Ralph Meeker

Ralph Meeker born Ralph Rathgeber November 21 1920 August 5 1988 was an American actor He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of Mister Roberts 19481951 and Picnic 1953 the former of which earned him a Theatre World Award for his performance In film Meeker is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrichs 1955 Kiss Me Deadly Meeker went on to play a series of roles that used his husky and macho screen presence including a lead role in Stanley Kubricks military courtroom drama Paths of Glory 1957 as a troubled mechanic opposite Carroll Baker in Something Wild 1961 as a World War II captain in The Dirty Dozen 1967 and in the gangster film The St Valentines Day Massacre 1967 Other credits include supporting roles in I Walk the Line 1970 and Sidney Lumets The Anderson Tapes 1971 He also had a prolific career in television appearing as Sergeant Steve Dekker on the series Not for Hire 19591960 and in the television horror film The Night Stalker 1972 After suffering a stroke in 1980 Meeker was forced to retire from acting and died eight years later of a heart attack in Los Angeles California Description above from the Wikipedia article Ralph Meeker licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia