RIP Adam West

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

As much as I loved B:TAS, I always enjoyed the 60's Batman show when KPLR-11 (STL) used to air it. RIP.

[Fundertaker]

RIP to one of the great TV icons. May his utility belt and the GRAY GHOST~! lead him to Heaven.

[The Unconquered Sun]

RIP to an all time great

[Deleted]

Not the best way to start a day, to be sure.

Rip Adam West

Also, I'm loving all the attention Beware The Grey Ghost! is getting, one of my favorite episodes from that series as well.

[Feargus McReddit]

I'm just going to post what I put up on Facebook because, well, I can't put it in any other way, really.

If any of you know me for any length of time, you'll probably know how much I loved and adored the Adam West Batman series, but the only frame of reference I really had for the longest time was the movie, which I randomly brought on DVD during my sixth form days in a Woolworths.

The movie was super fun, both being an action packed superhero romp combined with never taking itself that seriously. People play the moment where Batman hits the shark dangling off his foot, but West saying "Robin, get me the Bat Shark Repellent Spray" took it from a surreal moment to an iconic one. Anyone else saying that would have made you laugh at them. Adam made you laugh with him, even when he wasn't laughing. ESPECIALLY when he wasn't laughing.

Last year, because of one of my best friends, I was lucky enough to be given the blu-ray set of the whole series and I watched the entire series, and the movie, on the show's 50th anniversary year. It was then I fully realised why the show was so great, better than I first assumed. It fully recognised and loved its source material and gained a lot from it but also knew the right way to spoof it in a way that not only was a wink and a nod to fans but also never insulting it. And a big part of that was Adam.

Batman as a character has been lucky to have had many interpretations, Kevin Conroy was (and still is) a voice for a whole generation, a slew of famous names played in on the silver screen and even people like Diedrich Bader were able to put their own stamp on it. Adam West was a different sort of animal. From the offset, he knew it was intended to be a comedy but somehow had to play the straight man and the comic relief at the same time. He had to say things like "Good grammar is essential, Robin" with the straightest of faces and as though his every word and action was a positive message for those around him. Was his Batman silly? Yes. Did it not make logical sense at times? Heck yes, but would you want it any other way?

There's B-Roll footage of an audition of Lyle "Steve Trevor" Waggoner floating around the internet and on the blu-ray where he auditioned for the role as Bruce Wayne and, to put it blunt, he was very good. He was a better actor in the traditional sense then West and if it was more straightforward, he would have been pretty damn good. But West's Batman was different than most, it didn't demand full on seriousness, it demanded awareness and knowing how to react at situations that, to anyone else, would have been the most absurd things ever seen. Dude was stuck in a giant cookbook in the middle of the street once. Who could have made that work?

In a strange way, though, I didn't feel too sad about it when I heard the news. We've lost a cultural icon after a long battle against Leukaemia when there was a bit more for him to give to the world but the way I thought about it is this. For years, he was known as Batman, a legacy he was very proud of, but there was no proper way for him to get recognised for it. There were repeats and people selling really expensive bootlegs of the series but there wasn't an official DVD set, no merchandise, no royalties because of a long dispute between Warner Bros. and Fox over the rights. When the floodgates finally opened, though, it was then more people realised what made Adam so great and why he appeared on so many other shows as himself or an interpretation of himself with people who also watched him in their childhood. Heck, last year saw the first new 60s Batman thing in years with Return of the Caped Crusaders with a reuniting of him, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar and I saw that thing in an actual cinema. AND there's a new one soon where Adam West and William Shatner face off (who are two of my favourite character actors ever) and that's the coolest thing in the world!

Now, if I want to watch Batman, I can watch Batman. I don't need to watch clips recorded from TV Land in the poorest quality possible or watch the movie on repeat, I can grab my Blu-Ray and watch any episode I want. With Adam, I can see his Family Guy episodes, his (criminally underrated) Fairly Odd Parents appearances and more for people of even our generation to realise his sense of timing and silliness very few actors could pull off. His legacy is sealed soundly now and that's the best thing he and his fans can ask for.

