Jerry Barker
Desert Sands 1955 Captain David Malcolm
A Woman's Devotion 1956 Trevor Stevenson
Paths of Glory 1957 Cpl. Philippe Paris
Run of the Arrow 1957 Lt. Driscoll
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown 1957 Mike Vala
Something Wild 1961 Mike
Ada 1961 Colonel Yancey
Wall of Noise 1963 Matt Rubio
Wagon Train Special guest star in episode A Man Called Horse 1963
The Dirty Dozen 1967 Capt. Stuart Kinder
St. Valentine's Day Massacre, TheThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre 1967 George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
Gentle Giant 1967 Fog Hanson
Detective, TheThe Detective 1968 Curran
The Devil's 8 1969 Burl
I Walk the Line 1970 Carl McCain
Anderson Tapes, TheThe Anderson Tapes 1971 Delaney
The Happiness Cage 1972 The Major
Love Comes Quietly 1973 Ben Hoeksema
Birds of Prey 1973 Jim McAndrew
Brannigan 1975 Capt. Moretti
The Food of the Gods 1976 Bensington
Hi-Riders 1978 Mike
Alpha Incident, TheThe Alpha Incident 1978 Charlie
Winter Kills 1979 Gameboy Baker
Without Warning 1980 Dave

Personal life

Meeker married three times: his first wife (1964–1966) was actress Salome Jens, his second was Colleen Meeker, and his third was Millicent Meeker.[1][2]

In 1980, he 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 & Television Country House and Hospital in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and died there, age 67, of a heart attack. He was survived by his third wife, Millicent.[1][2] He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rothstein, Mervyn (August 6, 1988). "Ralph Meeker, 67, Star of 'Picnic' And Featured Actor in Films, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 LoBianco, Lorraine. "Ralph Meeker Profile".
  3. ↑ Hoberman, J. (2007). "Review of Kiss Me Deadly". In Lim, Dennis. 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.
  4. ↑ "Town of the Times".
  5. ↑ "The Texan". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ralph Meeker (1920 - 1988) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
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