Acting
Donald Meek
EN cinema · 122 credits
Born
13 July 1878
Died
18 November 1946 (aged 68)
Birthplace
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Also known as Thomas Donald Meek
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
Filmography
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
Magic Town
as Mr. Twiddle
The Fabulous Joe
as Henry Cadwallader, Lawyer
Janie Gets Married
as Harley P. Stowers
Affairs of Geraldine
as Casper Millhouse
Because of Him
as Martin
Colonel Effingham's Raid
as Doc Buden
State Fair
as Hippenstahl
The Thin Man Goes Home
as Willie Crump
Bathing Beauty
as Chester Klazenfrantz
Two Girls and a Sailor
as Mr. Nizby
Rationing
as Wilfred Ball
Barbary Coast Gent
as Bradford Bellamy I
Maisie Goes to Reno
as Parsons
Keeper of the Flame
as Mr Arbuthnot
Du Barry Was a Lady
as Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
Air Raid Wardens
as Eustace Middling
Lost Angel
as Professor Catty
They Got Me Covered
as Little Old Man
Tortilla Flat
as Paul D. Cummings
Maisie Gets Her Man
as Mr. Stickwell
The Omaha Trail
as Engineer Jonah McCleod
Seven Sweethearts
as Reverend Howgan, the Minister
Come Live with Me
as Joe Darsie
A Woman's Face
as Herman Rundvik
The Feminine Touch
as Captain Makepeace Liveright
The Wild Man of Borneo
as Professor Charles W. Birdo
Barnacle Bill
as "Pop" Cavendish
Blonde Inspiration
as 'Dusty' King
Babes on Broadway
as Mr. Stone
Rise and Shine
as Professor Philip Murray
My Little Chickadee
as Amos Budge
Phantom Raiders
as Bartholomew
Sky Murder
as Bartholomew
Third Finger, Left Hand
as Mr. Flandrin
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
as Mittelmeyer
The Ghost Comes Home
as Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.
Turnabout
as Henry, the Valet
The Man from Dakota
as Mr. Vestry
Star Dust
as Sam Wellman
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
1940
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
as Adelbert Thistlebottom
Hullabaloo
as Mr. Clyde Perkins
Stagecoach
as Samuel Peacock
Blondie Takes a Vacation
as Jonathan N. Gillis
Jesse James
as McCoy
Young Mr. Lincoln
as Prosecutor John Felder
Nick Carter, Master Detective
as Bartholomew, the bee man
Hollywood Cavalcade
as Lyle P. Stout
The Housekeeper's Daughter
as Editor Wilson
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
as Sunday School Superintendent
You Can't Take It with You
as Poppins
Having Wonderful Time
as P.U. Rogers
Double Danger
as Gordon Ainsley, aka Henry Robinson
Goodbye Broadway
as Iradius P. Oglethorpe
Hold That Co-ed
as Dean Thatcher
Little Miss Broadway
as Willoughby Wendling
The Toast of New York
as Daniel Drew
Breakfast for Two
as Justice of the Peace
Make a Wish
as Joseph
Behind The Headlines
as Potter
Parnell
as Nicholas Daniel Murphy
Three Legionnaires
1937
Three Legionnaires
as Uriah S. Grant
Artists & Models
as Dr. Zimmer
Maid of Salem
as Ezra Cheeves
You're a Sweetheart
as Conway Jeeters
Double Wedding
as Judge Blynn (uncredited)
And So They Were Married
as Hotel Manager
One Rainy Afternoon
as Judge
Pennies from Heaven
as Gramp Smith
Three Married Men
as Mr. Frisbee
Love on the Run
as Caretaker
Old Hutch
as Mr. Gunnison
Two in a Crowd
as Bennett
Everybody's Old Man
as Finney
Mark of the Vampire
as Dr. Doskil
Captain Blood
as Dr. Whacker
Peter Ibbetson
as Mr. Slade
The Return Of Peter Grimm
as Mayor Everett Bartholomew
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
as Mr. Irish, Moose Village General Store
Happiness C.O.D.
as Thomas Sherridan
She Couldn't Take It
as Uncle Wyndersham
Village Tale
as Charlie
The Gilded Lily
as Hankerson
The Bride Comes Home
as The Judge
Baby Face Harrington
as Skinner
Barbary Coast
as Sawbuck McTavish
Kind Lady
as Mr. Foster
Society Doctor
as Moxley
Old Man Rhythm
as Paul Parker
China Seas
as Chess Player (uncredited)
The Informer
as Peter Mulligan
Murder at the Vanities
as Dr. Saunders
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Mr. Wiggs
Bedside
as Dr. George Wiley
The Last Gentleman
as Judd Barr, Cabot's son
Romance in Manhattan
as Minister
Hi, Nellie!
as Durkin
The Captain Hates the Sea
as Josephus Bushmills
The Merry Widow
as Valet
What Every Woman Knows
as Snibby the Jeweler (uncredited)
College Coach
as Spencer Trask
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
as Luther Bowen
The Crane Poison Case
1932
The Crane Poison Case
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Side Show Mystery
1932
The Side Show Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Studio Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
The Trans-Atlantic Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree - Criminologist
Wayward
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
The Skull Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
The Cole Case
1932
The Cole Case
as Dr. Crabtree
Murder in the Pullman
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Symphony Murder Mystery
as Dr. Crabtree
The Clyde Mystery
1931
The Clyde Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Wall Street Mystery
as Doctor Crabtree
Personal Maid
as Pa Ryan
The Week End Mystery
as Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Girl Habit
as Jonesy
The Hole in the Wall
as Goofy
Six Cylinder Love
as Richard Burton