in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Ida Beth (née Burgess; 1861-1933) and William George Meredith (1861-1938), a Canadian-born physician of English descent. His mother came from a long line of Methodist revivalists, a religion to which he adhered throughout his lifetime.

Known informally to his friends as "Buzz", Burgess Meredith graduated from Hoosac School in 1926 and then attended Amherst College