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