Theatre In 1929, he became a member of
Eva Le Gallienne's
Civic Repertory Theatre company in New York City. Although best known to the larger world audience for his film and television work, Meredith was an influential actor and director for the stage. He made his
Broadway debut as Peter in Le Gallienne's production of
Romeo and Juliet (1930) and became a star in
Maxwell Anderson's
Winterset (1935), which became his
film debut the following year. His early life and theatre work were the subject of a
New Yorker profile. In 1935, he starred along with
Hugh Williams at the
Martin Beck Theatre in
John Van Druten's
Flowers of the Forest. Meredith's performance in the 1935 Broadway revival of
The Barretts of Wimpole Street starring
Katharine Cornell generated enthusiastic positive reviews from a number of critics. Cornell subsequently cast him in several of her later productions. Some of Meredith's other Broadway roles included Van van Dorn in
High Tor (1937), Liliom in
Liliom (1940), Christy Mahon in
The Playboy of the Western World (1946), and Adolphus Cusins in
Major Barbara (1956). He created the role of Erie Smith in the
English-language premiere of
Eugene O'Neill's
Hughie at the
Theatre Royal in
Bath, England in 1963. He played Hamlet in
avant garde theatrical and radio productions of the play. A distinguished theater director, Meredith earned a
Tony Award nomination for his 1974 Broadway staging of
Ulysses in Nighttown, a theatrical adaptation of the "Nighttown" section of
James Joyce's
Ulysses. Meredith also shared a
Special Tony Award with
James Thurber for their collaboration on
A Thurber Carnival (1960). In the late 1970s, he directed
Fionnula Flanagan's one-woman multi-role play ''
James Joyce's Women'', which toured for several years.
Film '' (1943). Burgess Meredith's stage performances attracted the attention of several Hollywood film producers. Unlike most other movie actors, Meredith never signed a long-term contract with a single studio, preferring to work on individual film projects. Also, unlike some other former stage actors, Meredith successfully adjusted his performances to the film medium. Instead of playing to the audience in the balcony, Meredith now played to the camera, with his performances more controlled and intimate. This gave his screen characters great sensitivity, as he demonstrated in three bravura performances for which he is remembered: as Mio Romagna in
Winterset (1936); as
George Milton in
Of Mice and Men (1939); and as
Ernie Pyle in
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945). He starred only occasionally in pictures, as in
San Francisco Docks (1940, as a longshoreman accused of murder) and
Street of Chance (1942, as an amnesiac who may have been a killer). Meredith was featured in many 1940s films, including three co-starring his then-wife
Paulette Goddard:
Second Chorus (1940),
Diary of a Chambermaid (1946), and
On Our Merry Way (1948). As a result of the
House Committee on Un-American Activities investigation, Meredith was placed on the
Hollywood blacklist and was largely absent from film for the next decade, though he remained involved in stage plays and radio during this time. Meredith was a favorite of director
Otto Preminger, who cast him in
Advise and Consent (1962),
The Cardinal (1963), ''
In Harm's Way (1965), Hurry Sundown (1967), Skidoo (1968), and Such Good Friends (1971). He was acclaimed by critics for his performance as Harry Greener in The Day of the Locust'' (1975) and received nominations for the
BAFTA,
Golden Globe, and
Academy Award for best supporting actor. Meredith then played
Rocky Balboa's trainer
Mickey Goldmill in the first three
Rocky films (1976, 1979, and 1982). Though his character died in the third
Rocky film, Meredith returned briefly in a flashback in the fifth film,
Rocky V (1990). His portrayal in the first film earned him his second consecutive nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Meredith had a role in
Foul Play (1978) with
Chevy Chase and
Goldie Hawn. He played an old
Korean War veteran Captain J. G. Williams in
The Last Chase (1981) with
Lee Majors. He appeared in
Ray Harryhausen's last stop-motion feature
Clash of the Titans (also 1981) in a supporting role. Meredith appeared in
Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) and was the voice of Golobulus in
G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987). In his last years, he played
Jack Lemmon's character's sex-crazed 95-year-old father in
Grumpy Old Men (1993) and its sequel,
Grumpier Old Men (1995). In 1970, he directed, co-wrote, and played a supporting role in)
The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go, an espionage caper starring
James Mason and
Jeff Bridges.
Television '' episode "
Time Enough at Last" Meredith appeared in four episodes of the anthology TV series
The Twilight Zone, tying him with
Jack Klugman for the most appearances on the show in a starring role. In his first appearance in 1959 in "
Time Enough at Last", Meredith portrayed a henpecked bookworm who finds himself the sole survivor of an unspecified apocalypse that leads him to contemplate suicide until he discovers the ruins of the library. In 1961's "
Mr. Dingle, the Strong", Meredith played the title character, a timid weakling who receives superhuman strength from an
extraterrestrial experiment in human nature. Also that year in "
The Obsolete Man", Meredith portrayed a librarian sentenced to death in a
dystopic totalitarian society. Lastly, in 1963's "
Printer's Devil", Meredith portrayed the
Devil himself. Meredith later played two additional roles in
Rod Serling's other anthology series,
Night Gallery. Meredith was the narrator for
Twilight Zone: The Movie in 1983. Meredith also appeared in various
western series, such as
Rawhide (four times),
The Virginian (twice),
Wagon Train,
Branded,
The Wild Wild West,
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters,
Laredo,
Bonanza, and
Daniel Boone. In 1963, he appeared as Vincent Marion in a five-part episode of the last season of the
Warner Bros. ABC detective series
77 Sunset Strip. In 1992, Meredith narrated
The Chaplin Puzzle, a television documentary that provides a rare insight into
Charles Chaplin's work
circa 1914 at
Keystone Studios and
Essanay, where Chaplin developed his
Tramp character. Coincidentally, Meredith married actress
Paulette Goddard in 1944 following her divorce from Chaplin. == Military service ==