By Gary Bennett
Picture this: Crooks have just pilfered the largest diamond in the world from the Gotham City Museum of Fine Jewelry, leaving stunned watchmen and slips of paper with confounding riddles behind. Solve the riddles and you will find the fiends! Clearly outclassed — alas, there’s really no reason to even try — Police Commissioner Gordon and Chief of Police O’Hara look skyward and grimly activate the bat signal. A powerful beam of light depicting the majestic and unmistakable winged symbol of justice lights up the night sky. It is only a matter of time before the dashing, tricked-out Batmobile is screeching down the highway, depositing Batman and Robin at police HQ for a confab with the overmatched police professionals.
The “Batman” TV series, which ran for 120 episodes between 1966 and 1968, debuted 60 years ago on ABC this month. Nearly every episode began the way I described — an outrageous caper pulled off by an oddball villain, befuddled police, and the caped crusaders, duly notified, speeding to the rescue. It was a twice-weekly series, airing on two consecutive nights — Wednesday and Thursday — at 7:30 pm.
As a kid of the ‘60s, I can tell you there was nothing quite like it. I watched “Batman” in first run but, like Star Trek, reruns kicked in right away so it seemed like it was always on. Today, the original “Batman” series airs on MeTV on Saturdays and the entire 120-episode series is available on DVD at major retailers.
The first episode of the week always left the dynamic duo teetering on the verge of a harrowing death from the hands of an outrageous villain. Episode two featured their miraculous escape and the comeuppance of the villain. That was the formula — every time — and we loved it. Executive producer William Dozier, who doubled as the show’s overly-excited narrator, always implored us to return the next night at the “same bat time, same bat channel.”
“Batman” appealed to kids for the nonstop action, colorful villains and the heroic deeds of the “dynamin duo,” especially the comically stoic Adam West as Batman (“Thank you, citizen.”) It eventually appealed to adults, too, because of its sly humor, scientific basis (the bat cave was filled with technical wonders, including the first computer any of us had ever seen) and the witty, campy presentation. I vividly remember watching “Batman” with my dad, who chuckled at the exaggerated cliches, laid on thick.
It didn’t take long before the show became an unlikely hit and full-blown national phenomenon. Like “Hogan’s Heroes” and several other escapist comedies before it, like “Bewitched,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Munsters” and “The Addams Family,” it came along at just the right time, providing a twice-weekly break for our war-weary and strife-riddled country in the mid ‘60s.
Based on the comic book by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and the old Batman radio show, “Batman” was the first depiction of the “caped crusaders” on screen. It led to an animated series and the ultra-successful “Batman” movie franchise we know today.
“Batman” starred Hollywood veteran Adam West as Batman and 19-year-old Burt Ward as Robin, the Boy Wonder. The regular cast was rounded out by Neil Hamilton as deadpan Commissioner Gordon, Stafford Repp as good-humored Chief O’Hara, and Alan Napier as Alfred, the trusted butler to both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Chief writer Lorenzo Semple won a critic’s choice award for his writing on “Batman,” and the show won several Emmys during its run, mostly for technical achievement.
Adam West was a handsome, adequately-built and believable action hero in the mold of George Reeves as Superman. He played Batman as humble, corny, dead pan and not too self-aware. Later in life, West let on how difficult it was to play Batman that way, but he embraced it. Like many actors indelibly linked to their character, West was type cast as Batman and had difficulty landing other roles. In retirement, he enjoyed hamming it up at conventions and personal appearances for adoring fans. Today, viewers may know him as the voice of Quahog mayor Adam West in Family Guy. West died in 2017 at age 88.
Newcomer Burt Ward brought a pinch of innocence, earnestness and awkwardness to the series as Robin. Many times, Batman had to rescue him from dire circumstances that anyone else could clearly see coming. His excitable and ever-changing catchphrase beginning with “holy” and ending with a description of the predicament they faced (“Holy hot candle wax, Batman!) were on the lips of adolescents everywhere. Ward is now 81 years old and living in Los Angeles.
“Batman” worked well because it didn’t take itself too seriously, staying faithful to its comic book roots. It specialized in highly choreographed fight sequences, complete with sound effects superimposed on the screen (“POW,” “BAM,” “SPLAT,” “CLANK,” “KAPOW”), a pulsating one-word theme song (“na na na na na na na na, Batman!”) and, most ridiculous of all, absurdly intricate death scenes that never quite finished off the caped crusaders.
Naturally, villains could never bring themselves to just shoot Batman and Robin, even when they had the chance. They had to devise over-the-top death sequences befitting their diabolical reputations. Most times, they were not even in attendance for the dirty deed.
My favorite almost-death scene saw the dynamic duo placed into a giant Frosty Freezie machine by the despicable Mr. Freeze, almost turning them into fruity popsicles. Fortunately, Batman realizes the heat exhaust from the machine could melt them out. Using a handy gadget from his utility belt, which the villains always left in place, he was able to turn the exhaust onto Robin and himself for easy melting.
Kids of the ’60 waited with bated breath each week to see which villain would show up. That was a big part of the fun. Hollywood’s biggest names clamored to make a “guest villain” appearance. It got so bad by season three that the caped crusaders had to battle two or three dastardly villains who teamed up to do away with the “caped creeps” once and for all. The list included the big four: a cackling Cesar Romero as Joker, wiry Frank Gorshin as Riddler, waddling and quacking Burgess Meredith (of Rocky fame) as Penguin and sexy Julie Newmar and later Ertha Kitt as Catwoman (Perrrrrrrfect casting!). When any one of those stalwarts turned up, you knew the caped crusaders were really in for it.
Other villains included Milton Berle as Louie the Lilac, Ethel Merman as Lola Lasagne, David Wayne as Mad Hatter, Vincent Price as Egghead, Victor Buono as King Tut, Maurice Evans as Puzzler, Cliff Robertson as Shame (a takeoff on the cowboy character Shane), Dina Merrill as Calamity Jan, Art Carney as Archer and even famed film director Otto Preminger as the mysterious Mr. Freeze.
Near the end of the third season, ratings began to drop as the premise wore off. ABC canceled the show, but NBC agreed to pick it up. But before it could, hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Batman sets were mistakenly destroyed. Rather than rebuild the sets, NBC dropped the project. It took 20 years, but the bat rose again, this time in the form of an ultra-successful major motion picture starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Numerous movies later, it is still going strong.
Gary Bennett is a longtime Frederick resident who spends his time hiking, biking, volunteering and providing childcare for grandchildren. He is married and retired from his career as a nonprofit marketing executive.
