Burgess Meredith - From Rocky to Grumpy Old Man

Burgess Meredith in Rocky (1976)

Burgess Meredith – From Rocky to Grumpy Old Man

Burgess Meredith was born in 1907 in Ohio. Meredith attended Amherst College but left and worked in various jobs. In 1929, he joined Eva Le Gallienne’s Student Repertory company. By 1934, he debuted on Broadway and did quite well.

Meredith began working in film with The Scoundrel (1935). He continued with pre-war films such as There Goes the Groom (1937), Of Mice and Men (1939), which was one of his greatest roles, Idiot’s Delight (1939), San Francisco Docks (1940), Castle on the Hudson (1940), which should be a West Point movie but is, in fact, a prison film.

During World War II, Meredith was in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He worked in the information office and later made propaganda and training films. He ended his service with the rank of Captain. For the Army, Meredith was in The Rear Gunner (Short) (1943) and Salute to France (Short) (1944).

Meredith continued after the war narrating A Walk in the Sun (1945), as beloved journalist Ernie Pyle in Story of G.I. Joe (1945), The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946), The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949), which he allegedly directed, and a cameo in Jigsaw (1949).

It is disputed whether his career was affected by HUAC. He did hit the ground running in the 1960s. Meredith’s role in Advise & Consent (1962) was highly praised. A few of my favorites on his include In Harm’s Way (1965), Batman (1966), and A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966). Other movies include Hurry Sundown (1967), The Reivers (1969), Mackenna’s Gold (1969), There Was a Crooked Man… (1970), Clay Pigeon (1971), and The Master Gunfighter (1975), which should have been the most fantastic movie ever, but wasn’t.

His more recent films include playing Mickey in Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), and Rocky V (1990). In Foul Play (1978), Meredith was hilarious and helped the hero in Clash of the Titans (1981). He reconnected with the “Twilight Zone” narrating Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), played an ancient elf in Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), and is beloved for Grumpy Old Men (1993) and Grumpier Old Men (1995).

Meredith was prolific on television as well. He played the principal on the popular television show “Mr. Novak” for the 1965 season. On “Batman” 1966-1968, Meredith played the Penguin twenty-one times (the same role as mentioned above in Batman (1966). He also appeared in 1968 as the Penguin on “The Monkees” television show. Meredith was on “The Twilight Zone” television show four times between 1959 and 1963. This includes the famous episode where he just wanted to read. After surviving a nuclear attack, he was in paradise until he broke his glasses.

Burgess Meredith at 89 in 1997. “He’ll kill yuh to death inside of three rounds! as Mickey in Rocky III”