Donald Meek
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.
Filmography (123 Appearances)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
Magic Town
The Fabulous Joe
Affairs of Geraldine
Janie Gets Married
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Because of Him
State Fair
The Thin Man Goes Home
Barbary Coast Gent
Maisie Goes to Reno
Bathing Beauty
Two Girls and a Sailor
Rationing
Lost Angel
Du Barry Was a Lady
Air Raid Wardens
Keeper of the Flame
They Got Me Covered
Seven Sweethearts
The Omaha Trail
Maisie Gets Her Man
Tortilla Flat
Babes on Broadway
Rise and Shine
The Feminine Touch
A Woman's Face
Barnacle Bill
Blonde Inspiration
Come Live with Me
The Wild Man of Borneo
Hullabaloo
Third Finger, Left Hand
Sky Murder
The Return of Frank James
Phantom Raiders
Turnabout
Star Dust
The Ghost Comes Home
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
The Man from Dakota
My Little Chickadee
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
Nick Carter, Master Detective
The Housekeeper's Daughter
Hollywood Cavalcade
Blondie Takes a Vacation
Young Mr. Lincoln
Stagecoach
Jesse James
Hold That Co-ed
You Can't Take It with You
Little Miss Broadway
Having Wonderful Time
Goodbye Broadway
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Double Danger
You're a Sweetheart
Breakfast for Two
Double Wedding
Make a Wish
Artists & Models
The Toast of New York
Three Legionnaires
Parnell
Behind The Headlines
Maid of Salem
Pennies from Heaven
Love on the Run
Two in a Crowd
Old Hutch
Three Married Men
One Rainy Afternoon
And So They Were Married
Everybody's Old Man
Captain Blood
The Bride Comes Home
Kind Lady
Peter Ibbetson
Happiness C.O.D.
Barbary Coast
She Couldn't Take It
The Return Of Peter Grimm
China Seas
Old Man Rhythm
Village Tale
The Informer
Mark of the Vampire
Baby Face Harrington
The Whole Town's Talking
Society Doctor
The Gilded Lily
Romance in Manhattan
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
The Merry Widow
The Captain Hates the Sea
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
What Every Woman Knows
The Defense Rests
Murder at the Vanities
The Last Gentleman
Bedside
Hi, Nellie!
College Coach
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
The Trans-Atlantic Mystery
The Crane Poison Case
The Side Show Mystery
Murder in the Pullman
The Cole Case
The Skull Murder Mystery
Wayward
The Studio Murder Mystery
The Symphony Murder Mystery
The Week End Mystery
The Wall Street Mystery
The Clyde Mystery
Personal Maid
The Girl Habit
The Love Kiss
The Hole in the Wall
Six Cylinder Love