Actor. A striking "tough-guy" character performer in some 60 films and over 100 TV episodes. Meyer was born in New Orleans, where he drifted through a variety of occupations (longshoreman, safety inspector, cab driver, insurance salesman). At age 40 he decided to try acting after director Elia Kazan gave him a bit part in "Panic in the Streets" (1950), which was shot on location in The Big Easy. Stocky, square-jawed and mean-looking, he was most often cast as a western villain or a humorless authority figure. The classic western "Shane" (1953) gave Meyer his best role as Rufus Ryker, a bitter old pioneer settler who employs a hired gun (Jack Palance) to keep homesteaders off his land. He is also memorable in "The Sweet Smell of Success" (1957) as the corrupt cop who serves as Burt Lancaster's leg-breaker. Stanley Kubrick cast him against type, to good effect, as a priest in "Paths of Glory" (1957). His other credits include the features "Riot in Cell Block 11" (1954), "The Blackboard Jungle" (1955), "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955), "Baby Face Nelson" (1957), "The Lineup" (1958), "Young Jesse James" (1960), "The Outfit" (1973), and "Macon County Line" (1974), the telefilm "The Blue Knight" (1973), and guest appearances on such TV shows as "Maverick", "Peter Gunn", "77 Sunset Strip", "Rawhide", "The Untouchables", "Perry Mason", "Dennis the Menace", "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.", and "The F.B.I.". Declining health prompted Meyer's retirement in 1977 and he returned to New Orleans.

Actor. A striking "tough-guy" character performer in some 60 films and over 100 TV episodes. Meyer was born in New Orleans, where he drifted through a variety of occupations (longshoreman, safety inspector, cab driver, insurance salesman). At age 40 he decided to try acting after director Elia Kazan gave him a bit part in "Panic in the Streets" (1950), which was shot on location in The Big Easy. Stocky, square-jawed and mean-looking, he was most often cast as a western villain or a humorless authority figure. The classic western "Shane" (1953) gave Meyer his best role as Rufus Ryker, a bitter old pioneer settler who employs a hired gun (Jack Palance) to keep homesteaders off his land. He is also memorable in "The Sweet Smell of Success" (1957) as the corrupt cop who serves as Burt Lancaster's leg-breaker. Stanley Kubrick cast him against type, to good effect, as a priest in "Paths of Glory" (1957). His other credits include the features "Riot in Cell Block 11" (1954), "The Blackboard Jungle" (1955), "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955), "Baby Face Nelson" (1957), "The Lineup" (1958), "Young Jesse James" (1960), "The Outfit" (1973), and "Macon County Line" (1974), the telefilm "The Blue Knight" (1973), and guest appearances on such TV shows as "Maverick", "Peter Gunn", "77 Sunset Strip", "Rawhide", "The Untouchables", "Perry Mason", "Dennis the Menace", "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.", and "The F.B.I.". Declining health prompted Meyer's retirement in 1977 and he returned to New Orleans.

Bio by: Bobb Edwards