Ralph Meeker
Known for: Acting
Born: November 21, 1920
Died: August 5, 1988
Place of birth: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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.
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Filmography
47 movies · 41 TV shows, newest first
5.8
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
2002
5.2
Without Warning
1980
5.7
Winter Kills
1979
7.0
Kaz
1978
6.5
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
3.9
The Alpha Incident
1978
6.1
Hi-Riders
1978
7.8
My Boys Are Good Boys
1978
6.8
CHiPs
1977
5.0
The Food of the Gods
1976
8.3
Barbary Coast
1975
5.0
Johnny Firecloud
1975
6.0
Brannigan
1975
6.0
The Dead Don't Die
1975
6.4
Police Woman
1974
5.2
Harry O
1974
6.7
Run, Joe, Run
1974
5.5
The Girl on the Late, Late Show
1974
6.5
Night Games
1974
6.9
Cry Panic
1974
6.8
Toma
1973
7.0
Faraday and Company
1973
5.4
Angela – Love Comes Quietly
1973
6.0
The Evil Touch
1973
7.0
Police Story
1973
7.0
You'll Never See Me Again
1973
5.8
Birds of Prey
1973
6.9
The Rookies
1972
5.9
The Mind Snatchers
1972
6.9
The Night Stalker
1972
8.0
The Reluctant Heroes
1971
6.0
Primus
1971
6.7
Cannon
1971
6.1
The Anderson Tapes
1971
5.9
I Walk the Line
1970
4.3
Lost Flight
1970
6.1
Room 222
1969
5.2
The Devil's Eight
1969
7.0
The Name of the Game
1968
5.9
The Detective
1968
8.5
Gentle Giant
1967
6.8
The High Chaparral
1967
6.4
Custer
1967
6.3
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967
7.6
The Dirty Dozen
1967
6.8
Ironside
1967
7.4
The Green Hornet
1966
6.9
Tarzan
1966
5.6
The F.B.I.
1965
6.5
Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963
7.8
The Outer Limits
1963
4.1
Wall of Noise
1963
5.8
Going My Way
1962
6.2
Something Wild
1961
8.0
A Holster Full Of Law
1961
6.3
The Defenders
1961
6.5
Ada
1961
8.5
Tallahassee 7000
1961
6.7
Route 66
1960NR
Not for Hire
1959
6.0
The Texan
1958
7.0
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
8.3
Paths of Glory
1957
6.1
Run of the Arrow
1957
6.0
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
1957
NR
Four Women in Black
1957
4.5
A Woman's Devotion
1956
6.2
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
5.0
Desert Sands
1955
6.0
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
7.8
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
7.2
Kiss Me Deadly
1955
6.6
Big House, U.S.A
1955
3.8
Climax!
1954
6.6
Letter to Loretta
1953
6.3
Code Two
1953
6.7
Jeopardy
1953
7.0
The Naked Spur
1953
8.8
Somebody Loves Me
1952
7.0
Shadow in the Sky
1952
5.9
Glory Alley
1952
8.8
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
7.2
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
6.1
Teresa
1951
6.2
Four in a Jeep
19516.7
Lux Video Theatre
1950
5.4
Studio One
1948
6.8
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948