Donald Meek
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Film
Stagecoach
Samuel Peacock
1939
Film
Captain Blood
Dr. Whacker
1935
Film
Bathing Beauty
Chester Klazenfrantz
1944
Film
You Can't Take It with You
Poppins
1938
Film
Jesse James
McCoy
1939
Film
The Informer
Peter Mulligan
1935
Film
Young Mr. Lincoln
Prosecutor John Felder
1939
Film
A Woman's Face
Herman Rundvik
1941
Film
Society Doctor
Moxley
1935
Film
China Seas
Chess Player (uncredited)
1935
Film
The Thin Man Goes Home
Willie Crump
1944
Film
Mark of the Vampire
Dr. Doskil
1935
Film
The Return of Frank James
McCoy
1940
Film
Peter Ibbetson
Mr. Slade
1935
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
1976
Film
Parnell
Nicholas Daniel Murphy
1937
Film
Du Barry Was a Lady
Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
1943
Film
My Little Chickadee
Amos Budge
1940
Film
The Merry Widow
Valet
1934
Film
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Sunday School Superintendent
1938
Film
The Gilded Lily
Hankerson
1935
Film
The Wild Man of Borneo
Professor Charles W. Birdo
1941
Film
Air Raid Wardens
Eustace Middling
1943
Film
Magic Town
Mr. Twiddle
1947
Film
The Whole Town's Talking
Hoyt
1935
Film
Hi, Nellie!
Durkin
1934
Film
Babes on Broadway
Mr. Stone
1941
Film
Barbary Coast
Sawbuck McTavish
1935
Film
Blonde Inspiration
'Dusty' King
1941
Film
Tortilla Flat
Paul D. Cummings
1942
Film
State Fair
Hippenstahl
1945
Film
Wayward
Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
1932
Film
Come Live with Me
Joe Darsie
1941
Film
Two Girls and a Sailor
Mr. Nizby
1944
Film
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
Mittelmeyer
1940
Film
Little Miss Broadway
Willoughby Wendling
1938
Film
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Doc Buden
1946
Film
Hollywood Cavalcade
Lyle P. Stout
1939
Film
Keeper of the Flame
Mr Arbuthnot
1943
Film
Maid of Salem
Ezra Cheeves
1937
Film
The Toast of New York
Daniel Drew
1937
Film
Double Wedding
Judge Blynn (uncredited)
1937
Film
Pennies from Heaven
Gramp Smith
1936
Film
The Housekeeper's Daughter
Editor Wilson
1939
Film
Two in a Crowd
Bennett
1936
Film
Turnabout
Henry, the Valet
1940
Film
Phantom Raiders
Bartholomew
1940
Film
Murder at the Vanities
Dr. Saunders
1934
Film
Kind Lady
Mr. Foster
1935
Film
Bedside
Dr. George Wiley
1934
Film
Because of Him
Martin
1946
Film
Third Finger, Left Hand
Mr. Flandrin
1940
Film
The Defense Rests
Fogg
1934
Film
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Bartholomew, the bee man
1939
Film
Seven Sweethearts
Reverend Howgan, the Minister
1942
Film
One Rainy Afternoon
Judge
1936
Film
The Girl Habit
Jonesy
1931
Film
What Every Woman Knows
Snibby the Jeweler (uncredited)
1934
Film
Maisie Gets Her Man
Mr. Stickwell
1942
Film
Artists & Models
Dr. Zimmer
1937
Film
Baby Face Harrington
Skinner
1935
Film
Sky Murder
Bartholomew
1940
Film
Romance in Manhattan
Minister
1934
Film
Make a Wish
Joseph
1937
Film
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1984
Film
Maisie Goes to Reno
Parsons
1944
Film
Hullabaloo
Mr. Clyde Perkins
1940
Film
Barbary Coast Gent
Bradford Bellamy I
1944
Film
They Got Me Covered
Little Old Man
1943
Film
Everybody's Old Man
Finney
1936
Film
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
Mr. Irish, Moose Village General Store
1935
Film
College Coach
Spencer Trask
1933
Film
The Captain Hates the Sea
Josephus Bushmills
1934
Film
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Mr. Wiggs
1934
Film
She Couldn't Take It
Uncle Wyndersham
1935
Film
Six Cylinder Love
Richard Burton
1923
Film
Lost Angel
Professor Catty
1943
Film
You're a Sweetheart
Conway Jeeters
1937
Film
The Omaha Trail
Engineer Jonah McCleod
1942
Film
The Ghost Comes Home
Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.
1940
Film
Goodbye Broadway
Iradius P. Oglethorpe
1938
Film
And So They Were Married
Hotel Manager
1936
Film
The Feminine Touch
Captain Makepeace Liveright
1941
Film
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
Luther Bowen
1933
Film
The Bride Comes Home
The Judge
1935
Film
Having Wonderful Time
P.U. Rogers
1938
Film
Old Hutch
Mr. Gunnison
1936
Film
Behind The Headlines
Potter
1937
Film
The Last Gentleman
Judd Barr, Cabot's son
1934
Film
Breakfast for Two
Justice of the Peace
1937
Film
Love on the Run
Caretaker
1936
Film
Hold That Co-ed
Dean Thatcher
1938
Film
Janie Gets Married
Harley P. Stowers
1946
Film
The Fabulous Joe
Henry Cadwallader, Lawyer
1947
Film
Village Tale
Charlie
1935
Film
Rationing
Wilfred Ball
1944
Film
Barnacle Bill
"Pop" Cavendish
1941
Film
Murder in the Pullman
Dr. Amos Crabtree
1932
Film
The Symphony Murder Mystery
Dr. Crabtree
1932
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
Adelbert Thistlebottom
1940
Film
Three Married Men
Mr. Frisbee
1936
Film
Star Dust
Sam Wellman
1940
Film
The Hole in the Wall
Goofy
1929
Film
Double Danger
Gordon Ainsley, aka Henry Robinson
1938
Film
Personal Maid
Pa Ryan
1931
Film
Old Man Rhythm
Paul Parker
1935
Film
Happiness C.O.D.
Thomas Sherridan
1935
Film
Affairs of Geraldine
Casper Millhouse
1946
Film
The Skull Murder Mystery
Dr. Crabtree
1932
Film
The Return Of Peter Grimm
Mayor Everett Bartholomew
1935
Film
The Week End Mystery
Dr. Amos Crabtree
1931
Three Legionnaires
Uriah S. Grant
1937
Film
Rise and Shine
Professor Philip Murray
1941
Film
The Trans-Atlantic Mystery
Dr. Crabtree - Criminologist
1932
Film
The Studio Murder Mystery
Dr. Crabtree
1932
The Cole Case
Dr. Crabtree
1932
Film
The Man from Dakota
Mr. Vestry
1940
Film
Blondie Takes a Vacation
Jonathan N. Gillis
1939
The Love Kiss
William
1930
The Clyde Mystery
Dr. Amos Crabtree
1931
The Crane Poison Case
Dr. Amos Crabtree
1932
The Side Show Mystery
Dr. Amos Crabtree
1932
Film
The Wall Street Mystery
Doctor Crabtree
1931