Adam “The One True Batman” West Has Died

Batman died on Friday.  And no, I’m not talking about Christian Bale or Ben Affleck . . . or Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, or, God forbid, George Clooney.  I’m talking about THE Batman.  The ONE TRUE BATMAN, ADAM WEST. Adam’s family said he passed away after a brief battle with leukemia.  He was 88. “Batman” debuted in 1966, but only lasted three seasons.  It aired twice a week, with a cliffhanger between each week’s episodes.  And it was so popular that everybody wanted to guest star as a villain. They also made a movie version that hit theaters in 1966, and included one of the greatest scenes in film history:  The “Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb” scene. And while he kept busy as an actor in the years since the show was canceled in 1968, the role continued to define him as an actor. Although today’s kids might know him as the voice of . . . well . . . Adam West, Mayor of Quahog on “Family Guy”. Adam’s take on Batman was a lot different than anyone else’s, before or after him.  Yes, there were two guys who played Batman before him, in black and white movie serials in the 1940s. Adam’s Batman could be enjoyed by kids as an action-packed superhero adventure.  But it was also very obviously a campy satire that was a lot smarter than some people give it credit for. Adam once said, quote, “You can’t play Batman in a serious, square-jawed, straight-ahead way without giving the audience the sense that there’s something behind that mask waiting to get out, that he’s a little crazed, he’s strange.” Adam, BURT WARD, and JULIE NEWMAR reprised their roles as Batman, Robin, and Catwoman in the 2016 animated movie “Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders”.  And they shot another one called “Batman vs. Two Face”, with WILLIAM SHATNER as Two Face.  It’s due out sometime this year. Adam is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. READ MORE