Ralph Meeker

Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) the former of which earned him a Theatre World Award for his performance. In film, Meeker is known for his portrayal of Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's 1955 Kiss Me Deadly and as condemned infantryman Cpl. Philippe Paris in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory.

Meeker went on to play a series of roles that used his husky and macho screen presence, including a lead role in 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.

Early life Meeker was born Ralph Rathgeber in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 21, 1920,

Career Stage work Meeker began his career on stage, appearing in minor roles in the Broadway production of Strange Fruit (1946) directed by José Ferrer, which ran for 60 performances.

He followed it with a minor part in Cyrano de Bergerac (1946), starring Ferrer and directed by Mel Ferrer which went for 163 performances. He was the understudy for Henry Fonda.

Meeker's big breakthrough came when he took over the role of Stanley Kowalski from Marlon Brando in the second year of the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan. Logan and Hayward had Meeker under personal contract but agreed to release him from Mister Roberts. He started appearing in June 1949. He played the role until the Broadway run ended in December and then toured on the road with it.

Meeker played the supporting role of Mickey in the Broadway world premiere of Arthur Miller's After the Fall.

Meeker was then signed to a term contract by MGM. which put him in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. Meeker played a support role, a sergeant, and the film was very popular.

MGM then cast him in the leading role in Shadow in the Sky (1952), alongside Nancy Davis, later Nancy Reagan. The studio then tried him in Glory Alley (1952), billed above Leslie Caron and directed by Raoul Walsh. Both films flopped.

Meeker also appeared on TV shows like The Revlon Mirror Theater and Lux Video Theatre.

Picnic

In 1954, Meeker was cast in a Broadway production of William Inge's Picnic, directed by Logan and also starring Paul Newman and Janice Rule. The play was a critical and commercial success, running for 477 performances. 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.

On television, Meeker starred in the 1955 premiere episode, "Revenge", of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, along with Vera Miles. (He later appeared in three other Alfred Hitchcock segments.) He also guest-starred on shows like Studio One in Hollywood, Star Stage, The Alcoa Hour, Goodyear Playhouse, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, Studio 57, Zane Grey Theater, Playhouse 90, and The 20th Century Fox Hour.

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.

More popular was the Sam Fuller Western Run of the Arrow (1957), with Meeker in a supporting role.

He produced the film Kindergarten in Germany.

Paths of Glory 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.

Meeker returned to Broadway in 1958 to appear in Cloud 7 but it only ran 11 performances.

He continued to work heavily in TV on such shows as Climax!, Wagon Train, Kraft Theatre, Pursuit, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Schlitz Playhouse, The Loretta Young Show and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Meeker was cast with Dorothy Provine in the 1959 episode "Blood Money" of the Western series The Texan, starring Rory Calhoun. He had the title role in the TV movie Dillinger (1960).

Not for Hire From 1959 to 1960, Meeker had the leading role as Army Sergeant Steve Dekker in the 39-episode television series Not for Hire.

For Disney TV, he did Texas John Slaughter: Frank Clell's in Town (1961) with Tom Tryon. He also was seen in Tallahassee 7000.

In 1961, he starred in the political story Ada with Dean Martin, and in Jack Garfein's experimental drama Something Wild, in which he portrayed a mechanic who saves a young woman (Carroll Baker) from committing suicide, but then holds her captive in his apartment.

Meeker went back to Broadway to replace Eli Wallach in the production of Rhinoceros starring Zero Mostel. He was then in Something About a Soldier (1962) with Sal Mineo directed by Dore Schary; it ran 12 performances.

In 1962, Meeker portrayed Jack Slade in the episode "The Crooked Angel" of the drama series Going My Way, starring Gene Kelly as a Catholic priest in New York City and loosely based on 1944 film of the same name. He was also cast in 1962 as Barney Swanton in the episode "Walk Like a King" of the Western series Empire, starring Richard Egan. He was also in episodes of The United States Steel Hour, and Route 66.

In 1963, he appeared as Murray Knopf in "The Bull Roarer" on Breaking Point, starring Paul Richards and Eduard Franz.

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. He was in the feature film Wall of Noise (1963) at Warners.

Meeker guest-starred as Frank Marin in the 1964 episode "Swing for the Moon" of Channing, co-starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones. He was also in The Outer Limits, The Defenders, Suspense, The Doctors and the Nurses, and Kraft Suspense Theatre.

Repertory on Broadway He returned to Broadway in 1964 for After the Fall by Arthur Miller, directed by Kazan and starring Jason Robards Jr. and Barbara Loden. It ran for 208 performances. The play was done in repertory with But For Whom Charlie, also directed by Kazan with Meeker (and Faye Dunaway), but it was not as successful.

In 1965 Meeker was in Mrs. Dally Had a Lover on Broadway, which ran 53 performances. He guest-starred on The Long, Hot Summer, Seaway, The Green Hornet, and Tarzan.

