---
name: "Lee Meriwether"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lee-meriwether"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 May 1935"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-19T11:49:16.033534+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Lee Meriwether

Actor. Born 27 May 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 May 1935, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Also known as:** Lee Ann Meriwether, Lee Meriwether Borden, Lee Meriweather
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Meriwether, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q267175, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580886/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/16108

## Fi1m on Lee Meriwether

> Lee Meriwether stepped into the Catwoman's ears when Julie Newmar could not, and played the part straighter than anyone around her. Playing it straight, on television far more than in cinemas, became the career.

In *Batman* (1966), Lee Meriwether has two jobs. As the Catwoman she is one of four villains crammed into a hideout, wearing the ears and taking her turn at the hissing. As Kitka, a Soviet reporter, she has to seduce Bruce Wayne, and she plays that seduction straight, at a pitch the film around her never attempts. Adam West is doing his deadpan and the other villains are winking at the camera; Meriwether looks at Wayne as if she means it. It is a small thing and it is why the scenes work.

She came to the part by way of a title. She won Miss America in 1955 while a student at City College of San Francisco, and the crown got her onto television, including The Today Show, before it got her into films. The Catwoman was a stand-in job; Julie Newmar was unavailable and Meriwether took the ears. The same year she began a regular part as Dr Ann MacGregor in Irwin Allen's *The Time Tunnel* (1966–67), and in 1969 she turned up in *Star Trek* as Losira. The beauty-queen label followed her for a while, and interviewers of the time noted it; it faded once the work spoke for itself.

The work, mostly, was television, and mostly it was steady. Her longest run was as Betty Jones in *Barnaby Jones* (1973–80), eight seasons opposite Buddy Ebsen, and what people remembered from it was loyalty and an easy way with a co-star, not fireworks. Later there was *The Munsters Today* (1988–91) as Lily Munster, soap work on *All My Children*, voice roles and a one-woman show; she was still working around 2020, and by her own account the stage was where she would rather have been. We have reviewed only the one film, so we will not pretend to a verdict on decades we have not watched.

What we can say is this. Asked how she got the Catwoman, Meriwether said: "I raised my voice three registers, curled up in a chair, licked my hand and did 'meow's." That is the audition. The performance is nearly the opposite: quieter than Gorshin's Riddler, harder-edged than the other Catwomen of the period, and the least camp of the villains. In a film that had made us laugh for an hour and then sat down, we noticed we were waiting for her scenes with Wayne, because she still appeared to want something and the film around her had stopped. It is the one part of the villains' business that does not sag.

The Batman film is where to start and, for most people, where they will stop. If you want more of her, it is on television, in bulk, and that is where she did the greater part of her working life.

## Biography

Lee Meriwether is an American actress. She won the Miss America pageant in 1955 while studying radio, television and theatre arts at City College of San Francisco. After her reign she began working in television, including an early role on the Today show.

She is known for playing Catwoman (also credited as Kitka) in the 1966 film *Batman*. Other notable television roles include Dr Ann MacGregor in *The Time Tunnel* (1966–67), Betty Jones in *Barnaby Jones* (1973–80), for which she received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, and Lily Munster in *The Munsters Today* (1988–91). She has also appeared in episodes of *Star Trek*, *Mission: Impossible* and *Murder, She Wrote*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, 66batmania.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Batman* (1966), Fi1m 73, as The Catwoman (Kitka) — [page](https://film.one/film/batman-1966.md)
- *Star Trek* (1966), Fi1m 83, as Losira — [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-1966.md)

