Batman TV series: Encyclopedia - Batman TV series

Batman (TV series)

Batman was the title of an exceptionally popular 1960s TV series based on the comic-book character Batman that aired on ABC TV for 2 1/2 seasons from 12 January 1966 to 14 March 1968.

Batman TV series - The series

The series was produced in the United States of America and debuted at 7:30, Wednesday evening, January 12, 1966 on ABC television, at a time when other popular TV series included The Monkees and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. The Batman series set a standard that identifies it as a product of the 1960s. It was known for its silly high camp humour and continues to be the version some associate with the Batman character despite it being least reflective of the Batman character. It ran for a total of 120 25-minute episodes.

It revolved around the adventures of the crimefighter Batman (Adam West) and his sidekick Robin (Burt Ward) in Gotham City. Batman's dual identity was that of the debonair millionaire Bruce Wayne, who lived outside the city in "stately Wayne Manor." He lived with his youthful ward Dick Grayson (aka Robin), faithful butler Alfred (Alan Napier), and Aunt Harriet Cooper. The adventures usually called for the heroes to fight supervillains such as the Joker (Cesar Romero), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), and Catwoman (at various times Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt). Other main characters were Police Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton), Chief O'Hara of the Gotham City Police, and Batgirl (Yvonne Craig). Quick action sequences, the voice of TV producer William Dozier as a pompous sounding narrator providing the storylines, psychedelic sets and costumes, wild camera angles (with the criminals' lairs always being filmed with the camera at an angle to emphasize the "crooked" nature of the filthy criminals), and bright colors were all meant to evoke the four-color, campy world of the comic books of the 1950s and 1960s under the strict Comics Code Authority. The series is notable for its use of cliffhanger endings and the Batclimb cameo, which allowed top celebrities of the 1960s to appear in a small part. Lastly, the fight scenes between the good guys (Batman and Robin) and the villains were interlaced with titles that reflected comic book style sound effects: WHAM! POW! SOCK! (critics of the series contend the titles also helped hide generally low-quality stunts and frequently missed punches).

Batman TV series - Genesis of the series

In the early 1960s, Ed Graham Productions optioned the TV rights to Batman, and planned a straight foreward juvenile adventure show, much like The Adventures of Superman and The Lone Ranger, for CBS on Saturday mornings. Mike Henry, who would later go on to star in the Tarzan franchise, and is best known for his portrayal of Jackie Gleason's dipstick son in the Smokey and the Bandit movies, was set to star as Batman. Reportedly, DC Comics commissioned publicity photos of Henry in a Batman costume. Around this same time, an ABC executive attended a party at the Playboy Mansion. Part of the festivities was the screening of the Batman serials. The executive saw how the hip partygoers were cheering and applauding the films. He took the idea to ABC to make a prime time Batman series in the hip and fun style of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. When negotiations between CBS and Graham stalled, DC quickly reeled the rights back in and made the deal with ABC. ABC farmed the rights out to 20th Century Fox to produce the series. Fox, in turn, handed the project to William Dozier and his Greenway Productions. Where as ABC and Fox were expecting a hip and fun, yet still serious, adventure show, Dozier, who loathed comic books, concluded the only way to make the show work was to do it as a pop art camp comedy. Dozier may or may not have screened Andy Warhol's Batman Dracula film, made without DC's permission, which is believed to be the first appearance of a blatently campy Batman. Originally, mystery novelist Eric Ambler was to write the motion picture that would launch the TV series, but he dropped out after learning of Dozier's camp comedy approach. By time ABC pushed up the debut date to January 1966, thus foregoing the movie until the summer hiatus, Lorenzo Semple Jr. had signed on as head script writer. He wrote the pilot script, and generally kept his scripts more on the side of pop art adventure, making those episodes the best of the series. Stanley Ralph Ross, Stanford Sherman, and Charles Hoffman were script writers who generally leaned more toward camp comedy, and in Ross' case, sometimes outright slapstick and satire. Instead of producing a one hour show, Dozier and Semple decided to have the show air twice a week in half hour installments with a cliffhanger connecting the two episodes, echoing the old movie serials. Initially, Dozier wanted Ty Hardin to play Batman, but he was unavailable, filming Westerns in Europe. Eventually, two sets of screen tests were filmed, one with Adam West and Burt Ward, the other with Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell, with West and Ward winning the roles.

