Reliable, timely insights on global events, science, and education for informed readers.
education insights
Burgess Meredith Net Worth ·
Written by Christopher Davis — 0 Views
Oliver Burgess Meredith net worth is $3 Million
Oliver Burgess Meredith Wiki Biography
Oliver Burgess Meredith – also known as Buzz – was born on the 16th November 1907, in Cleveland, Ohio USA of British decent, and was an actor, probably best recognized for starring in the “Rocky” film series in the role of boxing trainer Mickey Goldmill. He also appeared in many other TV and film titles, such as “The Twilight Zone” (1959), Batman” (1966-1968), etc. His career was active from 1929 to 1996; he passed away in 1997.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Burgess Meredith was? It was estimated by authoritative sources that Burgess counted his net worth at the amount of $3 million, which was accumulated through his successful career as a professional actor. Another source was coming from his writing career, including from his autobiographical book “So Far, So Good” (1994).
Burgess Meredith Net Worth $3 Million
Burgess Meredith was born to Dr. William George Meredith, who worked as a physician, and Ida Beth, who was a Methodist revivalist. He spent his childhood in his hometown, Cleveland, but went to Hoosac School in Hoosick, New York. Upon matriculation in 1926, he enrolled at Amherst College, a private liberal arts college; however, he dropped out and took work in a variety of jobs. During World War II, he served in the US Army Air Force, reaching the rank of Captain before being discharged to take a role in the propaganda film “The Story of GI Joe”, both of which added to his net worth.
His acting career had begun in 1929, when he started an unpaid apprenticeship with Eva Le Gallienne’s Civic Repertory Theatre company in New York City. The following year, he made his debut appearance on Broadway in “Romeo And Juliet”, after which his popularity and success started expanding, as did his et worth. In 1935 he became a star of “Winterset”, and “The Barretts Of Wimpole Street”, starring alongside Katharine Cornell. Two years later, Burgess founded the New Stage Society and served as vice-president of Actors’ Equity. Parallel with that, he appeared in other productions, such as “High Tor” (1937), “Liliom” (1940), and later “The Playboy Of The Western World” (1946). At that time, he also started his career as a director – a theatrical adaptation of the “Nighttown” section of James Joyce’s “Ulysses”, winning a Tony Award nomination, also helping his net worth.
Speaking about his career on the screen, he debuted in a screen adaptation of “Winterset” (1936), which was followed by other appearances in such film titles as “Of Mice And Men” (1939), “The Diary Of A Chambermaid” (1946), and “Mine Own Executioner” (1947). During the next decade he featured in several TV series, including “Studio One In Hollywood” (1950), “Lights Out” (1950-1951), and “General Electric Theater” (1954-1958). In 1959, he was selected to be featured in the TV series “The Twilight Zone”, which lasted until 1963, when he earned another role, that of Vincent Marion in “77 Sunset Strip”, increasing his net worth. Furthermore, the famous director Otto Preminger liked his talent and performance, so he cast Burgess in many of his films such as “The Cardinal” (1963), “In Harm’s Way” (1965), and “Hurry Sundown” (1967). One of his most memorable roles was as trainer Mickey Goldmill in the “Rocky” film series in 1976, 1979, and 1982, and as Grandpa Gustafson in the film “Grumpy Old Men” (1993), and its sequel “Grumpier Old Men” (1995).
Additional to these, he was a director of several films and theater plays, such as “The Man On The Eiffel Tower”, “The Yin And The Yang Of Mr. Go”, among others, which also increased his net worth.
As a stage, film and television acto, and director, he was active more than six decades and had a very rich and successful career. Therefore, he was nominated for and won a number of awards such as an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1976 for “Rocky”, and in 1975 for “The Day Of The Locust”, for which he also received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. In addition to this, he won several Emmys and was the first male actor to win the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor twice.
Regarding his personal life, Burgess Meredith was married four times, firstly to Helen Derby Merrien Burgess (1932-1935), then to Margaret Perry (1936-1938), and thirdly to Paulette Goddard (1944-1949), all being actresses. In 1951 he married Kaja Sunsten, with whom he had two children and with whom he lived until passing away from melanoma and Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 89, on the 9th September 1997 in Malibu, California, USA.
Full Name
Burgess Meredith
Net Worth
$3 Million
Date Of Birth
November 16, 1907
Died
September 9, 1997, Malibu, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Height
5' 5½" (1.66 m)
Profession
Actor
Education
Amherst College, Hoosac School
Nationality
American
Spouse
Kaja Sundsten (m. 1950–1997), Goddard (m. 1944–1949), Margaret Perry (m. 1936–1938), Helen Derby (m. 1933–1935)
Children
Jonathon Meredith, Tala Meredith
Parents
Ida Beth Burgess, William George Meredith
IMDB
Awards
Saturn Award, Special Tony Award, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance By A Supporting Actor In A Comedy Or Drama Special
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
Movies
Rocky, Rocky III, Rocky II, Rocky V, Batman, Rocky Balboa, Grumpier Old Men, The Day of the Locust, Clash of the Titans, Advise & Consent, Grumpy Old Men, Foul Play, In Harm's Way, The Man on the Eiffel Tower, Second Chorus, The Story of G.I. Joe, State of Grace, A Big Hand for the Little Lady, That...
