CINEFILER

Donald Meek

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