Holy Cow Batman!

One of the zaniest television series of the 1960s had to be Batman. This was an American live-action series based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It was known for its campy style and upbeat music theme. It was intentionally humorous, and simplistically moral for its preteen audience.

Batman aired on the ABC network for three seasons from January 12, 1966, through March 14, 1968. Adam West starred as Batman and Burt Ward played Robin. There were 120 episodes that ran twice weekly during the first two seasons, and weekly during the third season. Batman held the record for the longest-running live-action superhero series, in terms of episodes, until it was surpassed by Smallville in 2007.

Every kid in the neighborhood wanted to be Batman. I was no different. I had the mask, the gloves, and the cape. I ran up and down the sidewalk acting like I was beating all the villains Batman encountered. I am sure I looked like a reject, and the neighbors most likely got a good laugh, but I didn’t care. I was a kid.

The series focused on Batman, and Robin as his sidekick, as they defended Gotham City from its various criminals. The lives of their alter-egos, millionaire Bruce Wayne, and his ward Dick Grayson were frequently shown, although, usually very briefly, in the context of their being called away on superhero business, or some crime fighting spree. Their loyal butler, Alfred, was played by Alan Napier. He was the only person who knew the true identities of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.

Known as the “Dynamic Duo,” the pair usually comes to the aid of the Gotham City Police Department after the police department is stumped by a supervillain. The Commissioner of Gotham City, Commissioner Gordon, was played by Neil Hamilton. Throughout each episode, Batman, and Robin follow a series of improbable clues known as “Bat logic,” to discover each supervillain’s plan, then they figure out how to thwart that plan, and capture the criminal.

Some of the guest stars that appeared as supervillains were, Cesar Romero, as “The Joker,” Burgess Meredith, as “The Penguin,” Frank Gorshin, as “The Riddler,” Julie Newmar, as “The Cat Woman,” Victor Buono, as “King Tut,” Eli Wallach, as “Mr. Freeze,” David Wayne, as “The Mad Hatter,” Vincent Price, as “Egghead,” Carolyn Jones, as “Marsha, Queen of Diamonds,” Cliff Robertson, as “Shame,” Anne Baxter, as “Olga, Queen of the Cossacks,” and Milton Berle, as “Louie the Lilac.” These were just some of the crazy villains that appeared week after week wreaking havoc on the “Dynamic Duo,” and Gotham City.

The Producers of the series also developed several tentative scripts for “Two Face,” but never produced any of them. Clint Eastwood was allegedly considered for the role shortly before the series was cancelled.

Each third-season story ends with a teaser featuring the next episode’s guest villain, except for the series finale. The cliffhangers between multiple part stories consisted of villains holding someone captive, usually Batman or Robin, and the captives were being threatened by death, serious injury, or another fate. The cliffhangers were quickly resolved early in the follow-up episodes, with the captives escaping the traps.

The series was produced as a crime series, but the campy, tongue-in-cheek shenanigans exaggerated the situations, and played them for laughs, while the characters took the absurd situations very seriously. This made the show very funny.

Camera shots from the beginning were placed out of level with the set. This is known as “Dutch tilt,” and characters were filmed from high, and low angles. This technique would lend a surreal, comic-book quality to the scenes, as well as imply or remind the viewer that the crooks were crooked.

The Batman theme song from 1966 was composed by Neal Hefti. The song was built around a guitar hook reminiscent of spy film scores, and surf music. In 1966, Batman: The Exclusive Original Soundtrack Album was released on LP, featuring music by Nelson Riddle.

There were many Batman vehicles in the series as well. The Batmobile was built by George Barris from a Lincoln Futura concept car. The original Batmobile from the 1960s series was auctioned in January 2013, at the Barrett-Jackson auction house in Scottsdale, Arizona for $4.2 million. There was also a Bat helicopter, Bat boat, Bat motorcycle, and others that were used in the series as well.

In 2016, television critics Alan Sepinwall, and Matt Seitz ranked Batman as the 82nd greatest American television series of all time. The show was campy, but it was a lot of fun!

The Cast:

Adam West: Died on June 9, 2017, from Leukemia in Los Angeles. He was 88. His former co-star Burt Ward said, “This is a terribly unexpected loss of my lifelong friend, I will forever miss him. There are several fine actors who have portrayed Batman in films. In my eyes, there was only one real Batman, that is, and always will be Adam West. He was truly the Bright Knight.

Alan Napier: Died on August 8, 1988, in Santa Monica, California, of natural causes. He was 85.

Neil Hamilton: Died on September 24, 1984, after suffering a severe asthma attack in Escondido, California. He was 85.

Cesar Romero: Died on January 1, 1994, in Santa Monica, California, from complications of a blood clot while being treated for bronchitis and pneumonia. He was 86.

Burgess Meredith: Died on September 9, 1997, in Malibu, California, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease and melanoma. He was 89.

Frank Gorshin: Died on May 17, 2005, in Burbank, California, from lung cancer, complicated by emphysema and pneumonia. He was 72.

Victor Buono: Died on January 1, 1982, of a heart attack at his home in Apple Valley, California. He was 43.

Eli Wallach: Died on June 24, 2014, of natural causes in New York City. He was 98.

David Wayne: Died on February 9, 1995, in Santa Monica, California, from complications of lung cancer. He was 81.

Vincent Price: Died on October 25, 1993, at his home in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. He was 82.

Carolyn Jones: Died on August 3, 1983, at her home in West Hollywood, California, after falling into a coma and suffering from colon cancer. She was 53.

Cliff Robertson: Died on September 10, 2011, in Stony Brook, New York, of natural causes one day after his 88th birthday.

Burt Ward: Is 79.

Julie Newmar: Is a classically trained pianist. She is 91.