Batman TV series - Plot summary

A typical episode began with the daring Bat-villain doing something bad like robbing a bank. This was followed up by a scene inside Police Commissioner Gordon's office where he and Chief O'Hara would work out exactly which villain they were to face in that week's episode. Gordon would press a button on the Batphone, signaling a cut to Wayne Manor where faithful butler Alfred would answer the phone and say a line like "I'll just get him for you, sir." Alfred would then interrupt Master Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson (usually talking with Aunt Harriet) with a pretext to draw them away to answer the Batphone. Upon hearing of his enemies' diabolical schemes, Bruce would push a button concealed within a bust of Shakespeare on his desk, opening a hidden door in a bookcase revealing two poles. Wayne and Grayson would slide down the poles and emerge in the Batcave in full costume, where after colorful starting titles would jump into the Batmobile. Robin would say "Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed" and Batman would respond "Roger, ready to move out" and would race off out of the cave at high speeds.

After arriving at Commissioner Gordon's office, the initial discussion of the crime usually led to the Dynamic Duo conducting their investigation alone. In the investigation, a meeting with the villain would usually ensue with the heroes getting involved in a fight and the villain getting away only to come back and fight again later in the show in which he would capture one or many of our heroes and place them in a deathtrap with a cliffhanger ending which was usually resolved in the first few minutes of the next episode.

The same shenanigans were repeated in the following episode until the Villain was defeated.

By season three, due to falling ratings, Batgirl was added to attract young female viewers as well as older male viewers. The show was reduced to once a week, with mostly self-contained episodes, although the next week's villain would be in a tag at the end of the episode, giving the series a bit of a soap opera feel. It also looked more bizzare because of the cheap cardboard cut out back drops one would expect at a high school play. The show became very surreal in the third season, and very "Saturday morning-esque" in the negative definition of the phrase. At the end of the third season, ABC planned to cut the budget even more by eliminating Chief O'Hara and Robin, while making Batgirl Batman's full time partner. Both Dozier and West vetoed this idea, and ABC cancelled the show. Weeks later, NBC offered to pick the show up for a fourth season, and even restore it back to its twice a week format. Unfortunately, Fox had already torn down the sets. NBC didn't want to pay to rebuild, so the offer was withdrawn.

In 1972, Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig reunited as Robin and Batgirl, with Dick Gautier stepping in as Batman for a Women's Lib Equal Pay public service announcement. In 1979, West, Ward and Gorshin reunited on NBC for Hanna-Barbara's two Legends Of The Superheroes TV specials, which also featured Captain Marvel, The Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman.

Batman TV series - Popularity

Many sports, music, and media personalities, and a number of Hollywood actors, looked forward to and enjoyed their appearances as villains on the Batman show. They were generally allowed to overact and enjoy themselves on a high-rated TV series, guaranteeing them considerable exposure (and thus boosting their careers). The most popular villains on the show included Cesar Romero as The Joker; Burgess Meredith as The Penguin; Frank Gorshin as The Riddler; and Julie Newmar as Catwoman. Other famous names from the "rogues gallery" in the comic book series made appearances on the show (notably The Mad Hatter), and some were taken from other superheroes, such as The Archer and The Puzzler (Superman's villains) and The Clock King (Green Arrow's villain). Many other villains were created especially for the TV show, and never did appear in the comic books (such as "The Siren", "Chandelle", "Bookworm", "King Tut", "Lord Ffogg", "Dr. Cassandra",and "Louie the Lilac"), while some were hybrids. The comics' "Mr. Zero" was renamed "Mr. Freeze" (a name change that was copied in the comics with lasting effect), and the comics' "Brainy Barrows" was reworked as "Egghead". Other celebrities often appeared in scenes where the Dynamic Duo are scaling a building wall and the celebrity would suddenly open a window and have a short conversation with the superheroes. So many celebrities wanted to appear on the show that some, such as Elizabeth Taylor, even had to be turned away.

