Posted by ROBBY REED on July 24, 2008, 23:11:38
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DIAL B FOR BLOG #454 16 DAYS of the BATMAN - DAY 8!

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Posted by Delmo Walters Jr. on July 25, 2008, 2:30:13, in reply to "DBB #454 -16 DAYS of the BATMAN - DAY 8 "

That shot of West with the cape draped around him in front of the red background-is that from that Screen Stories issue?

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Posted by ROBBY REED on July 25, 2008, 2:40:02, in reply to "Re: DBB #454 -16 DAYS of the BATMAN - DAY 8 "

No, but it sure looks like it was from the same "shoot." Just a different pose.

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Posted by Lively on July 25, 2008, 6:59:21, in reply to "DBB #454 -16 DAYS of the BATMAN - DAY 8 "
Message modified by board administrator July 25, 2008, 14:25:24

In a way I feel sad for Adam West listening to that. It's bad enough wanting to be a serious actor and then working as Batman in a circus but getting the snide remarks and general crap from a Merv and whoever else is talking on the particular show. I'm sure West was well paid for the circus gig. As time as gone by he has accepted his limited acting opportunities. Accepted it much better than George Reeves. Adam West hasn't guarded the actual character of Batman as jealously as Clayton Moore with The Lone Ranger. Typecasting can work a bit in the actor's favor. Regarding Johnny Weissmuller, he had to stay in the Jungle after Tarzan with The Jungle Jim serials and TV show, but made a comfortable living till that dried up and struggled afterwards. Adam West seems to be the smartest out of the four. If he was typecast and not allowed to portray the character in costume, he would recreate the campy character in spirit as Adam West. He made Adam West a character. He seems to enjoy all the voice work he gets now. I'm sure he would have enjoyed being a serious actor getting awards. It must make him feel good at this point to realize there are a lot of people who know him and don't remember who won the Oscar 2 years ago... or who the others are on that audio clip.

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Posted by Brian R on July 25, 2008, 8:20:20, in reply to "Audio Clip"

I absolutely agree. Adam West could have turned into this bitter old man screaming "I'm not the Batman!", but instead he's used the popularity to build a name for himself as a fun guy. I think he's a lot like William Shatner in some respects with the way Shatner has made himself this campy, goofy caricature. West has done the same to a small degree...I just wish he could have built on it more. He seems like a genuinely fun guy!

Link: Comics in Crisis

Posted by NJ Batfan on July 25, 2008, 10:40:33, in reply to "Issue"

Robby, In case you weren't aware the 1966 Batman Message Boarders are loving this great tribute. http://www.66batman.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1216385764/6#6 I really liked the great Batusi shot today, as illustrated by Mike Allred. I wish DC Comics hadn't opted for the Wonder Girl shot on that issue of Solo, though. The TV Batman homage story in that issue was great. Imagine how sought after the mid sixites issues of Batman and Detective would be by fans of the series if they had used photo covers of Adam West and Burt Ward, ala the Gold Key or Dell adaptation titles of the day or your reinterpretation of Detective 387. Keep up the great work!

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Posted by ROBBY REED on July 25, 2008, 14:28:01, in reply to "Re: Audio Clip"

Shed no tears for Adam West. What a life! In the days to come you will learn ALL about Mr. West in a lengthy article titled "Adam West's Exciting love Life!"

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Posted by ROBBY REED on July 25, 2008, 14:37:04, in reply to "Re: Issue"

I had not seen that. Thanks!

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Posted by Batfan on July 26, 2008, 0:20:53, in reply to "DBB #454 -16 DAYS of the BATMAN - DAY 8 "

What a great series! In '68, my little brother & I were HUGE Batfans. My best friend across the street had a color TV, but we didn't. And when that banner came across the bottom of the screen at the start of each episode screaming "IN COLOR" at us, we BEGGED Dad for a color TV because "Batman is in color!" My father, being a very wise man, went out and bought us a Batman comic book. He told us that with this comic as a reference we would now know what color everything was - and so we didn't need to waste money on a color TV>

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Posted by ROBBY REED on July 26, 2008, 1:09:15, in reply to "Re: DBB #454 -16 DAYS of the BATMAN - DAY 8 "

Yes, that first Batman episode was the EVENT of the year, and seeing it in color was dizzying!

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Posted by Van-Zee on July 26, 2008, 11:27:07, in reply to "West"

I don't know if anyone is a reader of Gary Westfahl's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Film, but he has a really interesting entry on Adam West, making the case for him as a vastly underrated actor whose unique performance was absolutely key to making Batman work as a TV show. There's also good entries on Julie Newmar and Lorenzo Semple, Jr. as well.

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