Donald Meek

Donald Meek
Trailer for A Woman's Face (1941)
Born	Thomas Donald Meek (1878-07-14)14 July 1878 Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Died	18 November 1946(1946-11-18) (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Fairmount Cemetery
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1886–1946
Spouse	Belle Walken ​ (m. 1909)​
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 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.

Early years

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.

Career

Bette Davis and Donald Meek in the Broadway production Broken Dishes (1929)

Meek's Broadway credits include The Minister's Daughters (1903), Going Up (1917), Nothing But Love (1919), The Hottentot (1920), Little Old New York (1920), Six-Cylinder Love (1921), Tweedles (1923), The Potters (1923), Easy Terms (1925), Fool's Bells (1925), Love 'em and Leave 'em (1926), The Shelf (1926), Spread Eagle (1927), My Princess (1927), The Ivory Door (1927), Mr. Moneypenny (1928), and Jonesy (1929). In Broken Dishes (1929), he starred with a young Bette Davis.

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 Bros. two-reel short subjects written by S.S. Van Dine.

Personal life

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.

Death

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.

Selected filmography

• 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 (1945) 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)

External links

• Donald Meek at IMDb
• Donald Meek at the Internet Broadway Database
• Donald Meek at Find a Grave
• Portraits of Donald Meek from Stagecoach Archived 16 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine by Ned Scott