The Penguin
Burgess Meredith

The Penguin, a super criminal who had an affection for umbrellas. He loved to eavesdrop on conversations with hidden bugs and waddled and quacked all the while giving Batman and Robin fits.

Burgess Meredith played The Penguin in the series. He was one of the most used and loved villains, appearing in 10 episodes of the series. He was so popular with the series, they had a script always waiting for him if he happened to come into town.

Heh, Heh .Heh ,Quack, Quack,
Well the Dynamic Duo, their faces
completely covered with penguin
egg. Heh, Heh, Heh. (107KB)

In an interview about why he decided to do Batman, Burgess said, " I did Batman for two reasons, one of which was salary. The other was that, after its first few episodes, Batman became the in-thing to do. Everybody including Frank Sinatra would either play a villain or appear as himself in that cameo showcase where a celebrity would poke his head through the window of a building that Batman and Robin were climbing. I even remember Otto Preminger saying to me, "My god, My son won't speak to me unless I get a job on Batman" Eventually, he got in ! Actually, we didn't get as much money from the show as you might think, although we were paid decent money for the feature film version. The main impetus to continue appearing on Batman - beyond the desire to get some T.V. work - was that it was fashionable." He also appeared in the feature film. There are few actors that have racked up as many performances as Burgess. He made his film debut in the 1936 film Winterset, a young man out to clear his parents name. He appeared in more than thirty films and television before joining the caped crusaders. In addition to Batman, he also appeared on The Twilight Zone, The Monkeys, and The Wild Wild West during that time. One of his trademarks on the show was his penguin noises, quack, quack, quack. The story behind these was not something he thought up for the character rather, he has stopped smoking and he did that to cover his coughs ! After the Batman series, he didn't slow down a bit appearing in over 70 television or movie roles. Who could forget his advise to Rocky or his most recent , Grumpier Old Men in 1995.

Burgess Meredith dies at 89

Stallone: He was 'irreplaceable legend'

September 10, 1997

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Burgess Meredith, the raspy-voiced character actor best known for his portrayal of the gruff boxing manager in the "Rocky" movies, has died at his home in Malibu, California. He was 89.

Meredith, who died Tuesday, had been suffering from melanoma and Alzheimer's disease, said his son, Jonathan.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and educated at Amherst College in Massachusetts, Meredith's film and theater career spanned seven decades. His stage debut came in 1933 in New York, and his screen debut, at 26, was in the 1936 drama "Winterset," recreating a role he had played on Broadway. He would go on to appear in nearly 70 movies, mostly in supporting roles.

But it was as Rocky's boxing trainer, Mickey, for which he will probably be best remembered. He received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor in 1976 for his work in the original movie, and he reprised the character in three of the four "Rocky" sequels.

"Burgess Meredith always was ... an irreplaceable legend, a craftsman who rarely comes along, not (one) in a generation but in several generations," Sylvester Stallone said. "I thank him for his performance in 'Rocky' because I truly feel without his participation in the film, it would never have had its emotion core."

In addition to his Oscar nomination for "Rocky," Meredith was also nominated for the best supporting actor in 1975 for his work in "Day of the Locust." He didn't win either time.

In Hollywood, Meredith was known for having a tempestuous personality. In his 1994 autobiography, "So Far, So Good," he wrote that his violent mood swings were diagnosed as an illness called cyclothymia.

He was married four times, including a brief union with film star Paulette Goddard, with whom he starred in the 1940 film "Second Chorus." His other wives included Helen Derby, actress Margaret Perry and dancer Kaja Sundsten.

Meredith starred in the 1939 film version of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and as the Penguin in the 1966 "Batman" movie. He went on to play that role in the subsequent television series, approaching the character with his usual thoroughness.

"I waddled like a penguin, which seemed rather obvious to do. The touch I liked was that peculiar penguinlike quack I use in my lines," he said.

In his later years, he was often cast as an elderly curmudgeon. He played Jack Lemmon's father in the 1993 comedy "Grumpy Old Men" and its 1995 sequel, "Grumpier Old Men."

"Burgess was not only a marvelous actor, he was one of the dearest human beings I ever knew," Lemmon said. "I will miss him terribly, as will everyone who was ever fortunate enough to know him."

His quirky voice also led to voice-over work in television commercials, including pitches for Untied Air Lines and Skippy peanut butter.

Meredith's fourth wife, his son and daughter were with him when he died. Funeral services were pending, and the body was to be cremated.

 

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