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