Donald Meek
Donald Meek | |
|---|---|
.png) Meek in The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) | |
| Born | Thomas Donald Meek 14 July 1878 |
| Died | 18 November 1946 (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Leukemia |
| Resting place | Fairmount Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1886–1946 |
| Spouse(s) | Belle Walken (m. 1909; died 1946) |
| Children | 1 |
Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903.
Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in You Can't Take It with You (1938) and Stagecoach (1939). In 1960, he posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Life and career[edit]
Meek was born in Glasgow to Matthew and Annie Meek. In the 1890's, the Meek family emigrated to Canada and then to the United States. By 1900, they were living in Philadelphia where Donald was employed as a dry goods salesman, according to the United States census of that year. Sometime later, Donald went on the stage. According to Massachusetts marriage records database, he and Isabella "Belle" Walker married in Boston in a Methodist church on 3 January 1909. By this marriage, the American born Belle Meek lost her United States citizenship taking her husband's British nationality. After years on the stage, Meek eventually became a film actor, appearing memorably 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.[1]
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[edit]
Donald Meek died of leukaemia on Monday, 18 November 1946 in Los Angeles,[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 7 October 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.
Selected filmography[edit]
- Six Cylinder Love (1923) as Richard Burton
- The Hole in the Wall (1929) as Goofy
- The Love Kiss (1930) as William
- The Girl Habit (1931) as Jonesy
- Personal Maid (1931) as Pa Ryan
- Wayward (1932) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
- Love, Honor, and Oh Baby! (1933) as Luther Bowen
- Ever in My Heart (1933) as Storekeeper (scenes deleted)
- College Coach (1933) as Prof. Spencer Trask
- Hi Nellie! (1934) as Durkin
- Bedside (1934) as Dr. George Wiley
- The Last Gentleman (1934) as Judd Barr
- Murder at the Vanities (1934) as Dr. Saunders
- The Defense Rests (1934) as Fogg
- The Merry Widow (1934) as Valet
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934) as Mr. Wiggs
- What Every Woman Knows (1934) as Snibby - Jeweler (uncredited)
- The Captain Hates the Sea (1934) as Josephus Bushmills
- It's a Gift (1934) as Uncle Bean in Photograph (uncredited)
- The Mighty Barnum (1934) as Minor Role (scenes deleted)
- Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935) as Mr. Irish, Moose Village General Store
- Romance in Manhattan (1935) as Minister
- The Gilded Lily (1935) as Hankerson
- Society Doctor (1935) as Moxley
- The Whole Town's Talking (1935) as Hoyt
- Baby Face Harrington (1935) as Skinner
- Mark of the Vampire (1935) as Dr. Doskil
- The Informer (1935) as Peter Mulligan
- Village Tale (1935) as Charlie
- Old Man Rhythm (1935) as Paul Parker
- China Seas (1935) as Passenger Playing Chess (uncredited)
- Accent on Youth (1935) as Orville (uncredited)
- Happiness C.O.D. (1935) as Thomas Sherridan
- The Return of Peter Grimm (1935) as Mayor Everett Bartholomew
- She Couldn't Take It (1935) as Uncle Wyndersham
- Barbary Coast (1935) as Sawbuck McTavish
- Peter Ibbetson (1935) as Mr. Slade
- Kind Lady (1935) as Mr. Foster
- Captain Blood (1935) as Dr. Whacker
- The Bride Comes Home (1935) as The Judge
- Everybody's Old Man (1936) as Finney
- And So They Were Married (1936) as Hotel Manager
- One Rainy Afternoon (1936) as Judge
- Three Wise Guys (1936) as Gribbie
- Three Married Men (1936) as Mr. Frisbee
- Old Hutch (1936) as Mr. Gunnison
- Two in a Crowd (1936) as Bennett
- Love on the Run (1936) as Caretaker
- Pennies from Heaven (1936) as Gramp Smith
- Maid of Salem (1937) as Ezra Cheeves
