Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 - September 9, 1997) was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing the Penguin on the television series Batman and Rocky Balboa's trainer in the Rocky film series.
Burgess Meredith was adept playing both dramatic and comedic roles. In Time Enough at Last, a 1959 episode of The Twilight Zone, Meredith plays a henpecked bank teller who only wants to be left alone with his books. When he takes a lunch break to read in the bank vault, he is saved from a nuclear war that destroys the world. However, he becomes the tragic victim of one of The Twilight Zone 's trademark twist endings - he breaks his glasses and cannot read the books.
In a 1961 episode, Mr. Dingle, the Strong, Meredith plays a comedic role as the subject of a space alien's experiment on human nature. Mr. Dingle, a small, weak man, suddenly acquires superhuman strength. He uses it only to win bets and show off, and hilarity ensues.
Meredith died of Alzheimer's disease in 1997.