Adam West (born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington) is best known as the actor who played the role of Batman on the original television program that ran from 1966 to 1968.
West grew up reading the Batman comics. He graduated from nearby Whitman College where he majored in literature and psychology and was married. He served two years in the United States Army. He worked as a disc jockey, truck driver, and cowboy then travelled with his wife around Europe, where he sometimes worked as a milkman. Eventually he settled in Hawaii where he got a role on a light entertainment show called The Kini Popo Show. In Hawaii he divorced his first wife and married a Hawaiian.
In the 1960s, various roles in films and television brought him to the attention of William Dozier, who cast him as Batman in the 1960s hit television series. West has said he was also invited to play James Bond after Sean Connery decided to give up the role and has mentioned he was almost part of the 3 big B's of the 1960s Bond, Batman and The Beatles. The Batman show was internationally successful as light camp entertainment and ran from 1966 to 1968 and even produced a feature film.
After the show ended West was typecast as Batman and had trouble playing other roles because audiences identified him as Batman and no one else. Even his convincing lead performance as cynical tough guy Johnny Cain in the underrated 1969 film The Girl Who Knew Too Much was to no avail.
West later made a semi-regular appearance on the Fox animated series Family Guy, on which he played Adam West, mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island (Mayor Adam West was originally not intended to be the same Adam West who provided the voice). This Adam West character was somewhat quirky, perhaps reflecting and reinforcing the television audiences' perceptions of West since his role as Batman.
Adam West also appears on Nickelodeon's animated series The Fairly OddParents, with the same personality as Family Guy portrayed him as having. A few episodes make fun of his role as Batman by making him the superhero 'CatMan'. He also voiced similar cartoon roles on Kim Possible and Johnny Bravo.
Filmography
Bibliography
- Back to the Batcave
- Press kit notes for The Girl Who Knew Too Much
Quotes
- "It was inescapable. I'd just about land something substantial, something I like or a good career move. Then some dinosaur would rear up and say, 'But the audience will think of him as Batman.' It was formidable. It was there like a brick wall." on being typecast as Batman
Quotes from Adam West in Family Guy:
- "How do you know my language?"
- "Somebody is stealing my water!"
- "You can't interview a dead man!" (then proceeds to jump out of the window)
- "Doctor! My Foot! It's... asleep."
- "Lucky for me she was just a figment of my imagination"
External links
