Donald Meek
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1878-07-13
Day of Death
1946-11-18 (68 years old)
Place of Birth
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Donald Meek
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.
Known For
Acting
(1984)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
(1947)
The Fabulous Joe
as Henry Cadwallader, Lawyer
(1947)
Magic Town
as Mr. Twiddle
(1946)
Because of Him
as Martin
(1946)
Affairs of Geraldine
as Casper Millhouse
(1946)
Janie Gets Married
as Harley P. Stowers
(1946)
Colonel Effingham's Raid
as Doc Buden
(1945)
State Fair
as Hippenstahl
(1944)
The Thin Man Goes Home
as Willie Crump
(1944)
Rationing
as Wilfred Ball
(1944)
Maisie Goes to Reno
as Parsons
(1944)
Bathing Beauty
as Chester Klazenfrantz
(1944)
Two Girls and a Sailor
as Mr. Nizby
(1944)
Barbary Coast Gent
as Bradford Bellamy I
(1943)
They Got Me Covered
as Little Old Man
(1943)
Lost Angel
as Professor Catty
(1943)
Keeper of the Flame
as Mr Arbuthnot
(1943)
Du Barry Was a Lady
as Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
(1943)
Air Raid Wardens
as Eustace Middling
(1942)
The Omaha Trail
as Engineer Jonah McCleod
(1942)
Tortilla Flat
as Paul D. Cummings
(1942)
Seven Sweethearts
as Reverend Howgan, the Minister
(1942)
Maisie Gets Her Man
as Mr. Stickwell
(1941)
The Wild Man of Borneo
as Professor Charles W. Birdo
(1941)
Rise and Shine
as Professor Philip Murray
(1941)
A Woman's Face
as Herman Rundvik
(1941)
Barnacle Bill
as "Pop" Cavendish
(1941)
Come Live with Me
as Joe Darsie
(1941)
The Feminine Touch
as Captain Makepeace Liveright
(1941)
Babes on Broadway
as Mr. Stone
(1941)
Blonde Inspiration
as 'Dusty' King
(1940)
The Ghost Comes Home
as Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.
(1940)
The Return of Frank James
as McCoy
(1940)
Star Dust
as Sam Wellman
(1940)
Phantom Raiders
as Bartholomew
(1940)
Third Finger, Left Hand
as Mr. Flandrin
(1940)
Turnabout
as Henry, the Valet
(1940)
Hullabaloo
as Mr. Clyde Perkins
(1940)
My Little Chickadee
as Amos Budge
(1940)
Sky Murder
as Bartholomew
(1940)
The Man from Dakota
as Mr. Vestry
(1940)
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
as Adelbert Thistlebottom
(1940)
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
as Mittelmeyer
(1939)
Hollywood Cavalcade
as Lyle P. Stout
(1939)
Stagecoach
as Samuel Peacock
(1939)
Jesse James
as McCoy
(1939)
Young Mr. Lincoln
as Prosecutor John Felder
(1939)
Nick Carter, Master Detective
as Bartholomew, the bee man
(1939)
The Housekeeper's Daughter
as Editor Wilson
(1939)
Blondie Takes a Vacation
as Jonathan N. Gillis
(1938)
Hold That Co-ed
as Dean Thatcher
(1938)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
as Sunday School Superintendent
(1938)
Having Wonderful Time
as P.U. Rogers
(1938)
Little Miss Broadway
as Willoughby Wendling
(1938)
You Can't Take It with You
as Mr. Poppins
(1938)
Goodbye Broadway
as Iradius P. Oglethorpe
(1938)
Double Danger
as Gordon Ainsley, aka Henry Robinson
(1937)
Behind The Headlines
as Potter
(1937)
Double Wedding
as Judge Blynn (uncredited)
(1937)
The Toast of New York
as Daniel Drew
(1937)
Artists & Models
as Dr. Zimmer
(1937)
Breakfast for Two
as Justice of the Peace
(1937)
You're a Sweetheart
as Conway Jeeters
(1937)
Parnell
as Nicholas Daniel Murphy
(1937)
Maid of Salem
as Ezra Cheeves
(1937)
Make a Wish
as Joseph
(1937)
Three Legionnaires
as Uriah S. Grant
(1936)
Old Hutch
as Mr. Gunnison
(1936)
One Rainy Afternoon
as Judge
(1936)
Two in a Crowd
as Bennett
(1936)
Three Married Men
as Mr. Frisbee
(1936)
Pennies from Heaven
as Gramp Smith
(1936)
Love on the Run
as Caretaker
(1936)
Everybody's Old Man
as Finney
(1936)
And So They Were Married
as Hotel Manager
(1935)
Village Tale
as Charlie
(1935)
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
as Mr. Irish, Moose Village General Store
(1935)
Barbary Coast
as Sawbuck McTavish
(1935)
The Bride Comes Home
as The Judge
(1935)
Captain Blood
as Dr. Whacker
(1935)
The Informer
as Peter Mulligan
(1935)
Happiness C.O.D.
as Thomas Sherridan
(1935)
China Seas
as Chess Player (uncredited)
(1935)
Old Man Rhythm
as Paul Parker
(1935)
The Gilded Lily
as Hankerson
(1935)
Mark of the Vampire
as Dr. Doskil
(1935)
Peter Ibbetson
as Mr. Slade
(1935)
The Return Of Peter Grimm
as Mayor Everett Bartholomew
(1935)
Romance in Manhattan
as Minister
(1935)
Kind Lady
as Mr. Foster
(1935)
The Whole Town's Talking
as Hoyt
(1935)
Baby Face Harrington
as Skinner
(1935)
Society Doctor
as Moxley
(1935)
She Couldn't Take It
as Uncle Wyndersham
(1934)
The Captain Hates the Sea
as Josephus Bushmills
(1934)
The Merry Widow
as Valet
(1934)
Bedside
as Dr. George Wiley
(1934)
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Mr. Wiggs
(1934)
The Last Gentleman
as Judd Barr, Cabot's son
(1934)
The Defense Rests
as Fogg
(1934)
What Every Woman Knows
as Snibby the Jeweler (uncredited)
(1934)
Hi, Nellie!
as Durkin
(1934)
Murder at the Vanities
as Dr. Saunders
(1933)
College Coach
as Spencer Trask
(1932)
The Symphony Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
(1932)
The Trans-Atlantic Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree - Criminologist
(1932)
The Crane Poison Case
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1932)
Wayward
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
(1932)
Murder in the Pullman
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1932)
The Skull Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
(1932)
The Side Show Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1932)
The Cole Case
as Dr. Crabtree
(1932)
The Studio Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
(1931)
The Clyde Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1931)
Personal Maid
as Pa Ryan
(1931)
The Wall Street Mystery
as Doctor Crabtree
(1931)
The Girl Habit
as Jonesy
(1931)
The Week End Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1929)
The Hole in the Wall
as Goofy
(1923)
Six Cylinder Love
as Richard Burton