Remembering Burgess Meredith

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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Dr. Shimel
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Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Dr. Shimel »

Fifteen years ago today, Burgess Meredith died at the age of 89.
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Turkey Bowinkle
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Turkey Bowinkle »

Just caught him tonight on MeTV's Night Gallery Marathon in the episode "Finnegan's Flight". He was great in another NG episode "Little Black Bag".
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Pengy
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Pengy »

A terrific actor and the best Penguin ever. Love him.
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batdom28
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by batdom28 »

He was a great actor, and person.. He will always be remembered
chetchumley
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by chetchumley »

i always wondered why...of all the major BAT-VILLAINS,,,,he was the one who was ever hardly at????? reunions,,,,,talk shows,,,,,etc,,,game shows,,etc,,,would have loved to hear more of his thoughts on the T.V. show and 1989 MOVIE !!
Gaffzilla
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Gaffzilla »

I was 12 in 1966 and for me he IS the Penguin..., he made the role his own and played it hilariously, though at 12 years old it was all deadly serious. He gave me many magical childhood memories bless him, I always smile to myself when I see him on screen. My favourite line?: "Here comes the Bride, all bagged and tied..."
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jokers moll
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by jokers moll »

What I love most about Burgess was his extreme versatility as an actor. Who else can say they've been in Of Mice and Men, Batman, and Puff the Magic Dragon? He could do everything.
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Dr. Shimel
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Dr. Shimel »

jokers moll wrote:What I love most about Burgess was his extreme versatility as an actor. Who else can say they've been in Of Mice and Men, Batman, and Puff the Magic Dragon? He could do everything.
Don't forget "The Monkees"--in a cameo AS THE PENGUIN!
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Pengy
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Pengy »

chetchumley wrote:i always wondered why...of all the major BAT-VILLAINS,,,,he was the one who was ever hardly at????? reunions,,,,,talk shows,,,,,etc,,,game shows,,etc,,,would have loved to hear more of his thoughts on the T.V. show and 1989 MOVIE !!
I always thought it was because he was a busy actor. No offense to the other actors but Burgess had a thriving career before and after the show. It also could have been because he was not into things like that.

Though he was at the re-release of the 1966 movie in 1989 wasn't he, when it was re-released as part of the Batmania sensation the 1989 Tim Burton movie was causing. That's where this is from isn't it:

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SprangFan
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by SprangFan »

Only Mr Meredith knew for sure why he didn't do fan conventions (though I'm not sure Romero ever did, either), but I always got the impression he really enjoyed the Penguin character and at the very least he never seemed ashamed of his work on the show.

As a kid, I thought he was fabulous, though I confess I was more a Joker man. Penguin showed up too often, I thought at the time, and Gorshin's Riddler I just didn't "get" until I was older (now he's probably my favorite).

The biggest impact Burgess Meredith had on me as a youngster came from his other work: first, there was his legendary turn on the Twilight Zone episode, "Time Enough At Last," which totally freaked me out and haunts me to this day. Then there was his work in "Magic," opposite Anthony Hopkins, which scared the bejeebers out of me.

Last month I saw a short feature on the DVD of Errol Flynn's "Northern Pursuit." It was called "Rear Gunner" and told the story of a simple, shrimpy country boy who ends up helping the war effort by becoming an ace tail gunner on an American bomber. And who should it turn out to be but Burgess Meredith, very young but already adding actorly touches in a halting, quirky delivery that brings a depth to the character that sure wasn't in the script. And as an added bonus, the officer who flies his plane -- and gives him his big break as an aspiring gunner -- turns out to be Ronald Reagan! Fun stuff.
"You were right again, Batman. We might have been killed."
"Or worse. Let's go..."
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SprangFan
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by SprangFan »

Update:

Just realized the movie I mentioned, "Rear Gunner" can be viewed in its entirety on Burgess Meredith's Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgess_Meredith

I also see from this entry that Burgess was married to Paulette Goddard, which makes him my hero because that gal was gorgeous (and funny too, a great combination).
"You were right again, Batman. We might have been killed."
"Or worse. Let's go..."
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Turkey Bowinkle
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Turkey Bowinkle »

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I made this small bust in honor of Burgess Meredith as the Penguin at the time of his death.
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RetroBat
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by RetroBat »

SprangFan wrote:As a kid, I thought he was fabulous, though I confess I was more a Joker man. Penguin showed up too often, I thought at the time, and Gorshin's Riddler I just didn't "get" until I was older (now he's probably my favorite).
Back in the ninties when the channel FX was like Nick at Night, one of the host said that Burgess Meredith would begged the producers to come on the show more often. Personally, the Penguin was my favorite villians on the show. I love the way he said, "Wak! Wak! Wak!" But I do agree that Frank Gorshin as the Riddler was brilliant! The episodes with John Astin as the Riddler--he acted more like Gomez Addams dressed up on Halloween.
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Space Ghost
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Space Ghost »

Another one of the Greats from the Batman show. I would of loved to of met Burgess.
You're Never Too Old to have a Happy Childhood
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Dr. Shimel
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Re: Remembering Burgess Meredith

Post by Dr. Shimel »

RetroBat wrote:
SprangFan wrote:As a kid, I thought he was fabulous, though I confess I was more a Joker man. Penguin showed up too often, I thought at the time, and Gorshin's Riddler I just didn't "get" until I was older (now he's probably my favorite).
Back in the ninties when the channel FX was like Nick at Night, one of the host said that Burgess Meredith would begged the producers to come on the show more often. Personally, the Penguin was my favorite villians on the show. I love the way he said, "Wak! Wak! Wak!" But I do agree that Frank Gorshin as the Riddler was brilliant! The episodes with John Astin as the Riddler--he acted more like Gomez Addams dressed up on Halloween.
The story I heard was that the producers had a Penguin script ready to go in the event he was going to be in town.
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