Adam West enjoys the story that he was almost part of the 3 big B's of the 1960s Batman, The Beatles and Bond. (West says he actually was invited to play Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service based on his popularity as Batman, but declined the role as he felt it should be played by a British actor.)

The popularity of the TV show did not translate well to the silver screen, however. A movie version of the TV show was released to theaters (see Batman (1966 film)), but it did not become a large box office hit, although it continued to be profitably rereleased to theaters, TV, and video for decades. Originally, the movie had been created to help sell the TV series abroad, but the success of the series in America sold itself, and the movie was brought out after season one had already been aired.

However the live-action TV show was extraordinarily popular; at the height of its popularity, it was the only prime-time TV show broadcast twice in one week as part of its regular schedule, airing at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, outside of Peyton Place. Episodes of the show were often filmed as two-part cliffhangers, with each storyline beginning on Wednesday and ending on the Thursday night episode. The first episode of a storyline would typically end with Batman and Robin being trapped in a ridiculous deathtrap, while the narrator would tell viewers to watch the next night with the repeated phrase: "Tune in tomorrow — same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!" Even now, many years after the show ceased production, this catch-phrase is still a long-running punchline in popular culture.

The show even contributed to the careers of two real-life New York City policemen, David Greenberg and Robert Hantz. This pair had a remarkable career as police officers, so much so that they were given street nicknames of "Batman and Robin". Their careers were fictionalized in the 1974 movie The Super Cops.

The fans of dark Batman abhorred the series since the 1970s to the present day and some say the Batman series has not aged well since the 1970s, however. Comic book fans who know Batman as a grim "masked avenger of the night" speak of the TV series with a near-universal revulsion and hatred. The series is seen by fans as a black mark on the medium of comic books, as it cast comics as silly, light-weight entertainment meant strictly for young children — an image that comic books have never completely rid themselves of, though the publication of The Dark Knight Returns in 1986 (and the movie Batman in 1989) did finally succeed in reshaping Batman's image outside of comic books. The fact that the TV series typically depicted women in a highly stereotypical fashion, with a few noted exceptions like Batgirl, dates it further.

Adam West acknowledges those criticisms in his autobiography Back to the Batcave, but argues that it was the wrong era for a 'straight' Batman TV show, and the series was responsible for saving the character for future generations to enjoy, as the comic was in danger of being cancelled before the TV show revived sales.

TV critics and historians note that the real appeal of the show lay in its array of oddball, outrageous, and often charismatic villains. The hippie counterculture of the 1960s enjoyed the fact that even though they would eventually win and put the bad guys in jail, Batman and Robin portrayed the forces of "law and order" as being woefully humorless, "square", and unaware of the fact that the world was laughing at them. The villains, on the other hand, had the chance to rebel against society, wear gaudy, flashy costumes, and have all the fun... until they were required to lose and be captured by Batman and Robin. The series had the advantage of appealing to two major age groups for entirely different reasons; adults viewed it as a humorous spoof while children enjoyed it as a flashy adventure show.

The series' stars, Adam West and Burt Ward, were typecast for decades afterwards, with West especially finding himself unable to escape the reputation the series gave him as a hammy, campy actor. However, years after the series' impact faded, West found fame and respect among comic book and animation fans, who appreciated his work on the TV series. One of the more popular episodes of Batman: The Animated Series paid tribute to West with an episode entitled "The Grey Ghost." In this episode, West played the role of an aging star of a campy superhero TV series Bruce Wayne watched as a child and would be inspired by as a crimefighter, who found new popularity with the next generation of fans. In addition, the most frequent visual influence is that later Batmobiles usually have a rear rocket thruster that usually fires as the car makes a fast start.

In 2003, West and Ward reunited for a tongue-in-cheek telefilm entitled Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt which combined dramatized recreations of the filming of the original series (with younger actors standing in for the stars), with modern day footage of West and Ward searching for a stolen Batmobile. The film included cameo appearances by Newmar and Gorshin, as well as Lee Meriwether who had played Catwoman in the 1966 film and Lyle Waggoner, who had been an early candidate for the role of Batman. The movie received high ratings and was released on DVD May 2005.

Despite much popular demand, no home video or DVD release of the series has to date occurred, and this situation seems unlikely to be resolved in the near future. The problem as explained by the website TVShowsonDVD.com is that Warner Bros. owns the Batman character, while 20th Century Fox owns the TV series (Warner had not owned DC until 1976), and the two companies have, to date, yet to come to an agreement regarding home video/DVD release of the series (it was later revealed that Warner Bros. isn't involved). As a result, the 1966 feature remains the only element of the original series officially available for non-broadcast viewing in North America! This even affected Return To The Batcave, which was only able to make use of footage from the 1966 movie.

Batman TV series - Trivia

• The Batman theme was the most recorded song of 1966. In addition to Neal Hefti's original version, and the official soundtrack version by Nelson Riddle, the theme was covered by The Who, The Marketts, Dan & Dale, The Ventures, Al Hirt, and Jan and Dean, who released an entire concept album titled Jan & Dean Meet Batman. Then there were the groups who seemd to exist just to cover the theme, such as "Bruce and the Robin Rockers" and "The Sensational Batboys".
• In the pilot episode, "Hi Diddle Riddle...Smack in the Middle", Batman is more of an outsider. If in court, he would have to remove his mask, exposing his secret identity. Later episodes ignore this fact and not only have Batman in court in full costume, but make him pure "establishment" by having him substitute for the district attorney. Also, an early draft of the script gives Batman a dark edge. He "allows" Molly to fall to her death in the Batcave. DC protested and the scene was rewritten to have Batman desperately attempting to save Molly unsuccessfully.
• A line spoken by Robin in Batman Forever is a straight homage to Robin's catch-phrase. During the movie he says "Holey Rusted Metal, Batman" (referring to the island's land-scape which is made from metal and has holes in it) which sounds unintentionally similar to lines spoken by Robin beginning with the word "Holy" and ending with "Batman".
• Two-Face was considered too gruesome a character and so never appeared on the show. However his inclusion was considered for a while and apparently Clint Eastwood was considered for the role during this period.
• Jill St. John in a Robin costume, from the pilot episode, may have inspired Frank Miller's creation of Carrie Kelley in The Dark Knight Returns.
• Jim Carrey who played the Riddler in Batman Forever admits that his potrayal of the character was inspired by Frank Gorshin.
• The show also cemented the name of the villain Mr. Freeze (previously known as Mr. Zero - and, on one occasion, Dr. Zero). Mr. Freeze is actually played by three actors on the show. The villain was originally played by George Sanders in one of the very first episodes. During the second season Otto Preminger (the famous Austrian film director) and Eli Wallach took turns playing the Frosty Fiend. Mr. Freeze tended to have had a "Germanic" element to his character, which was used again when Mr. Freeze re-appears in the 1997 film Batman and Robin. This time, Mr. Freeze is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who went on to become Governor of California in 2003.
• When Joan Collins appeared as The Siren, it was not the first time in her career that she played a temptress based on Greek mythology who could entrance men. Collins had a similar role in 1962 in The Road to Hong Kong (the last of the famous "Road" movies starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby ), when she played Diana, the Greek goddess of the moon.
• Julie Newmar was not available for the final season, due to the filming of "McKenna's Gold" so Catwoman was played by Eartha Kitt
• Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman in the Batman movie, also played a minor role in an episode featuring King Tut. Her character, Lisa Carson, was the actual name of the wife of Stanley Ralph Ross (who wrote that particular episode and many others in the series).
• Minerva, the series' final villain, was played by Zsa Zsa Gabor. The role had originally been intended for Mae West. Ms West was unavailable, due to her role in the film "Myra Breckinridge", which was preparing to shoot at the same time.
• Dr. Cassandra (played by Ida Lupino) was named for Cassandra - a girl who lived next door to Stanley Ralph Ross (and who constantly asked Ross to be put into a Batman story). When it became apparent that the series was winding down, Mr. Ross decided to accept the girl's request.
• Many actors who had small roles in Batman episodes could be seen in other series of that time period. For example, Michael Pataki plays one of King Tut's henchmen. He also plays a Kligon in the classic Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles", a New York City detective in All in the Family and appears in several episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati. Nancy Kovack and Phyllis Douglas (who both play henchwomen for The Joker) can also be found in Star Trek episodes. Lyn Peters, who played Lady Prudence in the 3 Londinium episodes, also had some small roles in Get Smart. Her real name was Lyn Paul, one of the members of the The New Seekers folk group.
• Marianna Hill, who plays Cleo Patrick (one of King Tut's "Queens of the Nile") is a cousin of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. , who led the American forces in Operation Desert Storm. Her real name is Marianna Schwarzkopf.
• William Dozier and Howard Horwitz, who served as producers on the show, also play cameo roles in the final episode (Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires)
