Donald Meek
Biography
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
Samuel Peacock
Stagecoach
Jonathan N. Gillis
Blondie Takes a Vacation
Sunday School Superintendent
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Joe Darsie
Come Live with Me
Mr Arbuthnot
Keeper of the Flame
Mr. Poppins
You Can't Take It with You
Herman Rundvik
A Woman's Face
Hippenstahl
State Fair
Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Side Show Mystery
Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Crane Poison Case
Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Clyde Mystery
Dr. Doskil
Mark of the Vampire
Richard Burton
Six Cylinder Love
Amos Budge
My Little Chickadee
Willie Crump
The Thin Man Goes Home
Mr. Jones / Duc de Choiseul
Du Barry Was a Lady
Chester Klazenfrantz
Bathing Beauty
McCoy
The Return of Frank James
McCoy
Jesse James
Prosecutor John Felder
Young Mr. Lincoln
Eustace Middling
Air Raid Wardens
Dr. Whacker
Captain Blood
P.U. Rogers
Having Wonderful Time
Bartholomew
Sky Murder
Bartholomew
Phantom Raiders
Bartholomew, the bee man
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Mr. Flandrin
Third Finger, Left Hand
Daniel Drew
The Toast of New York
Hoyt
The Whole Town's Talking
Mr. Nizby
Two Girls and a Sailor
Lyle P. Stout
Hollywood Cavalcade
Dr. Saunders
Murder at the Vanities
Justice of the Peace
Breakfast for Two
Mr. Wiggs
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Mr. Slade
Peter Ibbetson
Captain Makepeace Liveright
The Feminine Touch
Paul D. Cummings
Tortilla Flat
Mittelmeyer
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
Mr. Stickwell
Maisie Gets Her Man
Goofy
The Hole in the Wall
Mortimer Hopkins, Sr.
The Ghost Comes Home
Henry, the Valet
Turnabout
Dr. George Wiley
Bedside
Professor Charles W. Birdo
The Wild Man of Borneo
Mayor Everett Bartholomew
The Return Of Peter Grimm
Gordon Ainsley, aka Henry Robinson
Double Danger
Spencer Trask
College Coach
Professor Catty
Lost Angel
Mr. Irish, Moose Village General Store
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
Judd Barr, Cabot's son
The Last Gentleman
Mr. Vestry
The Man from Dakota
Hotel Manager
And So They Were Married
"Pop" Cavendish
Barnacle Bill
Judge
One Rainy Afternoon
'Dusty' King
Blonde Inspiration
Minister
Romance in Manhattan
Gramp Smith
Pennies from Heaven
Editor Wilson
The Housekeeper's Daughter
Wilfred Ball
Rationing
Harley P. Stowers
Janie Gets Married
Thomas Sherridan
Happiness C.O.D.
Joseph
Make a Wish
Potter
Behind The Headlines
Iradius P. Oglethorpe
Goodbye Broadway
Mr. Frisbee
Three Married Men
Dean Thatcher
Hold That Co-ed
Uncle Wyndersham
She Couldn't Take It
Nicholas Daniel Murphy
Parnell
Willoughby Wendling
Little Miss Broadway
Charlie
Village Tale
Hankerson
The Gilded Lily
Mr. Twiddle
Magic Town
The Judge
The Bride Comes Home
Durkin
Hi, Nellie!
Fogg
The Defense Rests
(archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Skinner
Baby Face Harrington
Dr. Crabtree
The Studio Murder Mystery
Caretaker
Love on the Run
Josephus Bushmills
The Captain Hates the Sea
Sawbuck McTavish
Barbary Coast
Bradford Bellamy I
Barbary Coast Gent
Little Old Man
They Got Me Covered
Mr. Gunnison
Old Hutch
Mr. Foster
Kind Lady
Moxley
Society Doctor
Bennett
Two in a Crowd
Doctor Crabtree
The Wall Street Mystery
Dr. Crabtree - Criminologist
The Trans-Atlantic Mystery
Sam Wellman
Star Dust
Paul Parker
Old Man Rhythm
Chess Player (uncredited)
China Seas
Casper Millhouse
Affairs of Geraldine
Uriah S. Grant
Three Legionnaires
Dr. Zimmer
Artists & Models
Ezra Cheeves
Maid of Salem
Pa Ryan
Personal Maid
Engineer Jonah McCleod
The Omaha Trail
Adelbert Thistlebottom
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
Martin
Because of Him
Mr. Stone
Babes on Broadway
Peter Mulligan
The Informer
Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Wayward
Mr. Clyde Perkins
Hullabaloo
Conway Jeeters
You're a Sweetheart
Valet
The Merry Widow
Doc Buden
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Parsons
Maisie Goes to Reno
Snibby the Jeweler (uncredited)
What Every Woman Knows
Dr. Crabtree
The Skull Murder Mystery
Dr. Amos Crabtree
The Week End Mystery
Professor Philip Murray
Rise and Shine
Judge Blynn (uncredited)
Double Wedding
Dr. Crabtree
The Cole Case
Reverend Howgan, the Minister
Seven Sweethearts
Dr. Amos Crabtree
Murder in the Pullman
Jonesy
The Girl Habit
Henry Cadwallader, Lawyer
The Fabulous Joe
Dr. Crabtree
The Symphony Murder Mystery
Finney
Everybody's Old Man
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
120
Gender
Male
Birthday
1878-07-13
Place of Birth
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Also Known As
Thomas Donald Meek