Cautionary tale of two actors and their careers

Meeker's career started with two highly praised stage performances Hal in Picnic and Stanley in Streetcar. He had some supporting roles and did one noir film but never achieved "leading man" status. Bridges had a lot of work and probably died content with his career arc and family legacy. He had fun spoofing his actor status towards the end.
The more compelling actor Meeker drank himself into a stroke and a bitter pitiful fade out. Two actors- two completely different destinies.