What is Lee Meriwether’s Net Worth?
Lee Meriwether is an actress and former model who has a net worth of $800 thousand. Lee Meriwether is best known for her role as Betty Jones on the television detective series “Barnaby Jones.” Other notable television credits include “The Time Tunnel,” “The Munsters Today,” and “All My Children.” On film, Meriwether is known for playing Catwoman in the 1966 “Batman.”
Early Life and Education
Lee Meriwether was born on May 27, 1935 in Los Angeles, California to Ethel and Claudius. She has a brother named Don. Growing up, Meriwether moved often with her family; after living in Phoenix, Arizona for a time, she spent most of her early life in San Francisco. There, she went to George Washington High School and then to City College of San Francisco.
Career Beginnings
Meriwether first garnered media attention when she won the Miss San Francisco beauty pageant in 1954. She rose to greater fame after winning Miss California later in the year, and became nationally renowned after being crowned Miss America in 1955. Following this, Meriwether joined NBC’s “The Today Show” as a “Today Girl.”
Television Career, Part 1
Meriwether first appeared on television in three episodes of “The Philco Television Playhouse” between 1954 and 1955. She subsequently appeared in episodes of such programs as “Matinee Theatre,” “The Alcoa Hour,” “Men of Annapolis,” “The Millionaire,” “Dragnet,” and “Omnibus.” In the early 60s, Meriwether was in episodes of the soap opera “The Clear Horizon”; the sitcoms “Bringing Up Buddy” and “Leave it to Beaver”; and the anthology series “The Lloyd Bridges Show” and “Alcoa Premiere.” Next, from 1963 to 1965, she played multiple characters on the NBC medical series “Dr. Kildare.” During this time, Meriwether also appeared in episodes of “Route 66,” “The Young Marrieds,” “The Jack Benny Program,” “Perry Mason,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “Hazel,” and “F Troop,” among others. From 1965 to 1966, she was in three episodes of “Twelve O’Clock High,” and from 1965 to 1971 appeared in five episodes of “The F.B.I.” Meriwether’s biggest television role in the 60s was on the science-fiction series “The Time Tunnel,” on which she starred as Dr. Ann MacGregor.
Following appearances on “Star Trek,” “Land of the Giants,” and “Mannix,” Meriwether played spy Tracey in eight episodes of “Mission: Impossible.” She followed this in the early 70s with guest roles on a myriad of shows, including “The Name of the Game,” “Insight,” “The Immortal,” “Longstreet,” and “The Doris Day Show.” In 1973, Meriwether began the role for which she would become best known: Betty Jones, the daughter-in-law and secretary of Buddy Ebsen’s titular character on “Barnaby Jones.” For the role, which she played through the show’s conclusion in 1980, Meriwether received an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe nominations.
(Photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage)
Television Career, Part 2
While still on “Barnaby Jones” in the late 70s, Meriwether appeared in a number of television films, including “Cruise into Terror,” “True Grit: A Further Adventure,” and “Mirror, Mirror.” She also made regular appearances as a panelist on the game show “Match Game.” In the early-to-mid 80s, Meriwether had guest spots on such shows as “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “Hotel,” and “Glitter.” Later in the decade, she began another of her most prominent roles, playing Lily Munster on the sitcom “The Munsters Today.” A revival of the 60s sitcom “The Munsters,” it ran through 1991. Meriwether was subsequently in episodes of “Jake and the Fatman,” “Dark Justice,” and “Duckman.”
Meriwether’s next major television role came in 1996, when she replaced Mary Fickett in the role of Ruth Martin on the ABC soap opera “All My Children.” After leaving the show in 1998, she returned in 2002 and continued in her role through the show’s end in 2011. Among her other notable credits in the 21st century, Meriwether appeared in episodes of “Touched by an Angel,” “Wizards of Waverly Place,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “The League,” and “Don’t Trust the B—— in Apartment 23.”
Film Career
Meriwether made her big-screen debut in 1959 in the science-fiction film “4D Man.” Her most famous film role came seven years later, when she played Catwoman in the 1966 film adaptation of the superhero television series “Batman.” The same year, Meriwether was in “Namu, the Killer Whale.” Her subsequent credits were “The Legend of Lylah Clare,” “Angel in My Pocket,” and “The Undefeated.” In 1973, Meriwether appeared alongside John Astin and Pat Carroll in the Western comedy “The Brothers O’Toole.” This would be her final feature film role until 2006, when she was in “The Ultimate Gift.” Meriwether continued to act in films throughout the 00s and 10s, with credits including “Say it in Russian,” “Touching Home,” “Birthday Cake,” “A Horse for Summer,” “Diary of a Lunatic,” “Hell’s Kitty,” and “Love & Debt.”
Personal Life
In 1958, Meriwether wed actor Frank Aletter, with whom she had two daughters named Kyle and Lesley. The couple eventually divorced in 1974. Later, in 1986, Meriwether married Marshall Borden.