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