Lee Meriwether
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lee Meriwether | |
 Lee Meriwether |
|
| Birth name | Lee Ann Meriwether |
| Born | May 27, 1935 (age 71) Los Angeles, United States |
| Spouse(s) | Marshall Borden |
| Notable roles | Catwoman in Batman, 1966, Dr. Ann MacGregor in The Time Tunnel, 1966, Bety Jones in Barnaby Jones, 1973. |
Lee Ann Meriwether, born May 27, 1935 in Los Angeles, California is an American actress who was Miss America 1955. She remains one of the most popular Miss Americas.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
A descendent of Meriwether Lewis, she grew up in San Francisco, California 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 San Francisco City College, where one of her classmates was fellow actor Bill Bixby.
Winning Miss San Francisco, Meriwether won Miss California, then Miss America with her recital of a John Millington Synge monologue. After her reign, she joined The Today Show. An August 1, 1956 International News wire photo of Meriwether and Joe DiMaggio announced their engagement. According to DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer, it was a rumor started by Walter Winchell.
[edit] Career
Her feature film debut was as Linda Davis in 1959's The 4D Man starring Robert Lansing. She portrayed Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie. She co-starred as scientist Dr. Ann MacGregor in the 1966–1967 television series The Time Tunnel and appeared opposite John Wayne and Rock Hudson in The Undefeated in 1969. She had a long co-starring role as private detective Betty Jones in the 1973–1980 series Barnaby Jones opposite Buddy Ebsen.
In the 1970s and 1980s, she appeared on Circus of the Stars four times. She also served as a panelist on the game show Match Game. In 1986-87, she had a four year run reprising Lilly Munster opposite John Schuck's Herman in, "The Munsters Today".
In 1996, Meriwether briefly took over for Mary Fickett in the role of Ruth Martin on the soap opera All My Children. She also appeared Off-Broadway in the interactive comedy, Grandma Sylvia's Funeral.
[edit] Personal life
Meriwether has been married to current husband, Marshall Borden (Ryan's Hope, Luke Jackson #1 on One Life to Live, since 1987.
[edit] Trivia
- Lee Meriwether's daughters, Kyle and Lesley Aletter, also appeared on the series Match Game.
- In 1988, Lee Meriwether was one of the 10 Miss Americas used for audience poll questions during a week of shows on Card Sharks.
- On the heels of the 2004 Catwoman motion picture, TV Land had all the 1960s Catwomen appear on their TV Land Awards program; sharing the stage with Lee Meriwether were Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt.
- Appeared in the third season Star Trek episode "That Which Survives." The third season also featured guest appearances by Frank Gorshin (The Riddler) in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) in "Whom Gods Destroy."
[edit] External links
- Lee Meriwether article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
| Preceded by Evelyn Margaret Ay |
Miss America 1955 |
Succeeded by Sharon Ritchie |
