Burgess Meredith the Penguin's father in the 1992 Tim Burton film "Batman Returns", but illness prevented him from appearing and the role was taken by Paul Reubens. Meredith was married four times. His first wife, Helen Derby Merrien Burgess, was the daughter of Harry L. Derby, president of the American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation; she took her life after their divorce. His next two wives were actresses, Margaret Perry and Paulette Goddard. Goddard had a miscarriage in 1944. His last marriage, to Kaja Sundsten, lasted 46 years and produced two children—Jonathon (a musician) and Tala (a painter). Meredith was a lifelong Democrat
Burgess Meredith Theater Royal in Bath, England in 1963. He played Hamlet in "avant garde" theatrical and radio productions of the play. A distinguished theatre director, he won 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 seventies, he directed Fionnula Flanagan's one-woman multi-role play "James Joyce's Women," which toured for several years. Early in his career, Meredith attracted favorable attention, especially for playing George in