Donald Meek
| Donald Meek | |
|---|---|
 from the trailer for A Woman's Face (1941) | |
| Born |
14 July 1878 Glasgow, United Kingdom |
| Died |
18 November 1946 (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1923–1946 |
| Spouse(s) | Belle Walken |
Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish character actor.[1] He was well known for his often nervous and fearful supporting roles.
Life and career
Donald Meek first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish–American War in the United States Army and contracted yellow fever which caused him to lose his hair. He was cast as timid, worried characters in many of his films, and is perhaps best known for his roles as Mr. Poppins in Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You and as whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock in John Ford's Stagecoach.
From 1931 through 1932 Meek was featured as criminologist Dr. Crabtree, in a series of twelve Warner Brothers two-reel short subjects written by S. S. Van Dine.
Death
Donald Meek died of leukemia on Monday, 18 November 1946 in Los Angeles, California,[2] while playing the role of Mr. Twiddle in William A. Wellman's socially-themed comedy Magic Town with Jimmy Stewart and Jane Wyman,[3] which premiered on October 7, 1947,[4] just under a year after Meek's death. A prolific film actor in over 100 Hollywood movies during its Golden Age, he received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Originally buried in California, his body was later moved to Fairmount Cemetery mausoleum in Denver, Colorado, USA.
Partial filmography
- Six Cylinder Love (1923)
- The Hole in the Wall (1929)
- Hi, Nellie! (1934)
- The Captain Hates the Sea (1934)
- The Defense Rests (1934)
- The Last Gentleman (1934)
- Murder at the Vanities (1934)
- Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1934)
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934)
- Romance in Manhattan (1935)
- Baby Face Harrington (1935)
- China Seas (1935)
- Top Hat (1935)
- Barbary Coast (1935)
- Society Doctor (1935)
- Old Man Rhythm (1935)
- The Gilded Lily (1935)
- Mark of the Vampire (1935)
- The Informer (1935)
- She Couldn't Take It (1935)
- Peter Ibbetson (1935)
- Kind Lady (1935)
- Captain Blood (1935)
- The Bride Comes Home (1935)
- The Return of Peter Grimm (1935)
- Old Hutch (1936)
- One Rainy Afternoon (1936)
- Two in a Crowd (1936)
- Three Wise Guys (1936
- Love on the Run (1936)
- And So They Were Married (1936)
- Pennies from Heaven (1936)
- Behind the Headlines (1937)
- Maid of Salem (1937)
- Parnell (1937)
- The Toast of New York (1937)
- Double Wedding (1937)
- Breakfast for Two (1937)
- Artists and Models (1937)
- You Can't Take It With You (1938)
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
- Little Miss Broadway (1938)
- Having Wonderful Time (1938)
- Double Danger (1938)
- Goodbye Broadway (1938)
- Jesse James (1939)
- Stagecoach (1939)
- Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939)
- Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
- The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939)
- Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
- My Little Chickadee (1940)
- Blonde Inspiration (1940)
- Star Dust (1940)
- The Ghost Comes Home (1940)
- The Man from Dakota (1940)
- Phantom Raiders (1940)
- Sky Murder (1940)
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
- The Return of Frank James (1940)
- Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
- Hullabaloo (1940)
- Come Live with Me (1941)
- Barnacle Bill (1941)
- A Woman's Face (1941)
- Design for Scandal (1941)
- Rise and Shine (1941)
- The Feminine Touch (1941)
- The Wild Man of Borneo (1941)
- Babes on Broadway (1941)
- Tortilla Flat (1942)
- Maisie Gets Her Man (1942)
- The Omaha Trail (1942)
- Seven Sweethearts (1942)
- Keeper of the Flame (1942)
- Air Raid Wardens (1943)
- They Got Me Covered (1943)
- Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)
- Lost Angel (1943)
- Rationing (1944)
- Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
- Bathing Beauty (1944)
- Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)
- Barbary Coast Gent (1944)
- The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
- State Fair (1945)
- Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946)
- Affairs of Geraldine (1946)
- Janie Gets Married (1946)
- Magic Town (1947)
References
- ↑ Obituary Variety, November 20, 1946, page 70.
- ↑ Donald Meek dies in Hollywood
- ↑ http://www.moviefanfare.com/donald-meek-meek-by-name-meek-mostly-on-the-screen/
- ↑ http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25262
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald Meek. |
- Donald Meek at the Internet Movie Database
- Donald Meek at the Internet Broadway Database
- Donald Meek at Find a Grave
- Portraits of Donald Meek from Stagecoach by Ned Scott