Billion Dollar Batman

by Bruce Scivally

  The original Catwoman, Julie Newmar, also remained busy with TV work in the 1960s and 70s, and made a cameo at the end of a film which paid tribute to her enduring influence as a feminist icon, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995), which featured Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo as a trio of drag queens. She became a real estate agent in the 1980s, holds two U.S. patents—one for pantyhose and one for a brassiere—and has a rose, a day lily and an orchid named in her honor. She has also become a writer, penning the ebook The Conscious Catwoman Explains Life on Earth, available at www.julienewmar.com, and a blog, Julie Newmar Writes, at www.julienewmarwrites.com.

  After creating the TV Batman, Lorenzo Semple Jr. capitalized on his success by moving into screenwriting for motion pictures. “At that time the idea of everybody was to get out of television as soon as they could and get into real movies. And so, I never looked back,” said Semple, who recalled that on Batman he had “a horrible deal. I mean, I got no ‘created for television’ credit, and I just got a small royalty for the first 20 shows, and the only money I got from it was ordinary Writer’s Guild residuals on the first four shows that I wrote, but aside from that, nothing. If I’d made some deal that I wanted $25 for every time an episode was shown everywhere, I’d be really rich. But I never thought about that kind of stuff. My agent at that time didn’t know anything about television. Nobody did. I mean, they didn’t ask for any special credit, and I am not at all bitter about that. I figure I did better than Bob Kane and those people did.”391

  Leaving the Caped Crusader behind, Semple became an in-demand scriptwriter, beginning with Fathom, a spy story that was filmed in 1967 with Raquel Welch as a sort of female James Bond. In 1971, he wrote The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker, based on the novel by Charles Webb, who had previously written The Graduate. The film featured Richard Benjamin as a voyeur; his best friend, Chester, was played by Adam West. Semple next adapted Henri Charriére’s Papillon (eventually sharing the writing credit with Dalton Trumbo), creating a classic that gave Steve McQueen one of his best roles. In 1974, Semple adapted L.H. Whittmore’s book The Super Cops, a true story based on the exploits of New York City detectives David Greenberg and Robert Hantz, who were known on the streets as “Batman and Robin”—so who better to write the script? Next, Semple shared a writing credit with David Giler on The Parallax View (1974), a political thriller starring Warren Beatty and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. In 1975, Semple worked on The Drowning Pool, in which Paul Newman reprised the role of detective Lew Harper first introduced in 1966’s Harper, then he adapted James Grady’s novel Six Days of the Condor into the Robert Redford thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975). A trio of films written for De Laurentiis followed, beginning with 1976’s King Kong and continuing with Hurricane (1979) and Flash Gordon (1980). Three years later, Semple wrote the script for Sean Connery’s return to the role of 007, Never Say Never Again. But as he looks back on his career, it’s the Caped Crusader who looms largest. “I’m very proud of Batman,” said Semple. “People say, oh, you wrote Three Days of the Condor, Parallax View, and things like that, and I say I don’t like them nearly as much as Batman.”392

  Terminally identified with their roles, both Adam West and Burt Ward found themselves too typecast to get other acting parts in the remainder of the 1960s and early 1970s, except for the occasional guest-starring spot in a TV show. “After I was the hottest thing in the country for two-three years I had a ‘black period’ for five years,” West told Army Archerd of Variety. “But when they threw enough money at me, I put on the costume again and toured the world. I developed an enormous new younger audience. I did regional theater as well—anything to just get away.”393

  “Burt and Adam kept their costumes, and they’d go out and do all these trade shows and car shows and things as Batman and Robin, wearing the costumes, and my father didn’t care,” said Deborah Dozier Potter. “He said, ‘You know what, if they want to do that, that’s fine.’ Most producers would have said ‘how dare you’ and issued restraining orders and all that. He was happy for them. And frankly, we owed them a great debt because they kept the fan base alive.”394