• Some of the costumes used by the women of Batman could be seen in several episodes. The purple costume worn by Kathy Kersh as "Cornelia" (another of The Joker's henchwomen), was also used by Linda Gaye Scott (who plays "Moth", one of The Riddler's assistant). A purple and orange outfit used by Phyllis Douglas in her role as Josie Miller (yet another of The Joker's assistants) is later used by Ida Lupino in her role as Dr. Cassandra. Recycling costumes was probably a cost-saving measure on behalf of the show's wardrobe department.
• Linda Gaye Scott is an heiress to the Scott Paper Company .
• Although Frank Gorshin may be best known for playing The Riddler, he was a well known comedian and impressionist during the 1960's. Gorshin guested on many variety shows of the day, including one notable appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on the night of February 9, 1964. Unfortunately for Gorshin, that particular Sunday night is now remembered as the first North American television appearance of The Beatles.
• Jacques Bergerac, who plays "French Freddie the Fence" in several Batman episodes, later became the president of the Revlon Cosmetics Company.
• Dr. Cassandra (played by Ida Lupino) used several weapons in her attempts to defeat Batman - such as special vanishing pills that made her invisible, and which allowed her to spring several of Gotham City's arch-criminals from the Gotham State Penitentiary as part of her crime wave. One of them was called the "Alvino ray-gun" (which she used at Spiffany's Jewelry Store to "flatten" Batman, Robin and Batgirl), after first getting browbeaten by G. David Schine, the shop's proprietor. In original drafts of the script, the weapon was known as the "Ronald Ray-gun". While this was meant to poke fun at Ronald Reagan (who was Governor of California from 1967 to 1975), it seemed that this hit a bit too close to home to those in authority, who asked for a different name. The gun's eventual name was taken from Alvino Rey, a prominent band leader of the 1930's and 1940's. Neal Hefti, who wrote the show's theme, had worked with Rey - he was likely the one who suggested the new name.
• Several cast members recorded records tied in to the series. Adam West released a single titled "Miranda", a country-tinged pop song that he actually performed in costume during live appearances in the 1960s. Frank Gorshin released a song titled "The Riddler" which was composed and arranged by Mel Torme. The track captures Gorshin's insane portrayal perfectly. Burgess Meredith recorded a spoken word single called "The Escape" backed with "The Capture", which was The Penguin narrating his recent crime spree to a jazz beat.
• Lesley Gore , who plays "Pussycat" (one of Catwoman's henchwomen) , was a popular singer of the day with hits such as "It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To". Gore was also the niece of Howie Horwitz, one of the show's producers. "Pussycat" may have inspired Frank Miller's character of "Holly" in Batman: Year One. Gore was only one of a number of musical acts to appear on the show. Others included Paul Revere and the Raiders , Johnnie Green and His Green Men (see next entry) as well as Chad and Jeremy (who starred in a two part episode where Catwoman steals their voices).
• A page on the the 1966 Batman TV Tribute Site notes an intriguing connection between all the musical acts who performed on the show. Johnnie Green and His Green Men played during an episode featuring The Joker during the show's third season - where The Joker attempts to win the world surfing championship by kidnapping Gotham City's surfing hero Skip Parker. Charles FitzSimons (who served as the assistant to Executive Producer William Dozier) saw Johnny perform a fire-eating act in his office. Combined with the bright green hair color used by the band members, it was just "far out" enough that FitzSimons booked them for the show. Johnny and his band members were also friends of Chad and Jeremy and Paul Revere and the Raiders. Not only that, but during the 1970's the band recorded for AVI Records, a label owned by Liberace. And to bring this full circle, the site also mentions that Johnny dated Lesley Gore. Johnny told many of his stories to author Mark Starks for his book, "Johnny Green & the Greenmen"(2006).
• At least one of the show's villains was based on a real-life criminal. Shelley Winters plays "Ma Parker", a woman who commits a series of crimes in Gotham City along with her children (and who actually manages to take ove the Gotham State Penitentiary for a while). Her name was taken from Ma Barker , who headed a real-life criminal family in the 1930's.
• Cliff Robertson plays "Shame" (described by Batman as the "Conniving Cowboy of Crime". His name is taken from the classic Western film Shane , which starred Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur. And when you watch the "Shame" episode, keep an eye out for the little boy who at the end, as Batman and Robin arrest Shame and his criminal gang cries out "Come back Shame, come back!" That too is a parody on Shane , where Joey yells out "Shane, Come back Shane".
• Cliff Robertson was not the only family member in that Batman episode. His wife Dina Merrill plays Shame's henchwoman Calamity Jan - a parody on Calamity Jane. Her real name, incidentally, is Nedenia Marjorie Hutton, the daughter of Wall Street wizard Edward Francis Hutton and Post Cereals heiress Majorie Merriweather Post.
• Adam West pitched an idea to have Robert Lowery, who played Batman in the 1949 serial, on the show as Bruce's often mentioned but never seen Uncle Phillip. Unfortunately, the deal never happened.

