Barbara Anita Meek (February 26, 1934 – October 3, 2015) was an American actress best known to television viewers for playing the character of Ellen Canby for two seasons on ''

Archie Bunker's Place ''Archie Bunker's Place'' is an American television sitcom produced as a continuation of ''All in the Family''. It aired on CBS from September 23, 1979 to April 4, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on CBS in April 1983, the series went i ...

''. Since 1968, Meek was an active member of the

Trinity Repertory Company Trinity Repertory Company (commonly abbreviated as Trinity Rep) is a non-profit regional theater located at 201 Washington Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The theater is a member of the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1963, the the ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and appeared in more than 100 Trinity Rep stage productions.

Early life

She was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, to Juanita (née Coleman) and Harold Talmadge Meek, and is the maternal granddaughter of the Reverend Horatius "H.H." Coleman, pastor of the Greater Macedonia Baptist Church. She was a graduate of Northwestern High School, and as an undergraduate was asked to join

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

's graduate theater program. Meek was a member of the

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

sorority while attending college. In 1965, Meek toured with the

United Services Organization The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

, performing for wounded soldiers on

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

and other U.S. Army bases. In 1968, she joined the Trinity Repertory Company with her husband, Martin Molson (1928–1980), where they debuted together in ''Brother to Dragons''.

Career at Trinity

Highlights of Meek's stage career at Trinity included leading roles in the

August Wilson August Wilson (né Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of 10 plays, collectively called '' ...

plays ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'' and ''

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 1982 play by August Wilson, set in a recording studio in 1920s Chicago during a recording session for the titular song by the blues singer Ma Rainey. The play deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the ...

'',

James Purdy James Otis Purdy (July 17, 1914 March 13, 2009) was an American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright who, from his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work ha ...

's ''Eustace Chisholm and the Works'',

Athol Fugard Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (; 11 June 19328 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaki ...

's ''Boesman and Lena'', ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'', ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'', ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

'', '' The Visit'', '' Fires in the Mirror'', Adrian Hall and Robert Cumming's adaptation of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' (including the role of

Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, ''A Christmas Carol''. Initially a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas, his redemption by visits from the ghost of Jacob Marley, the G ...

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," M ...

's ''Master Class'', ''Henry IV'',

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

' ''

Suddenly Last Summer ''Suddenly Last Summer'' is a one-act play by Tennessee Williams, written in New York in 1957. It opened off Broadway on January 7, 1958, as part of a double bill with another of Williams' one-acts, '' Something Unspoken'' (written in London in ...

'' and, more recently,

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

's ''Raisin in the Sun'' and Oscar Wilde's ''The Importance of Being Earnest''. Meek also appeared in the Broadway production of ''Wilson in the Promised Land''. In 2008, Meek appeared in ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * Blithe Spirit (''Ford Star Jubilee''), a 1956 television play version of ...

'' at Trinity Rep, and Curt Columbus' adaptation of ''

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

''. She was in ''Camelot'', ''The Crucible'' and ''Steel Magnolias'' during the 2010–2011 season, and ''Sparrow Grass'' in the 2011–2012 season.

Other stage performances

Meek played the role of Sadie in ''Having Our Say'' at Trinity Rep, a role she reprised for the play's European premiere at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

's English Theatre. In 1996, Meek appeared in the world premiere of ''A Lesson Before Dying'' by Romulus Linney at the

Alabama Shakespeare Festival The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) is among the ten largest Shakespeare festivals in the world. The festival is permanently housed in the Carolyn Blount Theatre in Montgomery, Alabama. ASF puts on 6-9 productions annually, typically includin ...

. Meek also performed at

Hilberry Repertory Theatre Hilberry is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Conrad Hilberry (1928–2017), American poet and author * Norman Hilberry Norman Hilberry (March 11, 1899 – March 28, 1986) was an American physicist, best known as the director ...

, the Dallas Theater Center, the

Cleveland Play House Cleveland Play House (CPH) is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1915 and built its own noted theater complex in 1927. Currently the company performs at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square ...

, The Repertory Theater of St. Louis, the Hampton Playhouse, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and the Brandeis University Theatre.

Television roles

Meek's other television roles included Adrian Hall's adaptations of

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

's ''Brother to Dragons'',

Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...

's ''

The House of Mirth ''The House of Mirth'' is a novel by American author Edith Wharton, published on 7 October 1905. It is a sharp, brutal, and destructive tragedy which tells the story of Lily Bart, a well-born but impoverished woman belonging to New York City's ...

'', and

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

's ''Life Among the Lowly'', all broadcast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

; ''Melba'', starring

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Smith (born October 29, 1945) known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Smith on October 29, 1945, in New York City to Gertrude Melba ...

, on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

; and ''Big Brother Jake'', starring

Jake Steinfeld Jake Steinfeld (born February 21, 1958) is an American actor, fitness personality, entrepreneur, and producer, known for his Body by Jake brand. He is the uncle of actress/singer Hailee Steinfeld. Early life Born in the Sea Gate neighborhood o ...

, on The Family Channel. Meek was also featured in the Emmy Award-winning television movie ''See How She Runs'' with

Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American retired actress. She made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a characteristic nuance and depth of character. ...

, and the television movie ''Jimmy B. and Andre'', starring

Susan Clark Susan Clark (born Nora Golding; March 8, 1943) is a Canadians, Canadian actress. She made her big screen debut in the 1967 drama film ''Banning (film), Banning'' and the following year played the female lead in the crime thriller ''Coogan's Bluf ...

and

Alex Karras Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935October 10, 2012) was an American professional American football, football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection playing defensive tackle for the Detro ...

. Meek made guest appearances as Veronica Everestt on ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'' in both 1992 and 1997, Samantha Monroe on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'' in 1994 and 1999, and Verne Garrison on ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' in both 1993 and 1999.

Honors

Ms. Meek received an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

, and the 2004 Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts. She also received the Foundation for Repertory Theatre Award, the

Arts Achievement Award in Theatre, and the Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence. In 2006, she was awarded the Edward Bannister and Christiana Bannister History Makers Award from the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society.

Personal life and death

Meek died on October 3, 2015, of a heart attack.

References

External links

*
Trinity Rep
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Barbara American television actresses 1934 births 2015 deaths Wayne State University alumni Actresses from Detroit American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses