Adam West died over the weekend. West was best known for playing Batman in the 60s campy cult classic TV. series. He died at his home in California after a short but brave battle with leukemia.
West at first complained that he was type-cast forever as Batman, especially when he could'nt find work after the short-lived series was cancelled in 1967. But later in life West grew to embrace the iconic role. Kids loved him, and Batman became a classic to a new generation of fans in syndication.
I could never understand why actors balked at the roles which made them famous, such as Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker or Henry Winkler as The Fonz.. Just to have one role in a career that makes you a legend should be every actor's dream. Sure, you want to be known for a whole career's worth of work, but look at West's body of work.
He could never cut it in movies. His claim to fame on the silver screen was the forgettable last film by the Three Stooges, "The Outlaws Are Coming."West later got parts in The Simpsons and Family Guy ( as Mayor Adam West).But he will always be known for paving the way for future Caped Crusaders such as George Clooney, Val Kilmer and Ben Afflack. And he made a good living and was adored at Batman memorabilia shows around the world.
The following are my favorite memories of the Batman series:
* Villains- It was the in-thing to be a guest villain on Batman. Respected actors such as Cesar Romaro, Burgess Meredith and Vincent Price played villains on a regular basis. They liked the fun, campiness of Batman The series was different back then, nothing like it on TV>
On Batman, the regular villains were The Joker (Romaro), Riddler ( Frank Gorshin and John Astin), Catwoman ( Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt) and Penguin (Meredith). Then there were the second-tier bad guys like Egghead (Price), King Tut ( VIctor Buono) and Mr. Freeze ( Otto Preminger), who wer eon less frequently than the top four villains, but more then spot guest villains such as The Archer (Art Carney) or Shame (Cliff Robertson).
You knew the series had lost it's steam when guys like Gorshin, who was The Riddler, gave way to lesser-actors like Astin, who wasn't The Riddler.
Here are my favorite Batman villains:
1. The Riddler- Loved his evil laugh and his question mark green suit.
2. Mr. Freeze- Greta make-up (Mr. Freeze was icy-silver in color) and great freeze-gun.
3. Egghead- Just a fun villain with his egg-ploding eggs.
* Guests- Whenever Batman and Robin ( the terrible acting Burt Ward) climbed a building with the Bat-Rope ( everything was Bat-this and Bat-that) you never knew who would open a window on the side of athe building and say a surprise hello. Guests such as Dick Clark played along with the fun as the Dynamic Duo pretended not to know-or care- who the celebrity was, only to do their job and climb the freakin' wall.
In 1966 when the series was hot, celebrities clamored to get a guest spot on Batman., the hot fad of the day.
* Escapes- Part of the fun of Batman was the escapes. Batman originally was on two nights for a fast half-hour, Tuesday and Thursday nights. At the end of Tuesday's episode, the Duo was be put in peril by the week's guest villain, and there was a cliff-hanger that kept you guessing for two days (How would Batman get out of this predicament?). Generally the escape was pretty dumb ( as was the entire plot, but done in good fun), and usually Batman would pull something out of his utility belt ( which carried everything) to save the day.
* Batman movie- When the series got popular, naturally a feature film had to be thrown together for the summer to milk the fame. During the summer of 1066 the Batman movie was the rage. It featured the four top villains joined together in a typically stupid story to take over the world. In the movie, not only was the Batmobile used, but so were "new" Bat-inventions such as the Bat- jet-ski and Bat-helicopter. Naturally, the movie was panned pretty bad, but it does remain a cult classic.
* Colors- In the mid 60s not everyone in America had a color television. Those lucky enough to have color sets were treated to an array of splashy comic book colors on Batman, both in the intro and through-out the show. seeing a campy program like Batman in vivid color, the Joker's purple suit, the Riddler's green leotards for instance, was candy to the viewer's eye and help attract even more people to watch for fun. Fans knew the show sucked. The dialogue was corny but who cared?
* Batmobile- The iconic car made the rounds in America, from town to town n=and car show to car show and memorabilia shows in the 60s and beyond. Everyone wanted to drive the cool Batmobile, rockets blazing in the back.
* Bat cave- The secret hide-out of Batman beneath stately Wayne Manor. No one had a computer back then, so to see all the flashing lights and monitors gave one a taste of the future and what wealth could buy (Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego, was a billionaire). The Bat cave was a place everyone wanted to visit, even the villains. Finding the Bat cave would mean unmasking Batman and putting the Caped Crusader out of business for good.
In one of my favorite episodes Joker hides in the trunk of the Batmobile and ends up inside the Bat cave before Batman finds out and sprays him with some sort of concoction that fogs the memory).
* Camera angles- Whenever a villain was on camera, the picture would be slightly skewed to represent the twisted mind of the criminal. Clever back then.
* Music- The famous intro music everyone was humming to, still recognizable as the Theme to Batman.
* Pow! Boff! Splat! The action words splashed all over the screen as Batman played out the terrible choreographed fight scenes.
All in all a fun part of my childhood. You can find the complete series ( all three seasons worth) and relive it with your kids. Good, clean fun.
Rest in peace, Adam West. Thanks for the enjoyment.
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