Burgess Meredith

Although best known to the larger world audience for his film and television work, Meredith was an influential actor and director for the stage. He made his Broadway debut as Peter in Le Gallienne's production of Romeo and Juliet (1930) and became a star in Maxwell Anderson's Winterset (1935), which became his film debut the following year. His early life and theatre work were the subject of a New Yorker profile. Read Less

Meredith was featured in many 1940s films, including three -- Second Chorus (1940), Diary of a Chambermaid (1946) and On Our Merry Way (1948) -- co-starring then-wife Paulette Goddard. He also played alongside Lana Turner in Madame X.

As a result of the House Committee on Un-American Activities investigation into Communist influence in Hollywood, Meredith was placed on the Hollywood blacklist, resulting in a seven-year drought of work.

Meredith was a favorite of director Otto Preminger, who cast him in Advise and Consent (1962), In Harm's Way (1965), Hurry Sundown (1967),Stay Away Joe (1968) as Elvis Presley's character's father, Skidoo (1968) and Such Good Friends (1971). He was the Penguin in the Batman movie of 1966 based on the TV series. Meredith played Rocky Balboa's trainer, Mickey Goldmill, in the first three Rocky films (1976, 1979 and 1982), to great acclaim. Even though his character died in the third Rocky film, he returned briefly in the fifth film, Rocky V (1990). He played an old Korean War veteran Captain J.G. Williams in The Last Chase with Lee Majors. He appeared in Ray Harryhausen's last stop-motion feature Clash of the Titans (1981), in a supporting role. Read Less