Lee Meriwether (original) (raw)

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American actress and former model

Lee Meriwether
Meriwether in 2008
Born	Lee Ann Meriwether (1935-05-27) May 27, 1935 (age 89)Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	City College of San Francisco
Occupations	Actressmodel
Years active	1954–2020
Known for	Barnaby Jones Batman The Time Tunnel
Title	Miss San Francisco 1954Miss California 1954Miss America 1955
Predecessor	Evelyn Margaret Ay
Successor	Sharon Ritchie
Spouses	Frank Aletter ​ ​(m. 1958; div. 1974)​ Marshall Borden ​(m. 1986)​
Children	2
Website	leemeriwether.com

Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935)[1] is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the 1955 Miss America pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daughter-in-law in the 1970s crime drama Barnaby Jones starring Buddy Ebsen. The role earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations in 1975 and 1976, and an Emmy Award nomination in 1977. She is also known for her portrayal of Catwoman, replacing Julie Newmar in the theatrical film Batman (1966), and for a co-starring role on the science fiction series The Time Tunnel. Meriwether had a recurring role as Ruth Martin on the daytime soap opera All My Children until the end of the series in September 2011.

Meriwether was born in Los Angeles, California, to Claudius Gregg Meriwether and Ethel Eve Mulligan. She has one brother, Don Brett Meriwether. She grew up in San Francisco after the family moved there from Phoenix, Arizona. She attended George Washington High School, where one of her classmates was Johnny Mathis. She later attended City College of San Francisco, where one of her classmates was fellow actor Bill Bixby.[2]

After winning Miss San Francisco, Meriwether won Miss California 1954,[3] then was crowned Miss America in 1955 with her recital of a John Millington Synge monologue. She then appeared that Sunday on What's My Line?, hosted by John Charles Daly (who also emceed the pageant that year). [4] Following her reign as Miss America, she joined the Today show.[5]

An August 1, 1956, international news wirephoto of Meriwether and Joe DiMaggio announced their engagement. According to DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer, however, it was a rumor started by Walter Winchell.[6]

Meriwether was a "Today Girl" on NBC's The Today Show from 1955 to 1956. Her feature film debut came in 1959 as Linda Davis in 4D Man, starring Robert Lansing. She appears in The Phil Silvers Show episode, "Cyrano de Bilko".

Publicity photo for The Today Show (1955)

In 1961, Meriwether guest starred once as Gloria in the episode "Buddy and the Amazon" on her first husband's (Frank Aletter) one-season CBS sitcom, Bringing Up Buddy. She also appeared in Leave It To Beaver episode "Community Chest" in season four. In 1962, she was cast as Martha Elweiss in the episode "My Child Is Yet a Stranger" on the CBS anthology series, The Lloyd Bridges Show. She played Nurse Dickens in a 1962 episode of the ABC sitcom, I'm Dickens, He's Fenster. From 1963 to 1965, she was cast in different roles in eight episodes of the NBC medical drama, Dr. Kildare. In 1964, she played the character Jeanelle in "This Is Going to Hurt Me More Than It Hurts You" on the CBS adventure series, Route 66. In 1965, she appeared in an episode on The Jack Benny Program as The Secretary. In a 1965 episode of 12 O'Clock High, "Mutiny at Ten Thousand Feet", she played Lieutenant Amy Patterson, and in the episodes "The Idolator" (also 1965) and "The Outsider" (1966), she played Captain Phyllis Vincent. She also guest starred in the season 2 episode "Big Brother". She was a regular on the single season science fiction television series The Time Tunnel with James Darren and Robert Colbert in 1966–1967.

Meriwether in a publicity photo for The Time Tunnel (1966)

Meriwether as Catwoman in the film Batman (1966) replacing Julie Newmar, who originated the role in the television series.

Meriwether appeared as Dr. Egret on the NBC series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ("The Mad, Mad Tea Party", 1965) and in an episode of Hazel ("How to Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Minutes", also 1965) she played Miss Wilson, the owner of an exercise studio. Meriwether portrayed The Catwoman for the Batman movie (1966), and also appeared in two episodes of the Batman TV series in 1967 as Lisa Carson, a love interest to Bruce Wayne in the episodes "King Tut's Coup" and "Batman's Waterloo". In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she had guest starring roles in numerous TV series, including The Fugitive, Mannix, Star Trek episode "That Which Survives" (1969), Perry Mason episodes #245 "The Case of the Cheating Chancellor" and "The Case of the Frustrated Folksinger" (both 1965), and the F Troop episode "O'Rourke vs. O'Reilly".

In films, Meriwether joined John Wayne and Rock Hudson for The Undefeated,[7] and Andy Griffith in Angel in My Pocket (both 1969).[8] In the same year as those two films, she played IMF spy Tracey in six Mission: Impossible episodes during season four after Barbara Bain's departure.

Meriwether co-starred in two productions with Andy Griffith: the movie Angel in My Pocket (1968) and the short-lived sitcom The New Andy Griffith Show (1971).

Meriwether began her award-nominated role as secretary and daughter-in-law Betty Jones in the 1973–1980 CBS series Barnaby Jones, opposite Buddy Ebsen.[9] During the series' eight-year run she enjoyed an on- and off-screen chemistry with the elder Ebsen.[7] During the series' run, she was reunited with her former classmate and best friend Bill Bixby during one episode. After her stint on Barnaby Jones, Meriwether became best friends with Ebsen, keeping in touch for many years until his death on July 6, 2003. She starred in the 1978 television movies True Grit: A Further Adventure with Warren Oates as Rooster Cogburn and Cruise Into Terror with an all-star ensemble cast, appeared on Circus of the Stars four times, and was a regular panelist on the game show Match Game.

