Very sad....
On 2017-06-10 03:03 PM, Steve wrote:
Adam West, the actor forever known as TV's Batman, dies at 88
Remembering Adam West
Adam West, TV's "Batman", has died at 88 in Los Angeles, his family said.
(Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)
By Matt Schudel
June 10 at 12:10 PM
Adam West, the actor who portrayed the superhero Batman on television in the
1960s, and who seemed trapped in the character's cape and tights for the rest
of his career, died June 9 in Los Angeles. He was 88.
The cause was leukemia, his family said in a statement.
Other actors, including Michael Keaton and Oscar winner Christian Bale, have
taken on the role of the Caped Crusader, but no one was as closely identified
with the character as Mr. West.
His dozens of other film and television roles, from westerns to police
dramas, seemed to be forgotten, as popular culture remembered him for a
single role on a half-hour adventure comedy that lasted just three seasons,
from 1966 to 1968.
There was always something a little goofy about the show itself, with its
masked heroes, Batman and Robin, its staged fistfights, accompanied by
comic-book illustrations saying "Pow!" and "Zowie!" -- and about Mr. West's
portrayal of its eponymous hero.
Adam West, whose straight-faced portrayal of Batman in a 1960s TV series
lifted the tight-clad Caped Crusader into the national consciousness, died at
age 88.
For the next 50 years, Mr. West appeared as Batman or as himself in countless
TV shows, including "The Simpsons" and "The Big Bang Theory," as nostalgia
merged into a retro-nerd-hipster sort of cool.
"You can't play Batman in a serious, square-jawed, straight-ahead way without
giving the audience the sense that there's something behind that mask waiting
to get out, that he's a little crazed, he's strange," Mr. West said.
Keeping his tongue firmly planted in cheek, Mr. West voiced a corrupt mayor
in the animated series "Family Guy" -- a mayor named Adam West.
This is a developing story. A full obituary will follow.
Adam West, the US actor best known as the star of the 1960s hit TV series
Batman, has died aged 88.
West died peacefully in Los Angeles after a "short but brave battle" with
leukaemia, a family spokesperson said.
His tongue-in-cheek portrayal of Batman and the superhero's alter ego Bruce
Wayne won a cult following.
He later struggled to find big acting roles, but won a new generation of fans
in more recent times after joining the cast of Family Guy.
First appearing in season two in 2002, he voiced Quahog's eccentric Mayor
Adam West, described by series creator Seth MacFarlane as an "alternate
universe", satirised version of the actor.
MacFarlane paid tribute to the star on Twitter, saying he had "lost a friend"
and described West as "irreplaceable".
Seth McFarlane tweet: Family Guy has lost its mayor and I have lost a
friend.Image copyright Twitter
West's family said in a statement: "Our dad always saw himself as The Bright
Knight, and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans' lives. He was and
always will be our hero."
The Batman TV series, with its onscreen fight-scene graphics of Wham! and
Pow! became an unexpected hit. West and his co-star Burt Ward, who played
Batman's sidekick Robin, won widespread acclaim for their kitsch portrayal of
the Dynamic Duo.
Actor Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman in the series, paid tribute to West
on Saturday, saying he was was "bright, witty and fun to work with".
"I will miss him in the physical world and savour him always in the world of
imagination and creativity," she said.
Actor Adam West attends the Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Press Room
at New York Comic-Con on October 6, 2016Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
Adam West remained closely associated with the Batman character throughout
his career
In a 2010 interview with the website Slice of SciFi, West said the TV series
had benefitted from very good writers.
"They saw the craziness, the comedy. You know, just as he's about to put her
in (jail), Batman says to Catwoman, 'You give me curious stirrings in my
utility belt.' That's funny stuff."
When the series ended, West struggled to break free from the character, but
over a long career appeared in nearly 50 films including Drop Dead Gorgeous,
An American Vampire Story and Nevada Smith.
Who has played Batman?
◾ Adam West -TV series (1966-68); Batman: The Movie (1966)
◾ Michael Keaton -Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992)
◾ Val Kilmer -Batman Forever (1995)
◾ George Clooney - Batman and Robin (1997)
◾ Christian Bale - Batman Begins (2005); The Dark Knight (2008); The Dark
Knight Rises (2012)
◾ Ben Affleck - Batman v Superman (2016); Justice League (2017)
Tributes to the actor poured in via social media following news of his death.
Actor Val Kilmer, who played Batman in a later movie, tweeted: "Ah dear Adam
West. He was always so kind when we met. A real gent. Once when I was a kid
we found ourselves in front the Batmobile. I got in."
The author Neil Gaiman tweeted: "Rest in Peace Adam West. We met once in 1987
and I was too embarrassed and too foolishly 'cool' to tell you what you meant
to my childhood."
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who worked with West, described him was "a
wonderful actor and so kind".
He tweeted: "I'm so lucky to have worked w/ him & tell him how much he meant
to me & millions of fans."
Before embarking on an acting career, West was drafted into the US Army and
was an announcer for the Armed Forces Network.
The US defence department tweeted a picture of West in his uniform with the
message: "He was our hero long before the cape."
Tweet from US defence departmentImage copyright Twitter
West was born in 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington state, and began his acting
career in Hawaii in the 1950s.
He is survived by his wife, Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren.
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