Born Oliver Burgess Meredith in Cleveland, OH; educated at Amherst College. Former child soprano who became a leading figure in American theater of the 1930s and made his film debut in WINTERSET (1936), reprising his earlier stage role in a play written for him by Maxwell Anderson. Versatile and highly accomplished, Meredith gave outstanding performances in OF MICE AND MEN (1939), THE STORY OF G.I. JOE (1945) and THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (1975), among others. He reached a wide audience as Sylvester Stallone's crusty trainer in ROCKY (1976) and as the monocled "Penguin" in the TV series "Batman" (1966-68). Other notable (non-nominated) screen credits include IDIOT'S DELIGHT (1939), ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962), THE CARDINAL (1963), IN HARM'S WAY (1965), HURRY SUNDOWN (1967), MACKENNA'S GOLD (1969), THE HINDENBURG (1975), FOUL PLAY and MAGIC (both 1978), CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981) and his last feature film, GRUMPIER OLD MEN (1995). He started appearing on television in 1948 and made scores of guest appearances on episodes of TV series until 1993. Meredith's distinctive, sing-song rasp was also enlisted for countless commercial voice-overs. Married to actress Paulette Goddard (1944-49). He died in 1997 of Alzheimer's disease. Visit the Internet Movie Database for a full listing of Meredith's film and TV credits.  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1975: THE DAY OF THE LOCUST  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1976: ROCKY 2 nominations