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