Before he was Mickey he was a patriot that served his country. Thank you for your service!
Burgess Meredith was 32 years old when he filled out his draft card. Less than a year later on February 27, 1942, the Cleveland Ohio native, put his acting career on hold and joined the United States Army Air Forces, First Air Force, where he eventually reached the rank of Captain.
Eventually Burgess transferred to the Office of War Information where he made training films for the US military. He was discharged in 1945 to work on the movie "The Story of G.I. Joe," in which he starred - portraying War Correspondent Ernie Pyle.
After the war, Burgess Meredith continued his career on stage, screen and television. Already in established actor prior to his enlistment, Burgess gained critical acclaim for his performance in the 1939 film "Of Mice and Men." He would go on to portray such characters as The Penguin in the ABC series "Batman" and was featured regularly in such popular television series as "Rawhide", "Bonanza", "77 Sunset Strip," "Laredo" and "Burke's Law." Burgess would go on to have a career that spanned over 60 years.
Burgess would go on to portray Mickey "Mighty Mick" Goldmill, in the "Rocky" film series. His performance in the first film earned Meredith a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Captain Burgess Meredith passed away on September 9, 1997 at the age of 89 years old. Lest We Forget.
