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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0576127
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1370520
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Filmography (Movies)
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Character:Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly (archive footage)
Release Date:28/07/2004
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
Character:Lt. Driscoll (archive footage)
Release Date:02/07/2002
Without Warning
Character:Dave
Release Date:26/09/1980
Winter Kills
Character:Gameboy Baker
Release Date:11/05/1979
The Alpha Incident
Character:Charlie
Release Date:24/05/1978
Hi-Riders
Character:Mike
Release Date:17/03/1978
My Boys Are Good Boys
Character:Bert Morton
Release Date:01/01/1978
The Food of the Gods
Character:Bensington
Release Date:18/06/1976
Johnny Firecloud
Character:Colby
Release Date:01/08/1975
Brannigan
Character:Capt. Moretti
Release Date:21/03/1975
The Dead Don't Die
Character:Lieutenant Reardon
Release Date:14/01/1975
The Girl on the Late, Late Show
Character:Inspector DeBiesse
Release Date:01/04/1974
Night Games
Character:Dutch Armbreck
Release Date:16/03/1974
Cry Panic
Character:Chuck Braswell
Release Date:06/02/1974
Angela - Love Comes Quietly
Character:Ben Hoeksema
Release Date:07/09/1973
You'll Never See Me Again
Character:Will Alden
Release Date:28/02/1973
Birds of Prey
Character:Jim McAndrew
Release Date:30/01/1973
The Mind Snatchers
Character:The Major
Release Date:28/06/1972
The Night Stalker
Character:Bernie Jenks
Release Date:11/01/1972
The Reluctant Heroes
Character:Capt. Luke Danvers
Release Date:23/11/1971
The Anderson Tapes
Character:Police Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney
Release Date:17/06/1971
I Walk the Line
Character:Carl McCain
Release Date:18/11/1970
Lost Flight
Character:Glenn Walkup
Release Date:13/08/1970
The Devil's Eight
Character:Burl
Release Date:14/05/1969
The Detective
Character:Curran
Release Date:28/05/1968
Gentle Giant
Character:Fog Hanson
Release Date:25/10/1967
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Character:George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
Release Date:30/06/1967
The Dirty Dozen
Character:Captain Stuart Kinder
Release Date:15/06/1967
Wall of Noise
Character:Matt Rubio
Release Date:04/09/1963
Something Wild
Character:Mike
Release Date:23/12/1961
A Holster Full Of Law
Character:Frank Clell
Release Date:30/09/1961
Ada
Character:Colonel Yancey
Release Date:25/08/1961
Paths of Glory
Character:Cpl. Philippe Paris
Release Date:25/10/1957
Run of the Arrow
Character:Lieutenant Driscoll
Release Date:05/09/1957
The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
Character:Mike Valla
Release Date:09/05/1957
Four Women in Black
Character:Carbine Webb
Release Date:25/04/1957
A Woman's Devotion
Character:Trevor Stevenson
Release Date:16/11/1956
Desert Sands
Character:Capt. David Malcolm
Release Date:18/11/1955
Kiss Me Deadly
Character:Mike Hammer
Release Date:28/04/1955
Big House, U.S.A
Character:Geraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
Release Date:03/03/1955
Code Two
Character:Chuck O'Flair
Release Date:24/04/1953
Jeopardy
Character:Lawson the Fugitive
Release Date:30/03/1953
The Naked Spur
Character:Roy Anderson
Release Date:29/01/1953
Somebody Loves Me
Character:Benny Fields
Release Date:24/09/1952
Shadow in the Sky
Character:Burt
Release Date:18/07/1952
Glory Alley
Character:Socks Barbarrosa
Release Date:06/06/1952
Teresa
Character:Sgt. Dobbs
Release Date:05/04/1951
Four in a Jeep
Character:Sergeant William Long
Release Date:30/03/1951
Television Appearances
Kaz
Character:
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
Character:
CHiPs
Character:
Barbary Coast
Character:Big Lou Hobart
Police Woman
Character:
Harry O
Character:
Run, Joe, Run
Character:
The Evil Touch
Character:
Toma
Character:
Police Story
Character:
The Rookies
Character:
Primus
Character:
Cannon
Character:
Room 222
Character:
The Name of the Game
Character:Senator Goddard
The High Chaparral
Character:Tracy Conlin
Custer
Character:
Ironside
Character:
The Green Hornet
Character:Earl Evans
Tarzan
Character:
The F.B.I.
Character:King Hogan
The F.B.I.
Character:Scott Martin
The F.B.I.
Character:Graham Newcomb
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Character:Harly Clay
The Outer Limits
Character:John Dexter
Going My Way
Character:
The Defenders
Character:Floyd Cooper
Tallahassee 7000
Character:
Route 66
Character:
Not for Hire
Character:
The Texan
Character:
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Character:Martin Ash
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character:Steve Elkins
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Character:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character:Carl Spann
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character:Carl Borden
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character:Mel Reeves
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character:John Forbes
Climax!
Character:Alex Hill
Climax!
Character:'Griff' Griffith
Letter to Loretta
Character:Joe Martin
Letter to Loretta
Character:Ed James
Letter to Loretta
Character:Pilot Duke Cavanaugh
Letter to Loretta
Character:Willis Cooper
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character:Wally Walters
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character:Rich Adams
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character:Barry Brannon
Lux Video Theatre
Character:Nicky Hanks
Lux Video Theatre
Character:Mike
Studio One
Character:Steve Windom
Studio One
Character:Larry Sheridan
The Ed Sullivan Show
Character:Self
Images
