Hollywood actress, Lee Meriwether, 85 years old (as of 2020) is famously known for her role in the 1970s crime drama, Barnaby Jones, where she played Betty Jones, Buddy Ebsen’s secretary and daughter-in-law
Born in Los Angeles, California, Lee Meriwether is said to be the first child in a family of two kids. Her parents were Claudius Gregg Meriwether and Ethel Eve Mulligan moved to phoenix three years after her younger brother Don Brett Meriwether, was born.
Lee Meriwether went to George Washington High School, where she was urged to pursue acting. Lee Meriwether later visited City College of San Francisco, where she majored in Radio and TV/Theatre Arts. It was in her college years when she entered the pageants. Lee Meriwether was said to be insecure about entering the Miss San Francisco 1954 pageant until her mother encouraged her at first till her college fraternity made sure she did.
One of her support systems was her mother. Shortly after entering pageantry, Lee won Miss California 1954. However, her excitement was short-lived after her dad died shortly which shattered her world into pieces. She grew so sad that she did not want to do anything.
Amongst people who conformed her was her mother who told Lee how her dad would not want her to do anything that would jeopardize the scholarship that the pageants had provided. She later got herself together and went to Atlantic City for the historic Miss America 1955.
The pageant was memorable because it was the first time the event was televised on national television. The event was now able to reach millions of viewers. Lee Meriwether won again because of her gorgeous looks and incredible talent, making her the first contestant to be crowned on nationwide television. Her reign as Miss America made her a huge star, changing her life forever. Midway through her rookie year of touring as Miss America. Her exposure on the show allowed her to use her pageant accomplishments to learn acting, dancing, singing and fencing with top coaches in New York.
Her role in The Today Show sparked her enthusiasm in tracking a career in acting. Lee ended up receiving her first role in 1954, where she performed in three episodes of The Philco Television Playhouse.
Lee met her first husband, Frank Aletter, in 1961, while guest-starring as Gloria in one episode of the CBS sitcom Bringing Up Buddy. In the same year, she performed in one episode of Leave it to Beaver, season four.
In 1962, her collection grew with her roles in the CBS series The Lloyd Bridges Show and the ABC sitcom I’m Dickens, He’s Fester.
She remained to be featured in several TV series episodes between 1963 and 1966, all of which were unimportant non-recurring roles.
In 1966, Lee auditioned for the role of Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie and got the role after she stood out against 200 other candidates, and this made her very determined to stand out. Unlike the others, Lee went to the audition, straight to a chair, curled up and started purring. Her role as Catwoman was accepted from Julie Newmar who played Catwoman in the Batman TV series due to several unknown reasons. However, rumour had it that Julie quit because of the low pay she was getting from the show. Some say she only quit to take on other acting gigs that did not involve her wearing distressed leather suits.
Lee Meriwether got the role and starred beside villains such as The Riddler, The Joker and Penguin, alongside industry giants such as Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin. She loved the role very much but was not comfortable with the Catwoman suit either.
Her role in the movie allowed her to also perform in two episodes of the Batman TV show in 1967. Instead of playing Catwoman, she was cast to portray Lisa Carson, a love interest to Bruce Wayne.
Lee went on to land another role in Time Tunnel the same year Batman: Her TV appearances increased well throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lee Meriwether hot talents drove her to land more roles in various shows and TV series episodes such as Star Trek, The Fugitive, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Mission: Impossible, Perry Mason and F Troop.
In 1973, she received a role in the popular Barnaby Jones series. The show concluded up being the best performance of her entire career. Most people will only remember her if they have ever heard of the show. The series led her close to her on-screen partner, Buddy Ebsen, with whom she shared lots of chemistry and ultimately became best friends till his death in 2003.
Lee has had a rather unusual love life, with her first engagement being a mere rumour that lots of fans accepted without question, much to her surprise. This happened on August 1, 1956. She had gone to dinner with one of her friends, Joe DiMaggio when a picture of them was taken and advertised with the speculation of their imminent marriage. Lucky for her, the rumour faded as quickly as it began.
She got married on April 20, 1958, to Frank Aletter, with whom she has two daughters, Kyle Aletter and Lesley Aletter. They got divorced in 1974. She later got remarried on September 21, 1986, to Marshall Borden.
Even though Lee Meriwether has not been active in Hollywood for at least two years, she is estimated to be $200 million. However, she has made a huge impact in the acting industry over the years. Without a doubt, she is an icon young actresses can look up to.