“Good Night, Sweet Knight: Remembering Adam West” - West’s Road to the Batcave:
The beginning of the Silver Age of Comics, 1950s and early 1960s, saw a decline of Batman comic book sales due to the new installment of the Comics Code Authority in 1954, censoring story lines and characters in DC Comics and other publications. It wasn’t until 1963 that the new editor of Batman comics, Julius Schwartz, decided to revamp the Caped Crusader with a “New Look”, including the now famous yellow oval chest emblem, and more detective driven storylines. With this along with the new American POP Art scene, there was no better time for the concept of a Batman television series. After ‘An Evening with Batman and Robin’ aired in January of 1965, a collection of the 15 chapter black and white serials from the early 1940s, the idea to make a parody of this seemingly “camp” series was in the works. Producer William Dozier was on the project at the ABC network and decided to create a show that would play out as a fun parody for adults but an action adventure tale for children. Dozier made the Silver Age Batman books come to life, the first being “The Remarkable Ruse of the Riddler” from Batman (Vol 1) 171 from May of 1965, which inspired the pilot episode originally airing January 12, 1966. Dozier also found Adam West from a Nestle Quick tv commercial and discovered his suave “James Bond” like persona mixed with humor fit perfectly for what this Dark Avenger represented. Although now it seems there could be no one else in place of Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo, both actors auditioned and did screen tests for the parts (video presented), in particular up against Lyle Waggoner and Peter R.J. Deyell. As Waggoner would be part of the DC Universe a decade later as Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman television series alongside Lynda Carter, West would begin his start as the Caped Crusader in 1966. Casting Adam West and Burt Ward was just a small part of what the entire ensemble cast brought to the character and his mythos for the next three years, which we will continue to explore tomorrow in our celebration of Adam West’s Batman. #RIPBatman ✌🏼💙🦇📺🙏🏼