- Behind the Headlines (1937) as Potter
- Parnell (1937) as Murphy
- Three Legionnaires (1937) as Uriah S. Grant
- The Toast of New York (1937) as Daniel Drew
- Artists and Models (1937) as Dr. Zimmer
- Make a Wish (1937) as Joseph
- Double Wedding (1937) as Judge Blynn (uncredited)
- Breakfast for Two (1937) as Justice of the Peace
- You're a Sweetheart (1937) as Conway Jeeters
- Double Danger (1938) as Gordon Ainsley aka Henry Robinson
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) as Sunday School Superintendent
- Goodbye Broadway (1938) as Iradius P. Oglethorpe
- Having Wonderful Time (1938) as P.U. Rogers
- Little Miss Broadway (1938) as Willoughby Wendling
- You Can't Take It With You (1938) as Poppins
- Hold That Co-ed (1938) as Dean Fletcher
- Jesse James (1939) as Mc Coy
- Stagecoach (1939) as Samuel Peacock
- Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) as Prosecutor John Felder
- Blondie Takes a Vacation (1939) as Jonathan N. Gillis
- Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) as Lyle P. Stout
- The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939) as Editor Wilson
- Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939) as Bartholomew
- Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love (1940) as Adelbert Thistlebottom
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) as Mittelmeyer
- My Little Chickadee (1940) as Amos Budge
- The Man from Dakota (1940) as Mr. Vestry
- The Ghost Comes Home (1940) as Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.
- Star Dust (1940) as Sam Wellman
- Turnabout (1940) as Henry
- Phantom Raiders (1940) as Bartholomew
- The Return of Frank James (1940) as McCoy
- Sky Murder (1940) as Bartholomew
- Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) as Mr. Flandrin
- Hullabaloo (1940) as Mr. Clyde Perkins
- Design for Scandal (1941)
- The Wild Man of Borneo (1941) as Professor Birdo
- Come Live with Me (1941) as Joe Darsie
- Blonde Inspiration (1941) as 'Dusty' King
- Free and Easy (1941) as Tout (uncredited)
- Barnacle Bill (1941) as 'Pop' Cavendish
- A Woman's Face (1941) as Herman Rundvik
- The Feminine Touch (1941) as Captain Makepeace Liveright
- Rise and Shine (1941) as Professor Philip Murray
- Babes on Broadway (1941) as Mr. Stone
- Tortilla Flat (1942) as Paul D. Cummings
- Maisie Gets Her Man (1942) as Mr. Stickwell
- The Omaha Trail (1942) as Engineer Jonah McCleod
- Seven Sweethearts (1942) as Reverend Howgan, the Minister
- Keeper of the Flame (1943) as Mr. Arbuthnot
- They Got Me Covered (1943) as Little Old Man
- Air Raid Wardens (1943) as Eustace Middling
- Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) as Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
- Lost Angel (1943) as Professor Catty
- Rationing (1944) as Wilfred Ball
- Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) as Mr. Nizby
- Bathing Beauty (1944) as Chester Klazenfrantz
- Maisie Goes to Reno (1944) as Parsons
- Barbary Coast Gent (1944) as Bradford Bellamy I
- The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) as Willie Crump
- State Fair (1945) as Hippenstahl
- Because of Him (1946) as Martin
- Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946) as Doc Buden
- Janie Gets Married (1946) as Harley P. Stowers
- Affairs of Geraldine (1946) as Casper Millhouse
- The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival (1947) as Henry Cadwallader, in 'Fabulous Joe'
- The Fabulous Joe (1947) as Henry Cadwallader, Lawyer
- Magic Town (1947) as Mr. Twiddle (final film role)
References[edit]
- ^ on Donald Meek, Whose Characters Matched His Screen Name". Travalanche. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ^ Donald Meek dies in Hollywood
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25262
External links[edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald Meek. |
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