Acting · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA · Born November 21, 1920
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.
MovieThe Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
2002
as Lt. Driscoll (archive footage)
MovieWithout Warning
1980
as Dave
MovieWinter Kills
1979
as Gameboy Baker
TVKaz
1978
TVThe Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
MovieThe Alpha Incident
1978
as Charlie
MovieHi-Riders
1978
as Mike
MovieMy Boys Are Good Boys
1978
as Bert Morton
TVCHiPs
1977
MovieThe Food of the Gods
1976
as Bensington
TVBarbary Coast
1975
as Big Lou Hobart
MovieJohnny Firecloud
1975
as Colby
MovieBrannigan
1975
as Capt. Moretti
MovieThe Dead Don't Die
1975
as Lieutenant Reardon
TVPolice Woman
1974
TVHarry O
1974
TVRun, Joe, Run
1974
MovieThe Girl on the Late, Late Show
1974
as Inspector DeBiesse
MovieNight Games
1974
as Dutch Armbreck
MovieCry Panic
1974
as Chuck Braswell
TVToma
1973
TVFaraday and Company
1973
as Ed Kelso
MovieAngela – Love Comes Quietly
1973
as Ben Hoeksema
TVThe Evil Touch
1973
TVPolice Story
1973
MovieYou'll Never See Me Again
1973
as Will Alden
MovieBirds of Prey
1973
as Jim McAndrew
TVThe Rookies
1972
MovieThe Mind Snatchers
1972
as The Major
MovieThe Night Stalker
1972
as Bernie Jenks
MovieThe Reluctant Heroes
1971
as Capt. Luke Danvers
TVPrimus
1971
TVCannon
1971
MovieThe Anderson Tapes
1971
as Police Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney
MovieI Walk the Line
1970
as Carl McCain
MovieLost Flight
1970
as Glenn Walkup
TVRoom 222
1969
MovieThe Devil's Eight
1969
as Burl
TVThe Name of the Game
1968
as Senator Goddard
MovieThe Detective
1968
as Curran
MovieGentle Giant
1967
as Fog Hanson
TVThe High Chaparral
1967
as Tracy Conlin
TVCuster
1967
MovieThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967
as George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
MovieThe Dirty Dozen
1967
as Captain Stuart Kinder
TVIronside
1967
TVThe Green Hornet
1966
as Earl Evans
TVTarzan
1966
TVThe F.B.I.
1965
as King Hogan
TVKraft Suspense Theatre
1963
as Harly Clay
TVThe Outer Limits
1963
as John Dexter
MovieWall of Noise
1963
as Matt Rubio
TVGoing My Way
1962
MovieSomething Wild
1961
as Mike
MovieA Holster Full Of Law
1961
as Frank Clell
TVThe Defenders
1961
as Floyd Cooper
MovieAda
1961
as Colonel Yancey
TVTallahassee 7000
1961
TVRoute 66
1960
Not for Hire
1959
TVThe Texan
1958
TVWanted: Dead or Alive
1958
as Martin Ash
MoviePaths of Glory
1957
as Cpl. Philippe Paris
MovieRun of the Arrow
1957
as Lieutenant Driscoll
MovieThe Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
1957
as Mike Valla
MovieFour Women in Black
1957
as Carbine Webb
MovieA Woman's Devotion
1956
as Trevor Stevenson
TVDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Steve Elkins
MovieDesert Sands
1955
as Capt. David Malcolm
TVThe 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Carl Spann
MovieKiss Me Deadly
1955
as Mike Hammer
MovieBig House, U.S.A
1955
as Geraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
TVClimax!
1954
as Alex Hill
TVLetter to Loretta
1953
as Joe Martin
MovieCode Two
1953
as Chuck O'Flair
MovieJeopardy
1953
as Lawson the Fugitive
MovieThe Naked Spur
1953
as Roy Anderson
MovieSomebody Loves Me
1952
as Benny Fields
MovieShadow in the Sky
1952
as Burt
MovieGlory Alley
1952
as Socks Barbarrosa
TVHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Wally Walters
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Rich Adams
MovieTeresa
1951
as Sgt. Dobbs
MovieFour in a Jeep
1951
as Sergeant William Long
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Nicky Hanks
TVStudio One
1948
as Steve Windom
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
