Today is the late, great Burgess Meredith’s birthday.   The famed actor from Rocky was born on this day in 1907.

Meredith had a hell of a career…one in which he may not have won Oscars…but he nevertheless left an indelible imprint on pop culture.

From Rocky to Batman to the Twilight Zone…Burgess delivered some iconic performances in extremely famous franchises.

Scroll down below for East Side Dave’s Top 5 Burgess Meredith Performances!   With video!   BAM!

• 5.) Grumpy Old Men

  While legends Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon were the main stars of the movie…Burgess was hilarious as the REALLY grumpy old man.   Awesome stuff.

• 4.) State Of Grace

  One of the most underrated gangster movies ever…State Of Grace stars Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, and more in a tale of an Irish gang in Hell’s Kitchen and Meredith is absolutely fantastic in his role.

• 3.) Twilight Zone

  Burgess was actually in multiple Twilight Zones episodes…playing different characters in each…and EVERY episode he was in was tremendous.   Here’s a clip from one of those excellent performances.

• 2.) Batman (The Penguin)

  Hey…he was the ORIGINAL Penguin, baby!   The O.G.!   Burgess brought the Penguin to life with his iconic laugh, sophisticated cigarette-holder, and old-timey monocle.  Holy awesomeness, Batman!

• 1.) Rocky (Mickey)

  Is there any better coach or trainer in a sport movie than Mickey?   He is THE template for the motivating coach who believes in his down-trodden athlete.   Meredith’s epic performance as Mickey was as big a reason for Rocky’s success as Sylvester Stallone.   LEGEND.

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