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The Real-Life Reason Behind The Penguin's Squawks In The 1960s Batman Series

When Burgess Meredith played The Penguin on the Batman TV series he made a weird, memorable squawking sound. Here's why.

Incredibly talented character actors like Frank Gorshin, Cesar Romero, Eartha Kitt, and Julie Newmar all brought intensity to their roles as various members of the caped crusader's rogues gallery, taking their performances deadly serious despite the show's ridiculous levels of camp. Among the great "Batman" television villains is Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, the arctic bird-based baddie with designs on taking over Gotham through political avenues. Thankfully, Meredith continued to have a lasting career well after "Batman," and his ability to improvise, honed on the wacky comic book series, helped him get a role as boxing coach Mickey in the first three "Rocky" films.

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