By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
January 22, 1988
Holy Toledo, Chicago! Batman’s back!
Though the superhero retired to syndication heaven nearly 20 years ago, the actor who played him came to Chicago earlier this week to partake in the city’s Batmania.
Adam West will host two “Batman” specials for WFLD-Channel 32. From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. today, WFLD will present “Batman’s Classic Caper.” Viewers will be invited to call in to vote for the villains they most loved to hate on the show. That program will be repeated from 10 to 11 a.m. tomorrow. The results of the voting will be revealed during “Batman’s Greatest Villain,” which will air from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.
“I wanted to do this because I really love Chicago and Chicago seems to love Batman,” West said. “I’ve done a lot of Batman-related things like guest appearances at Batman conventions and stuff since the series ended. But this is a unique experience for me to get to talk about what made being on the show so special for me.”
For a legion of bat-fanatics, it doesn’t seem possible that the series lasted only from 1966 to 1968. Because “Batman” has been in syndication since 1969, children in 108 countries are as familiar with the Caped Crusader as are adults who grew up during the 1960s.
Reruns of “Batman” air at 2 p.m. daily on WFLD.
“I think part of the reason `Batman’ is still good today is because it was never topical,” West said. “Everything was based on wild imagination, so there aren’t references to things in the ’60s that today’s kids wouldn’t relate to.
“We also had a great production team that shot the shows on several levels so they would appeal to all ages. I saw an episode last week and it looked like it was produced today. It was that glossy and that well done.”
When “Batman” was canceled, West said, he was at an emotional low point. He loved being on the show, but he worried he would be typecast as Batman for the rest of his career. Though he has had major film roles in “Hooper,” “The Specialist” and “The Girl Who Knew Too Much,” people still know him as one half of the Dynamic Duo.
“It used to bother me, but then I suppose there are worse things to be remembered as,” he said, laughing. “At least I know I’m remembered as being a part of something that was fun and good.”
“Batman” was made at a time when the body builder school of acting didn’t exist. But while neither West nor Burt Ward (who played his sidekick, Robin) had bodies that rivaled the rock-hard physiques of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dolph Lundgren, they were believable as the Dynamic Duo.
“You have to be pretty sure of your acting ability to dress in tights every week,” West said.
That’s something he didn’t envision himself doing when he was studying journalism at Stanford University. After school, West worked as a writer, director and announcer on the McClatchy Network in Sacramento, Calif., before joining the Army.
After his two-year military stint, West traveled around Europe before returning to the United States. He settled in Honolulu and found work as a director and on-air personality for a CBS affiliate. In his spare time, he took up flying lessons and acting.
“When I was doing community theater, I don’t think I thought about acting as a career,” he said. “It was just a lot of fun, and something interesting to do in my spare time.”
He was discovered playing the male lead in “Picnic.” In 1958, after being advised by several agents to head for Hollywood, West left the tranquility of Hawaii to try his luck in Los Angeles.
Three weeks after his arrival, he signed a contract with Warner Bros. He was soon making guest appearances on “Maverick,” “77 Sunset Strip” and “Sugarfoot.” In 1959, West made his movie debut opposite Paul Newman in “The Young Philadelphians,” a movie he considers one of his best.
“I’ve done my share of good films, but there have been some lemons in there, too,” he said. “When you are an actor, it’s impossible to find quality work all of the time. At times, you have to take what’s available.”
