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)
Janie Gets Married
as Harley P. Stowers
(1946)
Affairs of Geraldine
as Casper Millhouse
(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)
Barbary Coast Gent
as Bradford Bellamy I
(1944)
Rationing
as Wilfred Ball
(1943)
Du Barry Was a Lady
as Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
(1943)
Air Raid Wardens
as Eustace Middling
(1943)
Lost Angel
as Professor Catty
(1943)
Keeper of the Flame
as Mr Arbuthnot
(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)
The Omaha Trail
as Engineer Jonah McCleod
(1942)
Maisie Gets Her Man
as Mr. Stickwell
(1941)
Rise and Shine
as Professor Philip Murray
(1941)
A Woman's Face
as Herman Rundvik
(1941)
Come Live with Me
as Joe Darsie
(1941)
The Feminine Touch
as Captain Makepeace Liveright
(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
(1940)
The Return of Frank James
as McCoy
(1940)
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
as Mittelmeyer
(1940)
My Little Chickadee
as Amos Budge
(1940)
Star Dust
as Sam Wellman
(1940)
Turnabout
as Henry, the Valet
(1940)
The Man from Dakota
as Mr. Vestry
(1940)
Third Finger, Left Hand
as Mr. Flandrin
(1940)
Phantom Raiders
as Bartholomew
(1940)
Hullabaloo
as Mr. Clyde Perkins
(1940)
The Ghost Comes Home
as Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.
(1940)
Sky Murder
as Bartholomew
(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)
Hollywood Cavalcade
as Lyle P. Stout
(1939)
Blondie Takes a Vacation
as Jonathan N. Gillis
(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)
Hold That Co-ed
as Dean Thatcher
(1938)
Goodbye Broadway
as Iradius P. Oglethorpe
(1938)
Double Danger
as Gordon Ainsley, aka Henry Robinson
(1937)
The Toast of New York
as Daniel Drew
(1937)
Maid of Salem
as Ezra Cheeves
(1937)
Artists & Models
as Dr. Zimmer
(1937)
Double Wedding
as Judge Blynn (uncredited)
(1937)
Parnell
as Nicholas Daniel Murphy
(1937)
Make a Wish
as Joseph
(1937)
Breakfast for Two
as Justice of the Peace
(1937)
You're a Sweetheart
as Conway Jeeters
(1937)
Behind The Headlines
as Potter
(1937)
Three Legionnaires
as Uriah S. Grant
(1936)
One Rainy Afternoon
as Judge
(1936)
Love on the Run
as Caretaker
(1936)
Pennies from Heaven
as Gramp Smith
(1936)
Two in a Crowd
as Bennett
(1936)
And So They Were Married
as Hotel Manager
(1936)
Three Married Men
as Mr. Frisbee
(1936)
Everybody's Old Man
as Finney
(1936)
Old Hutch
as Mr. Gunnison
(1935)
Captain Blood
as Dr. Whacker
(1935)
The Informer
as Peter Mulligan
(1935)
China Seas
as Chess Player (uncredited)
(1935)
Peter Ibbetson
as Mr. Slade
(1935)
The Gilded Lily
as Hankerson
(1935)
Barbary Coast
as Sawbuck McTavish
(1935)
Mark of the Vampire
as Dr. Doskil
(1935)
She Couldn't Take It
as Uncle Wyndersham
(1935)
Romance in Manhattan
as Minister
(1935)
The Whole Town's Talking
as Hoyt
(1935)
Society Doctor
as Moxley
(1935)
Village Tale
as Charlie
(1935)
Kind Lady
as Mr. Foster
(1935)
Baby Face Harrington
as Skinner
(1935)
The Return Of Peter Grimm
as Mayor Everett Bartholomew
(1935)
Old Man Rhythm
as Paul Parker
(1935)
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
as Mr. Irish, Moose Village General Store
(1935)
The Bride Comes Home
as The Judge
(1935)
Happiness C.O.D.
as Thomas Sherridan
(1934)
The Merry Widow
as Valet
(1934)
Murder at the Vanities
as Dr. Saunders
(1934)
The Last Gentleman
as Judd Barr, Cabot's son
(1934)
Hi, Nellie!
as Durkin
(1934)
What Every Woman Knows
as Snibby the Jeweler (uncredited)
(1934)
The Defense Rests
as Fogg
(1934)
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Mr. Wiggs
(1934)
The Captain Hates the Sea
as Josephus Bushmills
(1934)
Bedside
as Dr. George Wiley
(1933)
College Coach
as Spencer Trask
(1932)
Wayward
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
(1932)
The Trans-Atlantic Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree - Criminologist
(1932)
The Crane Poison Case
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1932)
The Skull Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
(1932)
Murder in the Pullman
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1932)
The Side Show Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1932)
The Symphony Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
(1932)
The Studio Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
(1932)
The Cole Case
as Dr. Crabtree
(1931)
Personal Maid
as Pa Ryan
(1931)
The Clyde Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1931)
The Girl Habit
as Jonesy
(1931)
The Week End Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
(1931)
The Wall Street Mystery
as Doctor Crabtree
(1929)
The Hole in the Wall
as Goofy
(1923)
Six Cylinder Love
as Richard Burton