James Lew Meehan (September 7, 1890 – August 10, 1951) was an American film actor. Meehan appeared in more than 200 films between 1921 and 1947. He was often the main villain in silent Westerns, but in sound films he was usually an "anonymous henchman". Meehan was born in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Meehan's daughter, Jean Stratton, was an actress.

Selected filmography

* ''

Crossing Trails ''Crossing Trails'' is a 1921 American silent Western film directed by Clifford Smith and starring Pete Morrison, Esther Ralston and Lew Meehan. Plot Cast * Pete Morrison as Jim Warren * Esther Ralston as Helen Stratton * John Hatton as Bus ...

'' (1921) * ''

By Right of Birth The film ''By Right of Birth'' premiered on June 22, 1921, in Los Angeles, California. This film was one of the few surviving films of the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, which is known as the first producer of race films and of such silent fil ...

'' (1921) * ''

Blazing Arrows ''Blazing Arrows'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Henry McCarty and starring Lester Cuneo, Francelia Billington and Clark Comstock.Connelly p.323 Plot John Strong is studying a Columbia University in New York where he fall ...

'' (1922) * ''

The Radio King ''The Radio King'' is a 1922 American adventure film serial directed by Robert F. Hill and released by the Universal Film Manufacturing Co. The ten chapters began with "A Cry for Help" released October 22, 1922. The film is now considered to ...

'' (1922) * '' Silver Spurs'' (1922) * '' Daring Danger'' (1922) * ''

Back Fire ''Back Fire'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Alan James and starring Jack Hoxie, Florence Gilbert, and Lew Meehan James Lew Meehan (September 7, 1890 – August 10, 1951) was an American film actor. Meehan appeare ...

'' (1922) * ''

The Greatest Menace ''The Greatest Menace'' is a 1923 American silent crime film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Ann Little, Wilfred Lucas and Robert Gordon.Munden p.315 Cast * Ann Little as Velma Wright * Wilfred Lucas as Charles W. Wright * Robert Go ...

'' (1923) * ''

Ridgeway of Montana ''Ridgeway of Montana'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Clifford Smith and starring Jack Hoxie, Olive Hasbrouck, and Herbert Fortier. Plot As described in a film magazine review, Buck Ridgeway, wealthy ranchman, capture ...

'' (1924) * ''

Thundering Romance ''Thundering Romance'' is a 1924 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Jay Wilsey, Jean Arthur and Harry Todd.Connelly, p. 421. Cast * Jay Wilsey as Lightning Bill * Jean Arthur as M ...

'' (1924) * ''

Walloping Wallace ''Walloping Wallace'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Norbert A. Myles and starring Buddy Roosevelt, Violet La Plante and Lew Meehan.Goble p.1009 Plot Cast * Buddy Roosevelt as Buddy Wallace * Violet La Plante Vio ...

'' (1924) * '' The Eagle's Claw'' (1924) * ''

West of Hot Dog ''West of Hot Dog'' is a 1924 American comedy film starring Stan Laurel. Plot Stan's stagecoach is robbed on his way to Hot Dog for the reading of his uncle's will. Every time he raises his hands his pants fall down. The robbers ride off and ...

'' (1924) * '' Full Speed'' (1925) * ''

The Empty Saddle ''The Empty Saddle'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Harry S. Webb and starring Pete Morrison, Betty Goodwin and Bud Osborne. Cast * Pete Morrison as Bob Kingston * Betty Goodwin as Mary Manning * Bud Osborne * Lew M ...

'' (1925) * ''

Red Blood ''Red Blood'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Al Hoxie, Lew Meehan and Eddie Barry (actor), Eddie Barry.Langman, p. 357 Cast * Al Hoxie as Buck Marsden * Marjorie Warfie ...

'' (1925) * ''

Fighting Luck ''Fighting Luck'' is a 1925 American silent western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Bob Reeves, Ione Reed and Lew Meehan.Munden p.242 Cast * Bob Reeves as Tiger Slauson * Ione Reed as Texas Houston * William Ryno as Silver Ho ...