Meriwether portrayed Lily Munster in the 1988–1991 revival of the 1960s television sitcom The Munsters, titled The Munsters Today, in which she starred alongside Jason Marsden, John Schuck, Howard Morton and Hilary Van Dyke.[7] She also made several guest appearances on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

In the 1990s, she appeared as herself on an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In 1993, she guest starred on Murder, She Wrote, episode "Ship of Thieves". In 1996, Meriwether took over for Mary Fickett in the role of Ruth Martin on the soap opera All My Children, Fickett having played the role since its inception in 1970.[10] After twenty-six years, Fickett wanted to go into semi-retirement as a recurring cast member. Negotiations with the network broke down and Meriwether was cast as Ruth Martin. In 1998, ABC deemed that they were at an impasse with Meriwether's agents and Mary Fickett was brought back as a recurring cast member. Fickett retired again, this time for good in December 2000. ABC decided to bring back the character of Ruth Martin in 2002, but Fickett remained in retirement. Meriwether was hence brought back and remained a featured recurring performer on the show until it ended.

Meriwether in 2005

In 2002, she appeared in the documentary film Miss America. In 2003, Meriwether appeared in the TV-Movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. She also appeared off-Broadway in the interactive comedy, Grandma Sylvia's Funeral. She voiced Big Mama in the video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PlayStation 3. She also appears in one of the game's opening videos as a talkshow host having an interview with David Hayter, who voices Solid Snake in the game.[11] In 2006, she joined James Garner, Abigail Breslin, Bill Cobbs and others in The Ultimate Gift. In 2008, Meriwether had a brief cameo as comic book character Battle Diva in the episode "Harper Knows" of the Disney Channel original series Wizards of Waverly Place. In 2010, she was once again reunited on screen with Hollywood veteran Bill Cobbs in No Limit Kids: Much Ado About Middle School. She voices President Winters in the video game Vanquish by PlatinumGames.[12]

Meriwether continued to work on stage, television, game voice-overs, and feature films. She has made guest appearances on Desperate Housewives, Hawaii Five-0, The League, and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. Most recently, she revisited her role as Miss Hastings in the sequel/prequel to The Ultimate Gift, The Ultimate Life (2013), directed by Michael Landon Jr.[13] She is also starring in the short film Kitty.

She also makes appearances at Comic Cons where she speaks about her roles in Batman, Star Trek, and Time Tunnel.[14]

On April 20, 1958, Meriwether married Frank Aletter. They had two daughters, actresses Kyle Aletter-Oldham and Lesley A. Aletter, and divorced in 1974. On September 21, 1986, Meriwether married Marshall Borden.[15][16]

• 1975 Golden Globe Award nomination, Best TV Actress (Drama)
• 1976 Golden Globe Award nomination, Best TV Actress (Drama)
• 1977 Emmy Award nomination, Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

1. ^ "Almanac". The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. May 27, 2023. p. A3. ProQuest 2820801879. Today's Birthdays: Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is 100. Author John Barth is 93. Actor Lee Meriwether is 88. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 87. See also:
   • "Almanac". The Hartford Courant. May 27, 1988. p. C6. ProQuest 1469627269. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is 65. Actress Lee Meriwether is 53. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 52.
2. ^ Bergman, Julia; Mathes, Valerie Sherer; White, Austin (2010). City College of San Francisco: The Campus History Series. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. X. ISBN 978-1-4396-2526-2. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
3. ^ "Miss California History". Miss California. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
4. ^ "What's My Line? - Lee Meriwether; Alfred Hitchcock (Sep 12, 1954)". YouTube.
5. ^ Erickson, Hal (2012). "Lee Meriwether Biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
6. ^ Cramer, Richard Ben (May 2000). Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 376–378. ISBN 978-0-6848-5391-8.
7. ^ a b c King, Susan (August 19, 2013). "There she is .... Lee Meriwether". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
8. ^ Michalski, Jennifer (December 13, 2013). "Where Are They Now: The 22 Most Influential Former Beauty Queens". Business Insider. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
9. ^ Fakuda, Eiko; Gritten, David (September 22, 1980). "Lee Meriwether Lost 'Barnaby' but Gained a Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze". People. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
10. ^ Noland, Claire (September 12, 2011). "Mary Fickett dies at 83; longtime actress on 'All My Children'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
11. ^ Hanson, Ben (February 28, 2014). "Channeling Creativity: The Story Behind Metal Gear Solid 4's Intro". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
12. ^ Kellams, J. P. (October 25, 2010). "Narrative Design in Vanquish". PlatinumGames. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
13. ^ Scheck, Frank (September 5, 2013). "The Ultimate Life: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
14. ^ Costello, Alex (May 24, 2017). "Eternal Con Returns July 1 And 2, This Time At The Nassau Coliseum". Patch. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
15. ^ "Lee Meriwether Biography". Actor Database. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
16. ^ "Photo Flash: Lee Meriwether Honored By Theatre West". BroadwayWorld. February 14, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
17. ^ a b c "Lee Meriwether (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 6, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

• Official website
• "1955 Lee Meriwether". Miss America. Archived from the original on Dec 12, 2009.
• "Lee Meriwether as Catwoman". 1966 Batmania.
• Boone, Jean (1966). "Interview with Cast of Batman, The Movie (1966)" (B&W). Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI). Texas affiliate: CBS. Including: Lee Meriwether (Catwoman), Cesar Romero (joker), Adam West (Batman), William Dozier (producer)
• Lee Meriwether at IMDb
• Lee Meriwether at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Lee Meriwether at the TCM Movie Database
• Lee Meriwether at AllMovie