1997 Burgess Meredith, age 89 - Actor (Of Mice and Men, MacKenna’s Gold, Rocky, Grumpy Old Men) He died in Malibu, California. He played Henry Bemis in the Twilight Zone episode Time Enough At Last, the one where he survived the nuclear shockwave, and could finally read uninterrupted, but his glasses broke. Also, it is said that his character of The Penguin in the Batman series was so popular that the producers always had a script ready for him in case he was available at the last minute to appear as a guest star

I remember the ending of the Twilight Zone the first time I saw it. It was really a "moment" of surprise. What a way to be the last man on earth. Also, it is nice to know the Batman people thought so highly of him to have a script ready. We liked him too.