TV Shows
Gloria, Those Amazing Animals, Korg: 70,000 B.C., Search, Batman, Mr. Novak, The Big Story
#
Trademark
1
Distinctive raspy voice
#
Quote
1
[on Otto Preminger]: I haven't done anything of importance with Preminger - I just go in with him because he's a friend of mine, and he astonishes me, always. I play cameo roles, which is always a mistake. He's an amazing man - a kind of Jekyll and Hyde. In his life, he's one of the most charming, articulate and kind, loving of men, and on the set he gets foam-flecked, you know? He doesn't bother me, he won't yell at - we'll say - Fonda or Wayne, but then I was never in his films for very long.
2
Franchot Tone is nuttier than a fruitcake, so don't let the genteel frosting fool you.
3
[on his childhood] All my life, to this day, the memory of my childhood remains grim and incoherent. If I close my eyes and think back, I see little except violence and fear. In those early years, I somehow came to understand I would have to draw from within myself whatever emotional resources I needed to go wherever I was headed. As a result, for years, I became a boy who lived almost totally within himself.
4
I'll just take amusement at being a paradox.
5
Like the seasons of the year, life changes frequently and drastically. You enjoy it or endure it as it comes and goes, as it ebbs and flows.
6
I was born a character actor. I was never really a leading man type.
7
I did Batman (1966) for two reasons, one of which was the salary. The other was that, after the first few episodes, Batman became the in-thing to do. Everybody... 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. 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 TV work - was that it was fashionable.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6904 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 5, 1987.
3
Was friends with French avant-garde composer Edgard Varese (1883-1965) who wrote "Dance for Burgess" for him in 1949.
4
His father, William George Meredith, was Canadian (born in Toronto, Ontario). His mother, Ida Beth (Burgess), was from Ohio.
5
Served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and held the rank of captain by 1945.
6
Loved to cook and was a noted connoisseur of fine wine and good cuisine.
7
His father was a doctor, and his mother a Methodist revivalist.
8
After dropping out of Amherst College, Meredith held down various jobs in journalism, retail, as a clerk, and as an editor. He also had a brief spell in the merchant marine and as a runner on Wall Street.
9
Nephew of comedian and character actor, Jay "Handsome Danny Mann" Burgess (1856-1937).
10
Despite his character dying in Rocky III (1982), he has appeared in every Rocky film, as either the real character, a flashback, or through archive footage.
11
Relied on cue cards during the filming of Grumpier Old Men (1995), contributed from being in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
12
Once narrated a Gaelic Christmas Carol in English for The Chieftains on their CD "The Bells of Dublin".
13
Was offered the role of the Penguin's father in Batman Returns (1992) (which eventually went to Paul Reubens), but could not film it because of his delicate health.
14
He was fascinated by the subject of non-human intelligence, particularly dolphins. He once believed that a dolphin somehow called to him for help in the middle of the night while he was staying at a friend's home on the beach. He ran out and found the dolphin, caught in a net under a dock down the beach, although there was no way he should have been able to know it was there. He released it, saving its life. He believed it had made some sort of connection with him, perhaps telepathic, to call for help.
15
Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 406-407. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
16
Was the second choice for the role of the Penguin on Batman (1966). Producers had originally wanted Spencer Tracy in the role, but Tracy would not sign unless his character was allowed to kill Batman. Obviously, they did not want to kill the main character, so the role went to Meredith.
17
In 1960, he received a special Tony Award, along with James Thurber, for "A Thurber Carnival". He was also nominated for a 1974 Tony Award as best director (dramatic) for Ulysses in "Nighttown".
Suffered from melanoma and other ailments, including Alzheimer's disease, at the time of his death.
20
On the television series Batman (1966), he developed his grunting Penguin laugh out of necessity. Meredith had given up smoking some twenty-odd years earlier, but his character was required to smoke with a cigarette holder. The smoke would get caught in his throat and he would start coughing. Rather than constantly ruin takes in this matter, he developed the laugh to cover it up. "Actually, it was a pretty funny noise for a penguin to make," said Meredith. "I sounded more like a duck." Needless to say, Meredith gave up smoking again immediately after the series ended.
21
Had two children (with fourth wife Kaja Sundsten): Jonathon Meredith (musician) and Tala Meredith (painter).
22
His character, the Penguin, was so popular as a villain on the television series Batman (1966), the producers always had a Penguin script ready in case Meredith wanted to appear as a guest star.
23
Otto Preminger was instrumental in restoring his film career.
