Catwoman in the 1966 movie, and Miss America 1955
Born: 27 May 1935 in Los Angeles, CA, USA
The motion picture version of Batman began filming at the end of first season production. Julie Newmar was not available for the film, so 30-year-old Lee Meriwether was cast as the Feline Fatale. She had just come off of a recurring guest role as Inspector Lewis Erskine’s girlfriend in The FBI.
Lee Meriwether first became famous in late 1954, when she was crowned Miss America 1955. This contest aired on television for the first time that year, and Ms. Meriwether would soon embark on an acting career. She brought her own special qualities to the Feline Fatale in the movie, and made the role her own.
Ms. Meriwether’s career continued after the movie. She had her own series, The Time Tunnel, on ABC in the 1966-1967 season. She also appeared in the 8-9 March 1967 episodes of Batman, this time playing Lisa Carson. King Tut was the nemesis here, and at the end, Ms. Meriwether’s character gets to kiss Bruce Wayne!
Lee Meriwether’s career received another boost in 1973 when she began her seven-year run as Betty Jones in the detective series Barnaby Jones, starring Buddy Ebsen. This series was not the first time the actress starred in a Quinn Martin production, of course, as she had guested on The FBI, Twelve O’Clock High and Dan August. And she also attends comic conventions; she attended the Motor City Comic Convention on 19-21 May 2006 in Novi, Michigan, which is where we met her. We also met her in November 2011 at a Batman convention.
Ms. Meriwether has remained busy on the convention circuit in recent years.
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