Burgess Meredith

Born
November 16, 1907 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Died
September 9, 1997 · Malibu, California, USA (melanoma and Alzheimer's disease)
Birth name
Oliver Burgess Meredith
Nickname
- Buzz
Height
5′ 5½″ (1.66 m)

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.
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.
Relied on cue cards during the filming of Grumpier Old Men (1995), attributed to his being in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
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.
Served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II and held the rank of captain by 1945.

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.
I was born a character actor. I was never really a leading man type.
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.
I'll just take amusement at being a paradox.
[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.