Menu
Ralph Meeker

Ralph Meeker

Known For Acting
Birthday Nov 21, 1920
Died Aug 05, 1988 (67)
Birthplace Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Popularity 0.6 (history)
Updated Aug 09, 2025 (Update)
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

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, Mee ... ker 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ralph Meeker, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Headshots

Profile
Profile
Filmography

Los Angeles Plays Itself

Los Angeles Plays Itself

2004

as Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly (archive footage)

The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller

The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller

2002

as Lt. Driscoll (archive footage)

Without Warning

Without Warning

1980

as Dave

Winter Kills

Winter Kills

1979

as Gameboy Baker

The Alpha Incident

The Alpha Incident

1978

as Charlie

My Boys Are Good Boys

My Boys Are Good Boys

1978

as Bert Morton

Hi-Riders

Hi-Riders

1978

as Mike

The Food of the Gods

The Food of the Gods

1976

as Bensington

Johnny Firecloud

Johnny Firecloud

1975

as Colby

The Dead Don't Die

The Dead Don't Die

1975

as Lieutenant Reardon

Brannigan

Brannigan

1975

as Capt. Moretti

Cry Panic

Cry Panic

1974

as Chuck Braswell

The Girl on the Late, Late Show

The Girl on the Late, Late Show

1974

as Inspector DeBiesse

Night Games

Night Games

1974

as Dutch Armbreck

Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey

1973

as Jim McAndrew

You'll Never See Me Again

You'll Never See Me Again

1973

as Will Alden

Love Comes Quietly

Love Comes Quietly

1973

as Ben Hoeksema

The Mind Snatchers

The Mind Snatchers

1972

as The Major

The Night Stalker

The Night Stalker

1972

as Bernie Jenks

The Anderson Tapes

The Anderson Tapes

1971

as Police Captain 'Iron Balls' Delaney

The Reluctant Heroes

The Reluctant Heroes

1971

as Capt. Luke Danvers

Lost Flight

Lost Flight

1970

as Glenn Walkup

I Walk the Line

I Walk the Line

1970

as Carl McCain

The Devil's Eight

The Devil's Eight

1969

as Burl

The Detective

The Detective

1968

as Curran

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre

1967

as George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran

Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant

1967

as Fog Hanson

The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen

1967

as Captain Stuart Kinder

Wall of Noise

Wall of Noise

1963

as Matt Rubio

Something Wild

Something Wild

1961

as Mike

Ada

Ada

1961

as Colonel Yancey

Paths of Glory

Paths of Glory

1957

as Cpl. Philippe Paris

The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown

The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown

1957

as Mike Valla

Run of the Arrow

Run of the Arrow

1957

as Lieutenant Driscoll

A Woman's Devotion

A Woman's Devotion

1956

as Trevor Stevenson

Desert Sands

Desert Sands

1955

as Capt. David Malcolm

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly

1955

as Mike Hammer

Big House, U.S.A

Big House, U.S.A

1955

as Geraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman

Code Two

Code Two

1953

as Chuck O'Flair

Jeopardy

Jeopardy

1953

as Lawson the Fugitive

The Naked Spur

The Naked Spur

1953

as Roy Anderson

Shadow in the Sky

Shadow in the Sky

1952

as Burt

Glory Alley

Glory Alley

1952

as Socks Barbarrosa

Somebody Loves Me

Somebody Loves Me

1952

as Benny Fields

Teresa

Teresa

1951

as Sgt. Dobbs

No data available

No data available

My Boys Are Good Boys

My Boys Are Good Boys

1978

Executive Producer

Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

Kraft Suspense Theatre

as Harly Clay

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 10, 1963

The F.B.I.

as King Hogan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1965

Studio One

as Steve Windom

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 07, 1948

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Wally Walters

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 24, 1951

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Carl Spann

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1955

The High Chaparral

as Tracy Conlin

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1967

Lux Video Theatre

as Nicky Hanks

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1950

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as Rich Adams

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1951

Climax!

as Alex Hill

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 07, 1954

Wanted: Dead or Alive

as Martin Ash

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 06, 1958

Barbary Coast

as Big Lou Hobart

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 08, 1975

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Steve Elkins

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1956

The Defenders

as Floyd Cooper

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 16, 1961

The Outer Limits

as John Dexter

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 16, 1963

Letter to Loretta

as Joe Martin

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1953

The Green Hornet

as Earl Evans

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 09, 1966

The F.B.I.

as Scott Martin

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1965

The F.B.I.

as Graham Newcomb

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1965

Letter to Loretta

as Ed James

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1953

Letter to Loretta

as Pilot Duke Cavanaugh

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1953

Letter to Loretta

as Willis Cooper

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1953

Lux Video Theatre

as Mike

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1950

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as Barry Brannon

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1951

The Name of the Game

as Senator Goddard

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1968

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Carl Borden

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as John Forbes

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Mel Reeves

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1955

Studio One

as Larry Sheridan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 07, 1948

Climax!

as 'Griff' Griffith

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 07, 1954

Not for Hire

Episodes: 39

First Aired: Oct 23, 1959

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Jun 20, 1948

Route 66

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Oct 07, 1960

Ironside

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Mar 28, 1967

Police Story

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Mar 20, 1973

The Texan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 29, 1958

CHiPs

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 15, 1977

The Rookies

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 11, 1972

Kaz

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1978

Room 222

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 11, 1969

The Evil Touch

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jun 19, 1973

Cannon

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 14, 1971

Run, Joe, Run

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 07, 1974

Going My Way

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 03, 1962

Harry O

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 12, 1974

Police Woman

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 13, 1974

The 20th Century Fox Hour

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1955

Tarzan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 08, 1966

Toma

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 21, 1973

Custer

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 06, 1967

The Eddie Capra Mysteries

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 08, 1978

Tallahassee 7000

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 24, 1961

Primus

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 15, 1971

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 10 14 7
2024 7 15 27 7
2024 8 10 21 5
2024 9 9 16 3
2024 10 6 12 1
2024 11 5 10 1
2024 12 7 12 4
2025 1 10 23 5
2025 2 5 9 1
2025 3 4 8 1
2025 5 2 3 1
2025 6 1 1 1
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 3 13 0
2025 9 0 1 0

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
2024 6 287 215

Return to Top