Burgess Meredith

format_quote I did 'Batman' 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.

stars  Was offered the part of The Penguin's father in Batman Returns (1992) (which eventually went to Paul Reubens), but couldn't film it because of his delicate health.

stars  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.

stars  Was the second choice for "The Penguin" role in _"Batman" (1966/II)_. Producers had originally wanted Spencer Tracy in the role, but Tracy wouldn't 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.

stars  On the _"Batman" (1966/II)_ TV series, 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.

stars  Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 406-407. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.