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Ralph Meeker

Actor

Ralph Meeker

Born November 21, 1920 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USADied August 5, 198846 films

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.

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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.

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The best way into Ralph Meeker's work
Paths of Glory posterFirst watchPaths of Glory19578.3as Cpl. Philippe ParisA commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
The Dirty Dozen poster7.6The Dirty Dozen1967Kiss Me Deadly poster7.2Kiss Me Deadly1955The Naked Spur poster7.0The Naked Spur1953The Night Stalker poster6.9The Night Stalker1972The Anderson Tapes poster6.1The Anderson Tapes1971The St. Valentine's Day Massacre poster6.3The St. Valentine's Day Massacre1967Brannigan poster6.0Brannigan1975The Detective poster5.9The Detective1968

Filmography

46 films as actor
  1. 1980Without WarningDave
  2. 1979Winter KillsGameboy Baker
  3. 1978The Alpha IncidentCharlie
  4. 1978Hi-RidersMike
  5. 1978My Boys Are Good BoysBert Morton
  6. 1976The Food of the GodsBensington
  7. 1975Johnny FirecloudColby
  8. 1975BranniganCapt. Moretti
  9. 1975The Dead Don't DieLieutenant Reardon
  10. 1974The Girl on the Late, Late ShowInspector DeBiesse
  11. 1974Night GamesDutch Armbreck
  12. 1974Cry PanicChuck Braswell
  13. 1973Angela – Love Comes QuietlyBen Hoeksema
  14. 1973You'll Never See Me AgainWill Alden
  15. 1973Birds of PreyJim McAndrew
  16. 1972The Mind SnatchersThe Major
  17. 1972The Night StalkerBernie Jenks
  18. 1971The Reluctant HeroesCapt. Luke Danvers
  19. 1971The Anderson TapesPolice Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney
  20. 1970I Walk the LineCarl McCain
  21. 1970Lost FlightGlenn Walkup
  22. 1969The Devil's EightBurl
  23. 1968The DetectiveCurran
  24. 1967Gentle GiantFog Hanson
  25. 1967The St. Valentine's Day MassacreGeorge Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
  26. 1967The Dirty DozenCaptain Stuart Kinder
  27. 1963Wall of NoiseMatt Rubio
  28. 1961Something WildMike
  29. 1961A Holster Full Of LawFrank Clell
  30. 1961AdaColonel Yancey
  31. 1957Paths of GloryCpl. Philippe Paris
  32. 1957Run of the ArrowLieutenant Driscoll
  33. 1957The Fuzzy Pink NightgownMike Valla
  34. 1957Four Women in BlackCarbine Webb
  35. 1956A Woman's DevotionTrevor Stevenson
  36. 1955Desert SandsCapt. David Malcolm
  37. 1955Kiss Me DeadlyMike Hammer
  38. 1955Big House, U.S.AGeraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
  39. 1953Code TwoChuck O'Flair
  40. 1953JeopardyLawson the Fugitive
  41. 1953The Naked SpurRoy Anderson
  42. 1952Somebody Loves MeBenny Fields
  43. 1952Shadow in the SkyBurt
  44. 1952Glory AlleySocks Barbarrosa
  45. 1951TeresaSgt. Dobbs
  46. 1951Four in a JeepSergeant William Long