## Complete filmography (92)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Love & Debt* (2019), as Mrs. Markson
- *Waiting in the Wings: Still Waiting* (2018), as Ethel
- *Hell's Kitty* (2018), as Grandma Kyle
- *A Christmas in New York* (2017), as Irene Burgess
- *Batman vs. Two-Face* (2017), as Lucilee Diamond (voice)
- *Breaking Legs* (2017), as GG
- *Trew Calling* (2017), as Trew's Mother
- *Kitty* (2016), as Mrs. Tinsley
- *The Ultimate Legacy* (2015), as Miss Hastings
- *In Memory* (2015), as Beth Sawyer
- *Sunny in the Dark* (2015), as Dorothy
- *A Horse for Summer* (2015), as Patsy
- *Waiting in the Wings: The Musical* (2014), as Ethel
- *The Ultimate Life* (2013), as Mrs. Hastings
- *Birthday Cake* (2013), as Opal Hunt
- *Remember to Breathe* (2013), as Alice
- *The Curse of the Un-Kissable Kid* (2012), as The Gypsy
- *Silent but Deadly* (2012), as Vivian
- *Oddity Archive* (2012), series, as Lily Munster (archive footage)
- *Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23* (2012), series, as Marjorie Meyers
- *Sunset Stories* (2012), as Marie
- *Hawaii Five-0* (2010), series, as Helen Tilton
- *No Limit Kids - Much Ado About Middle School* (2010), Actor
- *The League* (2009), series, as Gumma Eve
- *Touching Home* (2008), as Grandma Eleanor
- *The Ultimate Gift* (2007), as Miss Hastings
- *The Many Faces of Catwoman* (2005), as (archive footage)
- *Desperate Housewives* (2004), series, as Doris
- *Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt* (2003), as Lee Meriwether
- *Once Upon a Time: The Super Heroes* (2001), as Catwoman (archive footage)
- *Duckman* (1994), series, as Widow Liebner (voice)
- *The Munsters Today* (1988), series, as Lily Munster
- *Jake and the Fatman* (1987), series, Actor
- *Jonathan Winters: On the Ledge* (1987), Actor
- *Mr. Belvedere* (1985), series, Actor
- *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Grace Overholtz, Leslie Hunter, Vanessa Thorpe
- *Finder of Lost Loves* (1984), series, as Julia Bennett Parsons
- *Hotel* (1982), series, Actor
- *Tourist* (1980), as Lulu Flemington
- *Mirror, Mirror* (1979), as Vanessa Wagner
- *Time Express* (1979), series, Actor
- *True Grit: A Further Adventure* (1978), as Annie Sumner
- *Cruise Into Terror* (1978), as Lil Mather
- *Having Babies II* (1977), as Martha Cooper
- *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Barbara Braden, Ann Marshall
- *CHiPs* (1977), series, as Lee Meriwether (uncredited)
- *Battle of the Network Stars* (1976), series, Actor
- *Brothers O'Toole* (1973), as Paloma Littleberry
- *Barnaby Jones* (1973), series, as Betty Jones
- *The New Andy Griffith Show* (1971), series, as Lee Sawyer
- *The Immortal* (1970), series, Actor
- *Chisum* (1970), as Sallie's Mother (picture in Chisum's Pocketwatch) (uncredited)
- *Nanny and the Professor* (1970), series, Actor
- *All My Children* (1970), series, Actor
- *Mission: Impossible - The Falcon* (1970), as Tracey
- *The Undefeated* (1969), as Margaret
- *Love, American Style* (1969), series, Actor
- *My World and Welcome to It* (1969), series, Actor
- *Angel in My Pocket* (1969), as Mary Elizabeth Whitehead
- *Mission: Impossible - The Bunker* (1969), as Anna Rojak
- *Land of the Giants* (1968), series, as Mrs. Bara
- *The Name of the Game* (1968), series, as Bridget
- *The Legend of Lylah Clare* (1968), as Young Girl
- *Mannix* (1967), series, as Reva Daniels
- *Mission: Impossible* (1966), series, as Anna Rojak, Tracey — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/mission-impossible-1966.md)
- *Family Affair* (1966), series, as Lise Lowell
- *The Time Tunnel* (1966), series, as Dr. Ann McGregor
- *Star Trek* (1966), series, as Losira — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-1966.md)
- *Namu, the Killer Whale* (1966), as Kate Rand
- *Batman* (1966), as The Catwoman (Kitka) — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/batman-1966.md)
- *Batman* (1966), series, as Lisa Carson
- *The F.B.I.* (1965), series, as Joanna Lauren, Marian Converse, Liz
- *F Troop* (1965), series, Actor
- *The Man from U.N.C.L.E.* (1964), series, as Dr. Egret
- *12 O'Clock High* (1964), series, as Capt. Phyllis Vincent, Lt. Amy Patterson
- *The Fugitive* (1963), series, as Willis Hampton — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fugitive-1963.md)
- *Vacation Playhouse* (1963), series, as Doris
- *The Courtship of Eddie's Father* (1963), as Tom's Receptionist (uncredited)
- *The Lloyd Bridges Show* (1962), series, as Martha Elweiss
- *Dr. Kildare* (1961), series, as Nurse Bonnie Tynes, Nurse Adams, Nurse Harper, Nurse Angela Springer
- *Route 66* (1960), series, Actor
- *My Three Sons* (1960), series, as Phyllis Allen
- *The Clear Horizon* (1960), series, as Enid Ross
- *The Detectives* (1959), series, as Freda (uncredited)
- *4D Man* (1959), as Linda Davis
- *Leave It to Beaver* (1957), series, as Young Woman Neighbor
- *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as Natalie Graham, Evelyn Wilcox
- *The Millionaire* (1955), series, as Nancy McKuehn
- *Miss America* (1954), series, as Miss California 1954
- *Dragnet* (1951), series, Actor
- *The Philco Television Playhouse* (1948), series, Actor
- *Let It Kill You*, as Edna

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lee-meriwether