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Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 –
September 9, 1997) was an United States|American
actor, perhaps best known for playing The
Penguin|The Penguin on the television series
Batman (1960s TV series)|Batman. The Penguin's
trademark quacking laugh was actually Meredith's
attempt to cover up coughing fits, as his part
required him to smoke, something he had not done
in years. He admitted in an interview it sounded
more like a duck than a penguin.  

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Meredith played Rocky
Balboa's trainer Mickey in the Rocky film series,
and in his twilight years was Jack Lemmon's
character's father in Grumpy Old Men.

Burgess Meredith was adept playing both dramatic
and comedic roles.  In the famous "Time Enough at
Last", a 1959 episode of The Twilight Zone,
Meredith plays a henpecked bank teller who only
wants to be left alone with his books.  When he
takes a lunch break to read in the bank vault, he
is saved from a nuclear war that destroys the
world. However, he becomes the tragic victim of
one of The Twilight Zone 's trademark twist
endings - he breaks his glasses and cannot read
the books.

In a 1961 episode, "Mr. Dingle, the Strong",
Meredith plays a comedic role as the subject of a
space alien's experiment on human nature.  Mr.
Dingle, a small, weak man, suddenly acquires
superhuman strength.  He uses it only to win bets
and show off, and hilarity ensues.

Meredith also played the devil in "Printer's
Devil" and a doomed librarian in "The Obsolete
Man," making him the only person besides Jack
Klugman to have four starring roles in The
Twilight Zone.

He went on to play Mickey in the first three Rocky
films to great acclaim. Meredith also made a
significant contribution to the world of Christmas
films through his single-scene role as the Ancient
One, oldest and wisest of the Elves of the
Vendequm, in Santa Claus: The Movie (1985).

A somewhat more mixed (comedic/dramatic) role was
his portrayal of the philosophical (yet hapless)
tramp, Vladimir (character)|Vladimir, in a notable
production of Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

Meredith served in the United States Army Air
Force in World War II, reaching the rank of
Captain. Because of the House Committee on
Un-American Activities investigation into
Communist influence in Hollywood, Meredith was
Hollywood blacklist|blacklisted by the Hollywood
movie studio bosses in the 1950s.

Meredith died of Alzheimer's disease and melanoma
in 1997 at the age of 89. Coincidentally, his
character died in his final movie, Grumpier Old
Men.

For his contribution to the motion picture
industry, Burgess Meredith has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6904 Hollywood Blvd.


==External Links==
*imdb name|id=0580565|name=Burgess Meredith
*http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/7537/Pen
guin.htm The 1966 Batman TV Villains - Burgess
Meredith