'' (1925) * '' White Thunder'' (1925) * ''

Lord Jim ''Lord Jim'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in '' Blackwood's Magazine'' from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event in the story is the abandonment of a passenger ship in distress by its crew, ...

'' (1925) * ''

Beyond All Odds ''Beyond All Odds'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Alan James and starring Eileen Sedgwick. Plot Betty Mason (Eileen Sedgwick) seeks revenge in the murder of her brother, Dan (Theodore Henderson ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Road Agent ''The Road Agent'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Al Hoxie, Ione Reed and Lew Meehan.Pitts p.286 Cast * Al Hoxie as Roger Worth / The Kansas Kid * Ione Reed as Mary Ry ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Man from Oklahoma '' The Man from Oklahoma '' is a 1945 American western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and George 'Gabby' Hayes. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures.Hurst p.232 Plot Jim Gardner, hoping to ...

'' (1926) * ''

Hair-Trigger Baxter ''Hair-Trigger Baxter'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Jack Nelson and starring Bob Custer, Eugenia Gilbert and Lew Meehan. Cast * Bob Custer as Baxter Brant * Eugenia Gilbert as Rose Moss * Lew Meehan as Mont Blake * Mu ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Desperate Game ''The Desperate Game'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Joseph Franz and Milburn Morante. It stars Pete Morrison, Lew Meehan, and Bert Lindley. Cast * Pete Morrison as Jim Wesley * Dolores Gardner as Marguerite Grayson * ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Desert's Toll ''The Desert's Toll'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Clifford Smith and starring Kathleen Key, Francis McDonald, and Tom Santschi.

'' (1926) * '' Born to Battle'' (1927) * ''

Thunderbolt's Tracks ''Thunderbolt's Tracks'' is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Jack Perrin, Pauline Curley and Buzz Barton.McGowan p.164 Cast * Jack Perrin as Sergeant Larry Donovan * Pauline Curley as Alice Hayden * ...

'' (1927) * ''

Two-Gun of the Tumbleweed ''Two-Gun of the Tumbleweed'' is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by and starring Leo D. Maloney and distributed by Pathé Exchange. The film is listed as lost on a couple of credible websites; however, it survives and is on an omn ...

'' (1927) * '' Should Tall Men Marry?'' (1928) * ''

The Sky Rider ''The Sky Rider'' is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Alan James and starring Gareth Hughes and Josephine Hill.Pitts, p. 85 Cast * Champion the Dog as Champion * Gareth Hughes as Dick * Josephine Hill as Alice Allan * J.P. Lock ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Power of the Press ''The Power of the Press'' is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as an aspiring newspaper reporter and Jobyna Ralston as a young woman suspected of murder. In 1943, Columbia Pictures ...

'' (1928) * ''

Idaho Red ''Idaho Red'' is a 1929 American silent Western film directed by Robert De Lacey and starring Tom Tyler, Patricia Caron and Frankie Darro. Cast * Tom Tyler as Andy Thornton * Patricia Caron as Mary Regan * Frankie Darro as Tadpole * Barne ...

'' (1929) * '' The Pride of Pawnee'' (1929) * ''

Bad Men's Money ''Bad Men's Money'' is a 1929 American silent Western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Yakima Canutt, Peggy Montgomery and John Lowell. Cast * Yakima Canutt as Jim Donovan * Peggy Montgomery as Helen Saunders * J.P. McGowan as Sher ...

'' (1929) * '' The White Outlaw'' (1929) * '' Silent Sentinel'' (1929) * ''

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

'' (1929) * ''

Playing Around ''Playing Around'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film with songs, starring Alice White, Chester Morris and William Bakewell. It was adapted from the story "Sheba", written by Viña Delmar. The film was produced and distributed by First Na ...

