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 a 1939 adaptation of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and as war correspondent Ernie Pyle in "The Story of G.I. Joe" (1945). He was featured in many 1940s films, including three — "Second Chorus" (1940), "Diary of a Chambermaid" (1946), and "On Our Merry Way" (1948) — co-starring his then-wife Paulette Goddard. 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