Ralph Meeker
| Ralph Meeker | |
|---|---|
Meeker in a 1953 publicity photo
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| Born |
Ralph Rathgeber November 21, 1920 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | August 5, 1988 (aged 67) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1951–1980 |
| Spouse(s) |
Salome Jens (m. 1964–66) Colleen Meeker (?–1988) |
Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathberger; November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage and television 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 would earn him a Theatre World Award for his performance. In film, Meeker is perhaps best known for his portrayal Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.
Meeker would go on to play a series of roles that utilized 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 would also have 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.
Meeker was born Ralph Rathgeber in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 21, 1920 the son of Ralph and Magnhild Senovia Haavig Meeker Rathgeber. He spent his early life in Michigan and Chicago, Illinois. Meeker attended the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor Township, Michigan, and would later be made a member of its hall of fame. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1942, where he majored in music.
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