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