Burgess Meredith Net Worth
Burgess Meredith died at 89 from melanoma skin cancer, having had an extraordinary career that spanned four decades and earned him much wealth during that time. We will explore what his net worth, family life and other interesting facts were.
Burgess Meredith was born November 9th 1907 in Cleveland Ohio to Dr. William George Meredith and Ida Beth Burgess. Following graduation he attended Amherst College but dropped out after one year to focus on acting instead. Later he joined Eva Le Gallienne’s Student Repertory stage company in New York City before eventually being discovered by dramatist Maxwell Anderson for film roles as well as Broadway performances.
He became one of the iconic actors from classic films Winterset and Romeo and Juliet, among many other roles, earning three Tony Award nominations during his illustrious acting career. Additionally, he earned praise as an award-winning theater director and producer; having directed numerous plays on Broadway.
Apart from acting, he was also an avid collector of rare books and art. Additionally, he served on the boards of trustees at both Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland Zoo as well as being actively supportive of charitable organizations by contributing funds towards various projects.
Burgess Meredith had several marriages during his life; his last being with Kaja Sundsten who passed away in 1997. They are the parents of two children – Jonathan and Tala.
He served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and achieved captain rank before being discharged. Following that conflict he resumed acting both on stage and film sets.
At one point in his Hollywood career, he worked with numerous directors such as Otto Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock. He became best-known for his performance in 1957’s The Miracle Worker as well as other movies and television shows he appeared in. Additionally, he became an outspoken opponent of HUAC due to its subpoenaings of several film industry members and celebrities.
He excelled both as an actor and director as well as an accomplished musician. From 1966-1968 he played the Penguin in Batman television series as well as its 1966 movie adaptation. Additionally he performed in several plays like Man on Eiffel Tower and Second Chorus as an actor/musician/actor and published The Red Channel novel; later that same year his memoir detailing experiences at HUAC was also published.