TV Batman, Adam West, Dead at 88

Adam West, who was best known for his portrayal as Batman in the campy 1960s TV show, died Friday night (June 9, 2017) at the age of 88.  According to CNN, West died at his home in Los Angeles after a brief battle with leukemia, his family said in a statement.

Born William West Anderson in Walla Walla Washington , where he graduated from Whitman College, a private liberal arts school, he moved to Seattle at age 15 with his mother after his parents divorced.

After serving in the Army, he went to Hollywood and changed his name to Adam West, and began appearing on a number of television series, including “Bonanza,” “Perry Mason” and “Bewitched.” before being cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman in a comedy series for ABC. “Batman” was the role he would remain associated with throughout his life.

The TV show was among the most popular in 1966, the year of its debut, and some of the era’s top actors signed on to play villains including Burgess Meredith, as the Penguin, Eartha Kitt as Catwoman and Cesar Romero as the Joker.

“You get terribly typecast playing a character like that,” he told The Associated Press in a 2014 interview. “But in the overall, I’m delighted because my character became iconic and has opened a lot of doors in other ways, too.”

In an interview with Variety, West talks about making peace with the Batman character and what the character of Batman has come to mean to him over time, West said: “Money. Some years ago I made an agreement with Batman. There was a time when Batman really kept me from getting some pretty good roles, and I was asked to do what I figured were important features. However, Batman was there, and very few people would take a chance on me walking on to the screen. And they’d be taking people away from the story. So I decided that since so many people love Batman, I might as well love it too. Why not? So I began to reengage myself with Batman. And I saw the comedy. I saw the love people had for it, and I just embraced it.”

In 2012, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

West was married three times and had six children. He had homes in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, but he and his wife, Marcelle, spent most of their time at their ranch near Sun Valley, Idaho.

“Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight, and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans’ lives,” West’s children said in the statement. “He was and always will be our hero.”

West is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Adam West and TV Batman Trivia per IMDB:

Adam West was 37 years old when the show started.

Beat out two other actors, Lyle Waggoner and Ty Hardin, for the title role on Batman (1966).

A total of 352 “Holy” words were used by Robin from “Holy Agility” to “Holy Zorro”.

According to Adam West, because of the show’s popularity, he was offered the role of James Bond for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). He declined because he felt the role should go to a British actor. Ironically, the role wound up going to Australian actor George Lazenby.

Shortly after the series began to air in England, several children were hurt while “flying” out of windows trying to emulate Batman. An announcement by Adam West in the role of Batman was filmed to discourage children from the practice, and made it clear he himself could not “fly”.

Frank Gorshin disliked wearing the Riddler’s skin-tight outfit and a Riddler business suit was designed for him to wear. This suit was later incorporated into the Batman comics.

The props used in this show (such as the computers and guns) also were used in Lost in Space (1965), The Time Tunnel (1966), Land of the Giants (1968), and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964).

When playing The Joker, Cesar Romero painted over his mustache rather than shave it off.

Eartha Kitt took over the role of Catwoman in the final season because Julie Newmar was busy filming Mackenna’s Gold (1969). Some of ABC’s southern affiliates objected to the casting of Kitt, but Charles B. Fitzsimons’ said he and the show’s other producers didn’t care about the issue.

Batman was produced in tandem ABC’s other big superhero production, Green Hornet, but while this was a massive success, Green Hornet was a dud.

The Batcave set was built on the exact spot where the Skull Island Gate was located in the original King Kong (1933). This was pointed out by a visitor to the set who had served as a technician on “Kong”.

The Batmobile was a customized 1955 Lincoln Futura, which had been used in the film It Started with a Kiss (1959). According to Barris, there were five Batmobiles made during the 1966-1968 run of the Batman series.

According to Adam West, then US Attorney General (later Senator) Robert F. Kennedy was a fan of the show. Attempts were made to have him make a cameo as a character named Attorney General, but details could not be worked out.