Adam West, better known as Batman for those of us who grew up with the classic Batman TV program. While I wasn’t around for the original airings of the Batman TV show, Adam West and Batman were a staple of my TV consumption, Yes, the 60’s TV Batman show was campy, goofy, and overall just silly but it struck a cord with millions of kids everywhere. Before Michael Keaton transformed the character into what many believe the Batman should have always been. Adam West was playing the role of the superhero detective Batman from the late 30’s and early 40’s.
Television was different in those times and Adam West portrayed the detective Batman brilliantly. Combine the more wholesome Batman with the 60’s and you got yourself a fun, whimsical and yes, campy show. Just check out the open sequence for the show in the YouTube video below and you’ll see what I mean.
https://youtu.be/mjKyGs-G6Sg
When we were kids, West’s serious delivery of lines like, “To the Bat Poles”, weren’t laughed at. Those lines meant The Batman was moving into action and some villain was about to get his butt handed to him. It’s easy to chuckle now when we look back at just how corny the show was, but Adam West and Batman contributed to the imagination of kids in those days. There were many times we’d pretend to be Batman and Robin fighting the dastardly Joker and Riddler running around with sheets as capes and makeshift masks. Those were fun times.
Some of my best memories come from watching the Batman TV show. Good night Adam West and thank you for bringing some color, action, and imagination into my young world. You will not be forgotten and neither will the Batman you so brilliantly portrayed. Rest in peace