Batman TV series - Cast

Batman TV series - Regular cast

• Adam West - Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Burt Ward - Robin/Richard "Dick" Grayson
• Alan Napier - Alfred Pennyworth
• Neil Hamilton - Commissioner James Worthington Gordon
• Stafford Repp - Chief O'Hara
• Madge Blake - Aunt Harriet Cooper
• Yvonne Craig - Batgirl/Barbara Gordon

Batman TV series - Notable guest cast

• Regular/recurring characters
  • Anne Baxter (as Zelda The Great in season 1 and Olga, Queen Of The Cossacks in season 3)
  • Milton Berle (as Louie The Lilac in season 3)
  • Victor Buono - Professor William Omaha Mackelroy, King Tut
  • Joan Collins (as Loreli Circe, The Siren in season 3)
  • Frank Gorshin - Edward Nygma, The Riddler (seasons 1 and 3)
  • Carolyn Jones - Marsha, Queen of Diamonds
  • Eartha Kitt - Selina Kyle, The Catwoman (season 3)
  • Roddy McDowall - The Bookworm
  • Burgess Meredith - Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, The Penguin
  • Lee Meriwether (as The Catwoman in the 1966 feature film)
  • Julie Newmar - Selina Kyle, The Catwoman (seasons 1 and 2)
  • Otto Preminger - Mr. Freeze (season 2)
  • Vincent Price - Egghead
  • Cliff Robertson - Shame
  • Cesar Romero - The Joker
  • George Sanders - Dr. Schimmell/Mr. Freeze (season 1)
  • Eli Wallach - Mr. Freeze (season 2)
  • David Wayne - Jervis Tetch, The Mad Hatter

Batman TV series - Cameos

• Notable cameos or one-off villains
  • Steve Allen
  • John Astin (as The Riddler in season 2, when Frank Gorshin was unavailable)
  • Tallulah Bankhead (as Mrs. Max Black, The Black Widow in season 2)
  • Art Carney (as The Archer in season 2)
  • Maurice Evans (as The Puzzler in season 2, a Riddler-substitute as Gorshin was not available)
  • Zsa Zsa Gabor (as Minerva in season 3)
  • Lesley Gore
  • Gypsy Rose Lee playing "Newscaster" in episode: "The Sandman Cometh" 1966
  • Liberace (as Chandell/Fingers the pianist and his criminal brother Harry in season 2)
  • Ida Lupino (as Dr. Cassandra in season 3)
  • Allen Ludden (as a news reporter in season 2)
  • Roddy McDowall (as The Bookworm in season 1)
  • Ethel Merman as Lola Lasagna (Lulu Schultz)
  • Archie Moore
  • Michael Rennie (as The Sandman in season 2)
  • Walter Slezak (as The Clock King in season 2)
  • Rudy Vallee (as Lord Marmaduke Ffogg in season 3)
  • Van Williams and Bruce Lee as The Green Hornet and Kato
  • Shelley Winters (as Ma Barker in season 2)
  • Joan Collins (as Lorelei Circe, the Siren)