Meeker later appeared in 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 (1968) with Frank Sinatra and The Anderson Tapes (1970) with Sean Connery.

Meeker also starred in Gentle Giant (1967), A Punt, a Pass, and a Prayer (1968), and The Devil's 8 (1968) and guest starred on Dundee and the Culhane, The High Chaparral, and The Name of the Game.

1970s Meeker worked steadily through the 1970s. He was in the TV film Lost Flight (1970), the feature I Walk the Line (1970), and episodes of The Virginian and The F.B.I., as well as the TV movie The Reluctant Heroes of Hill 656 (1971).

In 1971, he appeared on television as Kermit Teller in the episode "Glory Rider" of the Western Custer, with Wayne Maunder in the title role.

That year, he was a replacement cast member in a stage production of The House of Blue Leaves.

Meeker was in episodes of Primus, Room 222, Faraday & Company, Ironside, Toma, The Evil Touch, Police Surgeon, Cannon, The Rookies, Movin' On, Barbary Coast, Police Story, Run, Joe, Run, Harry O, Police Woman, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, and CHiPs.

In 1971, Meeker played FBI agent Bernie Jenks in the TV movie The Night Stalker. He was in TV movies The Mind Snatchers (1972), Birds of Prey (1973), You'll Never See Me Again (1973), Cry Panic (1974), Night Games (1974), The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974), and The Dead Don't Die (1975).

He made Love Comes Quietly (1973) in Holland and worked in the John Wayne film Brannigan (1974). He was second-billed in Johnny Firecloud (1975) and had a part in The Food of the Gods (1976).

He was also in Hi-Riders (1978) and starred in The Alpha Incident (1978).

Final years Meeker was an executive producer on My Boys Are Good Boys (1978), which he also appeared in. He had a role in Winter Kills (1979).

Meeker's final screen role was in the independent science-fiction-horror film Without Warning (1980), about an alien landing. The film received negative reviews from critics, with Tom Buckley of The New York Times calling the film "illogical and predictable."

Personal life Meeker married actress Salome Jens on July 20, 1964, and they were divorced in 1966. He also married Millicent Meeker.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1951 Die Vier im Jeep Sergeant William Long 1951 Teresa Sergeant Dobbs 1952 Shadow in the Sky Burt 1952 Glory Alley Socks Barbarrosa 1953 Somebody Loves Me Ben 'Benny' Fields 1953 Roy Anderson 1953 Jeopardy Lawson 1953 Code Two Chuck O'Flair 1955 Big House, U.S.A. Jerry Barker 1955 Kiss Me Deadly Mike Hammer 1955 Desert Sands Captain David Malcolm 1956 A Woman's Devotion Trevor Stevenson 1957 The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown Mike Vala 1957 Run of the Arrow Lieutenant Driscoll 1957 Paths of Glory Corporal Philippe Paris 1960 Dillinger John Dillinger television film 1961 Ada Colonel Yancey 1961 Something Wild Mike 1963 Wall of Noise Matt Rubio 1967 The Dirty Dozen Captain Stuart Kinder 1967 George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran 1967 Gentle Giant Fog Hanson 1968 Curran 1968 A Punt, a Pass, and a Prayer Wally Walters television film 1969 The Devil's 8 Burl 1969 Lost Flight Glenn Walkup TV movie 1970 I Walk the Line Carl McCain 1971 'Iron Balls' Delaney 1971 The Reluctant Heroes Captain Luke Danvers TV movie 1972 The Night Stalker Bernie Jenks TV movie 1972 The Happiness Cage The Major also known as The Mind Snatchers and The Demon 1973 Birds of Prey Jim McAndrew TV movie 1973 You'll Never See Me Again Will Alden TV movie 1973 Love Comes Quietly Ben Hoeksema 1974 Cry Panic Chuck Brunswell TV movie 1974 Night Games Dutch Armbreck TV movie 1974 The Girl on the Late, Late Show Inspector DeBiesse TV movie 1975 The Dead Don't Die Police Lieutenant Reardon TV movie 1975 Brannigan Captain Moretti 1975 Johnny Firecloud Colby 1976 The Food of the Gods Bensington 1978 Hi-Riders Mike 1978 Charlie 1978 My Boys Are Good Boys Bert Morton 1979 Winter Kills Gameboy Baker 1980 Without Warning Dave

Television

Stage credits Year Title Role Notes 1945–46 Strange Fruit Chuck 1946–47 Cyrano de Bergerac Lackey 1947–49 A Streetcar Named Desire Stanley Kowalski 1948–1951 Mister Roberts Mannion Theatre World Award 1953–54 Picnic Hal Carter 1958 Cloud 7 Newton Reece 1961 Rhinoceros Berrenger 1962 Something About a Soldier Toat 1964 But for Whom Charlie Charles Taney 1964–65 After the Fall Mickey 1965 Mrs. Dally Had a Lover Sam