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Actor
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) was an American actor.
Born November 21, 1920† August 5, 1988 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA1 movie on MoviHero
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THE PERSON BEHIND THE ROLES
About 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). …
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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.
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MOVIHERO CREDITS
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- 2002The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel FullerLt. Driscoll (archive footage)
- 1980Without WarningDave
- 1979Winter KillsGameboy Baker
- 1978The Alpha IncidentCharlie
- 1978Hi-RidersMike
- 1978My Boys Are Good BoysProducer · Bert Morton
- 1976The Food of the GodsBensington
- 1975Johnny FirecloudColby
- 1975BranniganCapt. Moretti
- 1975The Dead Don't DieLieutenant Reardon
- 1974The Girl on the Late, Late ShowInspector DeBiesse
- 1974Night GamesDutch Armbreck
- 1974Cry PanicChuck Braswell
- 1973Angela – Love Comes QuietlyBen Hoeksema
- 1973You'll Never See Me AgainWill Alden
- 1973Birds of PreyJim McAndrew
- 1972The Mind SnatchersThe Major
- 1972The Night StalkerBernie Jenks
- 1971The Reluctant HeroesCapt. Luke Danvers
- 1971The Anderson TapesPolice Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney
- 1970I Walk the LineCarl McCain
- 1970Lost FlightGlenn Walkup
- 1969The Devil's EightBurl
- 1968The DetectiveCurran
- 1967Gentle GiantFog Hanson
- 1967The St. Valentine's Day MassacreGeorge Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
- 1967The Dirty DozenCaptain Stuart Kinder
- 1963Wall of NoiseMatt Rubio
- 1961Something WildMike
- 1961A Holster Full Of LawFrank Clell
- 1961AdaColonel Yancey
- 1957Run of the ArrowLieutenant Driscoll
- 1957The Fuzzy Pink NightgownMike Valla
- 1957Four Women in BlackCarbine Webb
- 1956A Woman's DevotionTrevor Stevenson
- 1955Desert SandsCapt. David Malcolm
- 1955Kiss Me DeadlyMike Hammer
- 1955Big House, U.S.AGeraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
- 1953Code TwoChuck O'Flair
- 1953JeopardyLawson the Fugitive
- 1953The Naked SpurRoy Anderson
- 1952Somebody Loves MeBenny Fields
- 1952Shadow in the SkyBurt
- 1952Glory AlleySocks Barbarrosa
- 1951TeresaSgt. Dobbs
- 1951Four in a JeepSergeant William Long
CONNECTED THROUGH MOVIES
Shared credits
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Actor
Adolphe Menjou
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor
Bert Freed
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor
Christiane Kubrick
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor