What Was Burgess Meredith's Net Worth?
Burgess Meredith was an actor and director who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of his death in 1997. Burgess Meredith worked in film, television, theater, and radio in a career spanning seven decades. Among his numerous notable credits are the films "Of Mice and Men," "The Story of G.I. Joe," "The Day of the Locust," and "Rocky," and the television series "The Twilight Zone," "Batman," "Search," and "Gloria." On stage, Meredith appeared in such productions as "The Threepenny Opera," "Winterset," "Liliom," and "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker."
Early Life and Education
Oliver Burgess Meredith was born on November 16, 1907, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the son of Ida and William Meredith. His mother hailed from a long line of Methodist revivalists, influencing his lifelong adherence to the religion. Meredith was educated at Hoosac School in New York and then at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
Theater Career
Meredith began his acting career on stage. In 1929, he became a member of Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre in New York, and the following year made his Broadway debut in Le Gallienne's production of "Romeo and Juliet." Meredith subsequently appeared in such plays as "Siegfried," "Liliom," and "The Threepenny Opera." In 1935, he had his career breakthrough as the star of Maxwell Anderson's Broadway play "Winterset." Also that year, Burgess gained recognition for his roles in "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" and "Flowers of the Forest." He subsequently appeared in Maxwell Anderson's plays "High Tor" and "The Star-Wagon."
In the 1940s, Meredith acted in another production of "Liliom," this time as the titular character. The next decade, he appeared in "The Fourposter," "The Teahouse of the August Moon," and "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker," among other plays. In the 1960s, Burgess originated the role of Erie in Eugene O'Neill's short play "Hughie." Beyond acting, he also directed plays, including the 1960 revue "A Thurber Carnival," the 1974 Broadway production of "Ulysses in Nighttown," and Fionnula Flanagan's one-woman play "James Joyce's Women." For "Ulysses in Nighttown," Meredith received a Tony Award nomination.
Getty
Film Career
Meredith made his film debut in 1936's "Winterset," based on the Broadway play he had starred in the previous year. Later in the decade, he gained recognition for playing George Milton in the acclaimed 1939 adaptation of John Steinbeck's novella "Of Mice and Men." Burgess went on to act in numerous films in the 1940s, including "Second Chorus," "That Uncertain Feeling," "Street of Chance," "The Story of G.I. Joe," "Mine Own Executioner," and "On Our Merry Way." Kicking off the 1950s, Meredith directed, as well as starred in, "The Man on the Eiffel Tower." However, not long after that, he was placed on the Hollywood blacklist and didn't appear in movies for a while. In his first role back in Hollywood, Burgess starred as the titular Japanese character in the comedy "Joe Butterfly." He subsequently narrated the Academy Award-winning documentary "Albert Schweitzer." In the early 1960s, Meredith appeared in the political drama "Advise & Consent," based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The film was his first of six directed by Otto Preminger, with the others being "The Cardinal" (1963), "In Harm's Way" (1965), "Hurry Sundown" (1967), "Skidoo" (1968), and "Such Good Friends" (1971). Meredith's other notable credits in the '60s included "Madame X," "Torture Garden," "Stay Away, Joe," and "Hard Contract."
Burgess began the 1970s with roles in "There Was a Crooked Man…" and "The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go," the latter of which he also wrote and directed. He subsequently appeared in such titles as "Clay Pigeon," "The Man," and "Golden Needles." Meredith gave one of his most acclaimed performances in John Schlesinger's 1975 film "The Day of the Locust," earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as ex-vaudevillian Harry Greener. He received a second consecutive nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as boxing trainer Mickey Goldmill in the 1976 Best Picture winner "Rocky." Meredith would reprise his role in the sequels "Rocky II" and "Rocky III." In the meantime, he appeared in such films as "The Sentinel," "Foul Play," "The Great Bank Hoax," and "Magic." Meredith's credits in the 1980s included "The Last Chase," "Clash of the Titans," and "Full Moon in Blue Water." In the 1990s, he appeared in "Oddball Hall," "State of Grace," and "Camp Nowhere," and played the sex-crazed nonagenarian father of Jack Lemmon's character in "Grumpy Old Men" and "Grumpier Old Men." The latter film, released in 1995, would be Meredith's last.
Burgess Meredith in 1985. (Photo by Oscar Abolafia/TPLP/Getty Images)
Television Career
Meredith had his first major television role narrating the NBC crime drama series "The Big Story" from 1955 until its conclusion in 1958. After that, he starred in his first of four episodes of the anthology series "The Twilight Zone." Burgess made guest appearances on many shows in the 1960s, including the Westerns "Rawhide," "Wagon Train," "The Loner," and "Bonanza." He also appeared in the second season of the NBC drama "Mr. Novak," and he played the villainous Penguin on ABC's "Batman."
In the early 1970s, Meredith was in episodes of "Room 222," "Mannix," and "McCloud," and he starred in the science-fiction fantasy series "Search." From 1974 to 1975, he narrated the Saturday morning series "Korg: 70,000 B.C." Burgess had a notable role in 1977 as real-life lawyer Joseph Welch in the television film "Tail Gunner Joe." The year after that, he starred in the miniseries "The Return of Captain Nemo" and voiced Puff in the first animated adaptation of the Peter, Paul, and Mary song "Puff the Magic Dragon." He reprised his role as Puff in the two sequels. Among Meredith's later notable television credits was the short-lived CBS sitcom "Gloria," which ran from 1982 to 1983.
Personal Life and Death
Burgess was married a total of four times. His first wife was Helen Derby, to whom he was wed from 1933 until their divorce in 1935. Meredith was subsequently married to actress Margaret Perry from 1936 until their divorce in 1938. His third wife was actress Paulette Goddard; they were married from 1944 until their divorce in 1949. The pair starred in a few movies together. Burgess wed his fourth and final wife, Kaja Sundsten, in 1950. They had two children, Jonathan and Tala, and remained together for 46 years.
On September 9, 1997, Meredith passed away in Malibu, California, from complications of Alzheimer's and melanoma. He was 89 years old.
Malibu House
For over two decades, up to his death, Burgess owned an oceanfront mansion in Malibu's exclusive Malibu Colony gated community. Two years after his death, in July 1999, his estate sold the home for $4 million. That's the same as around $7.5 million in today's dollars. Today, this property, which has 50 feet of ocean frontage, would be worth $50+ million.