'' (1930) * ''

Firebrand Jordan ''Firebrand Jordan'' is a 1930 American pre-Code western film directed by Alan James and starring Lane Chandler, Sheldon Lewis and Yakima Canutt.Munden, p. 247 Plot Cast * Lane Chandler as Firebrand Jordan * Aline Goodwin as Joan Howe * Yak ...

'' (1930) * '' The Light of Western Stars'' (1930) * ''

The Virtuous Sin ''The Virtuous Sin'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor and Louis J. Gasnier and starring Walter Huston, Kay Francis, and Kenneth MacKenna. The screenplay by Martin Brown and Louise Long is based on the 19 ...

'' (1930) * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (1930) * '' Cimarron'' (1931) * ''

Range Feud ''The Range Feud'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film directed by D. Ross Lederman for Columbia Pictures, that stars Buck Jones and John Wayne. Wayne biographer Ronald L. Davis referred to the film as the first in a collection of "chea ...

'' (1931) * ''

Air Eagles ''Air Eagles'' is a 1931 American pre-Code action film directed by Phil Whitman and starring Lloyd Hughes, Norman Kerry, and Shirley Grey.Pitts, p. 134 Plot Cast * Lloyd Hughes as Bill Ramsey * Norman Kerry as Otto Schumann * Shirley Grey ...

'' (1931) * '' West of Cheyenne'' (1931) * ''

The Fighting Fool ''The Fighting Fool'' is a 1932 American pre-Code Western (genre), Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and released by Columbia Pictures starring Tim McCoy, Marceline Day, and William V. Mong. Plot Sheriff Collins pursues a villain who e ...

'' (1932) * ''

Forbidden Trail ''Forbidden Trail'' is a 1932 American pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement o ...

'' (1932) * '' Law and Order'' (1932) * ''

Shopworn ''Shopworn'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Nick Grinde and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Regis Toomey. Written by Jo Swerling and Robert Riskin, based on a story by Sarah Y. Mason, the film is about a poor hard ...

'' (1932) * ''

Thirteen Women ''Thirteen Women'' is a 1932 American pre-Code psychological thriller film, produced by David O. Selznick and directed by George Archainbaud. It stars Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne and Ricardo Cortez. The film is based on the 1930 bestselling novel o ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Wolf Dog ''The Wolf Dog'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Mascot film serial directed by Colbert Clark and Harry L. Fraser and starring Frankie Darro and Rin Tin Tin, Jr. The plot concerns a young boy becoming the heir to a fortune and a villain attempting ...

'' (1933, Serial) * ''

The World Changes ''The World Changes'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Paul Muni as an ambitious farm boy who becomes rich, but does not handle success well. Aline MacMahon and Mary Astor play his mother and wife, re ...

'' (1933) * '' Unknown Valley'' (1933) * '' Among the Missing'' (1934) * '' The Man Trailer'' (1934) * ''

Wagon Wheels Wagon Wheels are a sweet snack food sold in the United Kingdom as well as other Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India. They are also sold in Ireland. They consist of two biscuits that form a sandwich with a m ...

'' (1934) * '' Frontier Days'' (1934) * '' Mystery Mountain'' (1934, Serial) * ''

The Desert Trail ''The Desert Trail'' is a 1935 American Monogram Western (genre), Western film starring John Wayne and directed by Lewis D. Collins (credited as Cullin Lewis). The movie also features Eddy Chandler, Mary Kornman, and Paul Fix. Plot Rodeo sta ...

'' (1935) * ''

Outlaw Rule ''Outlaw Rule'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and starring Reb Russell, Betty Mack and Al Bridge.Pitts p.213 Plot Cast * Reb Russell as Reb Russell * Betty Mack as Kay Lathrop * Al Bridge as Deputy Bat Lindstrom * ...

'' (1935) * ''

Wagon Trail ''Wagon Trail'' is a 1935 American western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring Harry Carey, Gertrude Messinger and Edward Norris. It was produced as an independent second feature in Hollywood's Poverty Row.Pitts p.16 It was re-rel ...