I'm sad I never got to meet Adam West and say how much I appreciated his Batman personally, but through the stuff that came afterwards, whether live action or animated, that people influenced by his Batman show did, I feel like I have through others and their own experiences. It's what Adam said he wanted and thankfully, he got his wish.

Man, that Batman reunion in the afterlife must be super awesome right now...

[Deleted]

Damn. Very sad news.

RIP

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

I was at the local comic-con with my friend when I heard this. kinda killed the mood. RIP, Adam old chum.

[Deleted]

[Malcolm]

Jun 10, 2017 12:10:09 GMT -5 Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill said:

No.
No.
No.

f*** you 2016 and your damn 2017 repackaging.

2017 hasn't really been kind to me.

First my family gets kicked out of our home, then my childhood church burns now, and now Adam West is gone.

RIP Mr. West

Wonder how Family Guy's gonna handle this?

[mo]

Man that bummed me out when I read it. RIP

[paulbearer]

Should've guest starred as bad guys on Dallas and Dynasty and other shows.....

[Deleted]

RIP Batman. Super King Lawler was no match for you.

[Deleted]

When my brother texted me the news, I was standing in a comic shop with 2 issues of the current BATMAN '66 / WONDER WOMAN series in my hand. I did a shocked double take between the phone and the books.

I'll never not forget that moment.

RIP Mr. West.

[Deleted]

I was really bummed when I heard the news, but it put the thought of Jesus calling the Bat-Phone in my head and I started guffawing.

R.I.P. old chum and I hope you keep an eye on those other dastardly deviants that you've been reunited with up there.

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

While everyone is (rightfully) bringing up his role as the Gray Ghost in BTAS, I feel it would be very remiss of us not to also call attention to his role as Thomas Wayne in the excellent(and my personal favorite episode of the series) "Chill of the Night" from Batman: The Brave & the Bold:

[mattperiolat]

I thought when I heard the news this morning, I'd be too hurt by the loss to do much.

But not this time. It was a life lived to the absolute hilt and to just sit and cry is not how Adam West would want us to remember. Put on Batman, Family Guy, Super Friends, guest spots and celebrate every second of the life lived large and brilliantly. That's what I've done and will continue to do.

And to finally finish collecting Super Friends and get BTAS on DVD. Time for the Gray Ghost to ride once again.

[Deleted]

Jun 10, 2017 23:40:58 GMT -5 Koda, Master Crunchyroller said:

While everyone is (rightfully) bringing up his role as the Gray Ghost in BTAS, I feel it would be very remiss of us not to also call attention to his role as Thomas Wayne in the excellent(and my personal favorite episode of the series) "Chill of the Night" from Batman: The Brave & the Bold:

Impeccable, Old Chum!

[facethatrunstheplace]

This hit me hard when I heard the news last night not only because I grew up with the Batman TV Series. But it also had a lot to do with the fact that I gained a new found appreciation for Adam West and the TV Series when I did a project about the Batman TV Series for the arkhamverse forums.

His passing sadly means that he'll never get to have a cameo in a live action Batman movie. He had spoken about wanting to do this in various interviews, but for it unfortunately never happened.

Having said he can be more than pleased about his time as time as Batman. He played Batman in a lot of different media forms, including the Batman TV series and Movie right down to things like the student project which features Mark Hamill as The Joker.

Jun 11, 2017 2:44:41 GMT -5 mattperiolat said:

I thought when I heard the news this morning, I'd be too hurt by the loss to do much.

But not this time. It was a life lived to the absolute hilt and to just sit and cry is not how Adam West would want us to remember. Put on Batman, Family Guy, Super Friends, guest spots and celebrate every second of the life lived large and brilliantly. That's what I've done and will continue to do.

And to finally finish collecting Super Friends and get BTAS on DVD. Time for the Gray Ghost to ride once again.

If you don't already own it, I suggest you find a copy of the last season of Super Friends because it features an episode that deals with the death of Bruce Wayne's parents. Yes, I realize there have been many adaptations that have done that since then. But this was the FIRST time that it was covered in any media adaptation of Batman's. And guess who was the voice of Batman in that episode?.

[Deleted]

[Wailing Fungus]

RIP Adam We