Donald Meek
Acting
Biography
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 the films You Can't Take It with You (1938) and Stagecoach (1939). He posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Meek was born in Glasgow to Matthew and Annie Meek. In the 1890s, the Meek family emigrated to Canada and then to the United States. By 1900, they were living in Philadelphia where Meek was employed as a dry goods salesman, according to the United States census of that year with Meek later working on stage. After years on the stage, Meek 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. From 1931 through 1932, Meek was featured as criminologist Dr. Crabtree in a series of 12 Warner Brothers two-reel short subjects written by S.S. Van Dine. Meek and Isabella "Belle" Walken married in Boston in a Methodist church on January 3, 1909. By this marriage, the American-born Belle Meek lost her United States citizenship by taking her husband's British nationality. Donald Meek died of leukaemia on 18 November 1946 in Los Angeles, while filming the role of Mr. Twiddle in Magic Town. A prolific film actor in over 100 Hollywood movies during its Golden Age, he received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was entombed in the Fairmount Mausoleum at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Born: July 13, 1878
Place of Birth: Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Known For
Filmography
as (archive footage)
as Mr. Twiddle
as Henry Cadwallader, Lawyer
as Casper Millhouse
as Harley P. Stowers
as Doc Buden
as Martin
as Hippenstahl
as Willie Crump
as Bradford Bellamy I
as Parsons
as Chester Klazenfrantz
as Mr. Nizby
as Wilfred Ball
as Professor Catty
as Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
as Eustace Middling
as Mr Arbuthnot
as Little Old Man
as Reverend Howgan, the Minister
as Engineer Jonah McCleod
as Mr. Stickwell
as Paul D. Cummings
as Mr. Stone
as Professor Philip Murray
as Captain Makepeace Liveright
as Herman Rundvik
as "Pop" Cavendish
as 'Dusty' King
as Joe Darsie
as Professor Charles W. Birdo
as Mr. Clyde Perkins
as Mr. Flandrin
as Bartholomew
as McCoy
as Bartholomew
as Henry, the Valet
as Sam Wellman
as Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.
as Mittelmeyer
as Mr. Vestry
as Amos Budge
as Bartholomew, the bee man
as Editor Wilson
as Lyle P. Stout
as Jonathan N. Gillis
as Prosecutor John Felder
as Samuel Peacock
as McCoy
as Dean Thatcher
as Mr. Poppins
as Willoughby Wendling
as P.U. Rogers
as Iradius P. Oglethorpe
as Sunday School Superintendent
as Gordon Ainsley, aka Henry Robinson
as Conway Jeeters
as Justice of the Peace
as Judge Blynn (uncredited)
as Joseph
as Dr. Zimmer
as Daniel Drew
as Nicholas Daniel Murphy
as Potter
as Ezra Cheeves
as Gramp Smith
as Caretaker
as Bennett
as Mr. Gunnison
as Mr. Frisbee
as Judge
as Hotel Manager
as Finney
as Dr. Whacker
as The Judge
as Mr. Foster
as Mr. Slade
as Thomas Sherridan
as Sawbuck McTavish
as Uncle Wyndersham
as Mayor Everett Bartholomew
as Chess Player (uncredited)
as Paul Parker
as Charlie
as Peter Mulligan
as Dr. Doskil
as Skinner
as Hoyt
as Hankerson
as Moxley
as Minister
as Mr. Irish, Moose Village General Store
as Valet
as Josephus Bushmills
as Mr. Wiggs
as Snibby the Jeweler (uncredited)
as Fogg
as Dr. Saunders
as Judd Barr, Cabot's son
as Dr. George Wiley
as Durkin
as Spencer Trask
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
as Dr. Crabtree
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
as Dr. Crabtree
as Dr. Crabtree
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
as Doctor Crabtree
as Pa Ryan
as Jonesy
as Goofy
as Richard Burton