• Batclimb cameos
  • Jerry Lewis
  • Dick Clark
  • Sammy Davis Jr.
  • Bill Dana as Jose Jiminez
  • Howard Duff
  • Werner Klemperer in character as Colonel Klink
  • Ted Cassidy as Lurch
  • Andy Devine as Santa
  • Art Linkletter
  • Suzie Knickerbocker
  • Edward G. Robinson

Batman TV series - Bit parts before they were famous

• James Brolin
• Teri Garr
• Bruce Lee as Kato, Green Hornet's partner
• Rob Reiner

Batman TV series - Last appearances on screen

• Edward Everett Horton
• Francis X. Bushman
• Douglass Dumbrille
• Tallulah Bankhead

Batman TV series - Parodies

• The cartoon series Batfink, whose sidekick Karate was stereotypical oriental, and whose "utility arm" parodied the utility belt; the sidekick had everything, including the kitchen sink, up the sleeve on that arm.
• The television show was famous for parodying names of many famous celebrities of the day. Among the most notable were newscasters Walter Cronkite (known as "Walter Klondike" on Batman), and Chet Huntley (he's known as "Chet Chumley" on the show). Steve Allen played himself on the show, and was known as "Allen Stevens". J. Pauline Spaghetti (a woman who is almost tricked into giving up her fortune to the notorious European criminal "Sandman" - played by Michael Rennie ) is a parody of J. Paul Getty owner of the Getty Oil Company and one of the richest men of the 1960's.
• Lee Meriwether plays Lisa Carson, a wealthy Gotham City socialite who is kidnapped by King Tut. Her father is John E. Carson - a parody on the legendary host of The Tonight Show Johnny Carson.
• Gotham City's Mayor Lindseed is a parody on John Lindsay , who served as Mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973.
• The Monkees TV series made several references to Batman. In the episode "Captain Crocodile", the Monkees parody the Batman TV show with Peter Tork as Frogman and Davy Jones as Rubin the Tadpole. In the episode "Monkees Blow Thier Minds", Burgess Meredith makes a cameo as the Penguin.
• In the Dr. Cassandra episode, the evil alchemist steals the Mope diamond (a parody of the famous Hope Diamond.) from Spiffany's jewellers. Spiffany's is a parody of Tiffany & Co. (which was - and still is, one of New York's finest jewellers).
• The three part Londinium episode during Batman's final series ("The Londinium Larcenies", "The Foggiest Notion", and "The Bloody Tower") was the series tribute to the Swinging London period of the 1960's. At the time of the show, everything British was "hot" in North America. This was especially true in areas such as music (the British Invasion led by rock groups such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and fashion (London's Carnaby Street was a leading fashion district during the 1960's - perhaps best known for the miniskirt). And of course, there was James Bond, the world's most famous superspy. Many aspects of London were parodied during the three episodes. The city's name is changed to Londinium, which was the British capital's name during Roman times. Scotland Yard becomes "Ireland Yard" in the series. Carnaby Street becomes "Barnaby Street". Fleet Street, the city's press district, is changed to "Bleet Street".

Batman TV series - External links

• "Batman" (1966/II) at the Internet Movie Database
• Museum of Broadcast Communications
• The 1966 Batman TV Tribute Site
• The 1966 Batman Message Board
• The Bat Pages Note: this website contains the original screentests of Adam West, Burt Ward, and Lyle Waggoner.

Categories: 1960s TV shows in the United States | ABC network shows | Batman television series | Television programs based on DC Comics

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Batman TV series", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki