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Born: May 27, 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Spouse #1: Frank Aletter (1958-1974) [divorced]
Spouse #2: Marshall Borden (1986-present)
Biography: It's not hard to see why Lee Meriwether found success as an actress. She looks great, and gives good performances. There are two roles that really seem to stand out among fans: Catwoman in the 1966 film of "Batman", and Betty Jones in the action TV series, "Barnaby Jones" (1973-1980). She also did a good turn as Lily Munster in the second Munsters TV series, "The Munsters Today" (1988-1991). From 1996-1999, and from 2002-present Lee Meriwether has played the character of Ruth Martin in the long-running soap opera, "All My Children". Before, during, and after all these great roles Meriwether has made a lot of great appearances in other shows that really deserve more recognition. For instance, I thought she had a great spot on the first season of "F Troop" as a rival and potential love interest for the series' lead, Forrest Tucker. After one episode, Meriwether never did return to the series, and the show missed a great opportunity.
Lee Ann Meriwether was born in Los Angeles, California, moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and ultimately grew up in San Francisco, California. She started out in beauty pageants and modeling. Meriwether won Miss San Francisco, then Miss California, and ultimately Miss America. After her reign, she joined the cast of TVs "The Today Show" as one of the Today Girls from 1955-1956. Her film debut came in 1959 with "4D Man".
It wasn't really until her role as Catwoman in the 1966 film, "Batman", that Meriwether really started gaining ground in Hollywood. The movie came out after the first season of the "Batman" TV series, where Julie Newmar had played Catwoman. Meriwether's job as Catwoman was overall pretty well-received by most audiences. I think she did just as good of job as Newmar. In a lot of ways, I can't detect much of a difference in the way both actresses tackled the role. When the second season of "Batman" hit TV, Eartha Kitt was cast as Catwoman, taking the character in a way different direction.
Meriwether's best-loved role, however, came as private detective Betty Jones in the long-running TV series, "Barnaby Jones". Betty Jones was actually the widowed daughter-in-law of detective Barnaby Jones. Meriwether won two Golden Globe Award nominations for her role in 1975 and 1976, and an Emmy Award nomination in 1977. She got along well with star Buddy Ebsen, and they remained friends until his death in 2003. In the mid-1990s, she and the show's other star Mark Shera wanted to reunite for a Barnaby Jones TV movie, but Ebsen wanted no part of it due to his advanced age and the fact that he no longer wanted to get too physical. Ebsen did, however, reprise his Barnaby Jones character for a small spot in the feature film version of "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993). Meriwether and Shera did NOT appear with Ebsen in that film.
Lee Meriwether has worked steady since "Barnaby Jones", but her most prominent role since that time has been as Ruth Martin in the TV soap opera, "All My Children".
Filmography: Not complete, just the highlights.
Film
| Title |
Year |
Character |
| 4D Man |
1959 |
Linda Davis |
| Batman |
1966 |
Catwoman |
Television
| Series |
Episode
Title |
Original
Airdate |
Character |
| The Today Show |
SERIES REGULAR |
1955-1956 |
Self |
| F Troop |
O'Rourke vs. O'Reilly |
December 7, 1965 |
Lily O'Reilly |
| The Time Tunnel |
SERIES REGULAR |
1966-1967 |
Dr. Ann MacGregor |
| Batman |
King Tut's Coup |
March 8, 1967 |
Lisa Carson |
| Batman |
Batman's Waterloo |
March 9, 1967 |
Lisa Carson |
| Star Trek |
That Which Survives |
January 24, 1969 |
Losira |
| The New Andy Griffith Show |
SERIES REGULAR |
1971 |
Lee Sawyer |
| Barnaby Jones |
SERIES REGULAR |
1973-1980 |
Betty Jones |
| The Munsters Today |
SERIES REGULAR |
1988-1991 |
Lily Munster |
| All My Children |
RECURRING GUEST |
1996-1999, 2002-? |
Ruth Martin #2 |
| Return to the Batcave: The
Misadventures of Adam & Burt |
TV Movie |
March 9, 2003 |
Waitress in Diner |