'' (1935) * '' The Phantom Cowboy'' (1935) * ''

Lightning Triggers ''Lightning Triggers'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and starring Reb Russell, Yvonne Pelletier and Fred Kohler.Pitts p. 212-13 Plot An undercover agent for the Cattleman's Protective Association goes into the hi ...

'' (1935) * ''

The Last of the Clintons ''The Last of the Clintons'' is a 1935 American western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring Harry Carey, Betty Mack and Victor Potel. It was the last film released by the Poverty Row studio Ajax Pictures before it closed down.Pitts ...

'' (1935) * ''

Five Bad Men ''Five Bad Men'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by Clifford S. Smith, starring Noah Beery Jr., Bill Patton, and Jay Wilsey. Plot Cast * Noah Beery Jr. as Gene Taggart * Bill Patton as Bad man * Jay Wilsey (credited as Buffalo ...

'' (1935) * ''

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...

'' (1935) * ''

The Lawless Nineties ''The Lawless Nineties'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring John Wayne and Lane Chandler as federal agents in Wyoming. The film also stars 19-year-old Ann Rutherford and Gabby Hayes. The film's copyright was r ...

'' (1936) * ''

Feud of the West ''Feud of the West'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring Hoot Gibson, Buzz Barton and Bob Kortman. It is a B film made by the Poverty Row company Diversion Pictures.Magers & Fitzgerald p.33 Plot Cast * H ...

'' (1936) * '' Oh, Susanna!'' (1936) * ''

Hopalong Cassidy Returns ''Hopalong Cassidy Returns'' (1936) is a Western film sequel starring William Boyd, the seventh of the "Hopalong Cassidy" westerns. This was the first of 13 Hopalong Cassidy movies in which Morris Ankrum starred with William Boyd. He also was ...

'' (1936) * '' Melody of the Plains'' (1937) * '' Westbound Mail'' (1937) * ''

Lightnin' Crandall ''Lightnin' Crandall'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Charles F. Royal. The film stars Bob Steele, Lois January, Charles King, Earl Dwire, Ernie Adams and Frank LaRue. The film was released on March 2 ...

'' (1937) * ''

Trail of Vengeance ''Trail of Vengeance'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield, written by Fred Myton and George H. Plympton, and starring Johnny Mack Brown, Iris Meredith, Warner Richmond, Karl Hackett, Earle Hodgins and Frank LaRue. ...

'' (1937) * '' The Red Rope'' (1937) * '' Trapped'' (1937) * '' Ridin' the Lone Trail'' (1937) * ''

Arizona Gunfighter ''Arizona Gunfighter'' is a 1937 American western film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Bob Steele, Jean Carmen and Ted Adams. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. Plot Colt Ferron (Bob Steele) and his cowhand plan a hor ...

'' (1937) * '' Thunder in the Desert'' (1938) * '' The Feud Maker'' (1938) * ''

Prairie Moon ''Prairie Moon'' is a 1938 American Western film directed by Ralph Staub and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Shirley Deane. Written by Betty Burbridge and Stanley Roberts, the film is about a singing cowboy who takes care of three toug ...

'' (1938) * ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'' (1940, Serial) * ''

The Return of Frank James ''The Return of Frank James'' is a 1940 Western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. It is a sequel to Henry King's 1939 film ''Jesse James''. Written by Sam Hellman, the film loosely follows the life of Fran ...

'' (1940) * ''

Roaring Frontiers ''Roaring Frontiers'' is a 1941 American western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Tex Ritter, Wild Bill Elliott and Ruth Ford. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It is the eighth in Columbia Pictures' series of 12 ...

'' (1941) * '' The Utah Kid'' (1944)

References

External links

* 1890 births 1951 deaths American male film actors Male actors from Minnesota 20th-century American male actors Male Western (genre) film actors {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub