Donald Meek

Donald Meek

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.

Acting

1947

Magic Town
Movie

Mr. Twiddle

1946

Janie Gets Married
Movie

Harley P. Stowers

1945

State Fair
Movie

Hippenstahl

1944

Barbary Coast Gent
Movie

Bradford Bellamy I

1944

Bathing Beauty
Movie

Chester Klazenfrantz

1943

Lost Angel
Movie

Professor Catty

1943

Du Barry Was a Lady
Movie

Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul

1943

Air Raid Wardens
Movie

Eustace Middling

1943

1943

1942

Seven Sweethearts
Movie

Reverend Howgan, the Minister

1942

Tortilla Flat
Movie

Paul D. Cummings

1941

The Feminine Touch
Movie

Captain Makepeace Liveright

1941

A Woman's Face
Movie

Herman Rundvik

1941

The Wild Man of Borneo
Movie

Professor Charles W. Birdo

1940

1940

Turnabout
Movie

Henry, the Valet

1940

Star Dust
Movie

Sam Wellman

1940

The Ghost Comes Home
Movie

Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.

1939

1939

Young Mr. Lincoln
Movie

Prosecutor John Felder

1939

Stagecoach
Movie

Samuel Peacock

1938

Little Miss Broadway
Movie

Willoughby Wendling

1938

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Movie

Sunday School Superintendent

1937

1937

Breakfast for Two
Movie

Justice of the Peace

1937

Double Wedding
Movie

Judge Blynn (uncredited)

1937

1937

Maid of Salem
Movie

Ezra Cheeves

1935

1935

1935

Barbary Coast
Movie

Sawbuck McTavish

1935

China Seas
Movie

Chess Player (uncredited)

1935

The Informer
Movie

Peter Mulligan

1934

Bedside
Movie

Dr. George Wiley

1933

College Coach
Movie

Spencer Trask

1932

The Trans-Atlantic Mystery
Movie

Dr. Crabtree - Criminologist

1932

1932

1932

1932

1932

The Cole Case
Movie

Dr. Crabtree

1932

The Cole Case
Movie

Dr. Crabtree

1931

The Week End Mystery
Movie

Dr. Amos Crabtree

1931

The Week End Mystery
Movie

Dr. Amos Crabtree

1931

1931

The Clyde Mystery
Movie

Dr. Amos Crabtree

Infos

Full Name
Donald Meek
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
7/13/1878
Date of Death
11/18/1946
Also Known As

Thomas Donald Meek