  Besides making personal appearances as Batman and Robin, West and Ward lent their voices to Filmation Studios’ Saturday morning animated series The New Adventures of Batman in 1977 and ‘78. According to an upcoming book about Filmation founder Lou Scheimer by Andy Mangels, the cartoon studio planned to follow up the animated series with a live-action Batman revival for NBC, with West and Ward reprising their roles. That never happened, but in 1979 NBC did join with another producer of Saturday morning fare, Hanna-Barbera, to produce a pair of ill- conceived TV specials, Legends of the Superheroes, which was broadcast in two parts on NBC on January 18 and January 25, 1979. The first part, “The Challenge,” pitted DC superheroes Batman, Robin, Hawkman (Bill Nuckols), The Flash (Rod Haase), Captain Marvel (Garrett Craig), Green Lantern (Howard Murphy), The Huntress (Barbara Joyce), and Black Canary (Danuta Rylko Soderman) against the supervillains Mordru (Gabe Dell), Sinestro (Charlie Callas), Dr. Sivanna (Howard Morris), The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Solomon Grundy (Mickey Morton), the Weather Wizard (Jeff Altman), and Giganta (A’leisha Brevard). The second part, “The Roast,” hosted by Ed McMahon, was a superhero version of the popular Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, but without the laughs. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, the company behind the animated Super Friends cartoon series, the two programs qualify as the Plan 9 From Outer Space of superhero television. West appeared in a near-replica of his former costume, except that it was black and gray instead of blue and gray, and the cowl was not tucked under the cape. Also, the bat insignia rode higher on his chest. Ward’s costume was a replica of his earlier outfit, but one felt embarrassed for the then 33-year-old actor, still playing a teenager. And though it was certainly nostalgic to see West back in the Batman outfit and looking amazingly fit and youthful for a 50-year-old man, it’s a shame that he wasn’t given better material. The writing and production values of the shows were nothing short of atrocious. Nonetheless, West and Ward—and Frank Gorshin, reprising his role as The Riddler—played the lame script for all it was worth, which wasn’t much; really, who wanted to see Robin using charades to explain to Batman that he’d totaled the Batmobile?

  West was back in the spotlight when production of Tim Burton’s Batman feature ramped up in 1988. West, who had long hoped that he would be able to play Batman one more time in a feature film, told The Wall Street Journal, “It’s disappointing not to have the chance to do the definitive, big-screen Batman.” West also wasn’t sold on the new film’s dark approach, saying, “Batman isn’t RoboCop or Dirty Harry. Batman is a fun character.”395 When Peter Guber, producer of the Batman feature, was asked if there would be a place for Adam West in the film, he responded, “Sure. We’ll invite him to the premiere.”396 Upset that he wasn’t asked to be a part of the new film, West told reporter Ray Richmond, “It really disappointed me; I was really angry...I guess we’ll see if people prefer the Classic Coke or the new stuff.”397

  Adam West and Burt Ward did make a return, of sorts, to their signature roles with the 2003 CBS TV-movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, based partly on West’s book Back to the Batcave, as well as some anecdotes from Ward’s book, Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights. Produced with a tongue-in-cheek tone, it featured Adam West and Burt Ward playing themselves trying to solve the mystery behind the theft of the Batmobile. To find the answer, they had to relive moments from the making of the Batman TV series, which were shown in flashbacks with actors Jack Brewer and Jason Marsden playing the late 1960’s versions of West and Ward. Former Catwomen Julie Newmar and Lee Meriwether appeared in cameo roles, and the culprit was ultimately revealed to be Frank Gorshin. Lyle Waggoner provided voice-over narration, and made a cameo appearance at the end, saying, “If they’d have chosen me, we’d still be on the air.”

  “It was fun to be on-set again,” recalled Waggoner, “and to make fun of
the fact that I didn’t get the part and Adam did. And it was good to see him. I knew Adam before that, and I always thought he was very good in anything he did and I thought he played that part extremely well. So it was fun to be on-set and do Return to the Batcave. Whoever thought of that particular script, I found it very interesting.”398

  One who didn’t find the script interesting, and chose not to participate, was Yvonne Craig, who—after Batman ended—continued acting until the mid-1970s, then began producing industrial shows and went into real estate. ”I was sent the script and declined,” she said of Return to the Batcave. “This decision was based purely on my evaluation of the script and had nothing to do, as rumor now has it, with the size of my part. I’m inclined to agree completely with the old adage, ’There are no small parts, only small actors.’ I would infinitely rather be remembered for my role in a well-written, inventive series as opposed to taking part in a project that, as best I can tell, was contrived simply because the Gilligan’s Island TV movie did so well in the ratings.”399 Indeed, Return to the Batcave was co-executive produced by Dawn Wells, who played “Mary Ann” on TV’s Gilligan’s Island series.

  Anita Gates of The New York Times, in her review of the TV movie, agreed with Craig’s assessment, writing, “Someone should be held accountable for taking a popular, fun-loving, deliberately camp 60’s series—and its stars, who are graciously willing to make fun of themselves—and turning it into one of the most painfully boring pieces of television this season...Mr. West and Mr. Ward still have likable screen presences; they’re much too good for this material. The filmmakers are trying to be nostalgic about camp, and that may not be possible.”400

  In the decades after Batman went off the air, Burt Ward, a born entrepreneur, launched several successful business ventures. One was Entertainment Management Corporation, which ran fan clubs for actors such as Henry Winkler and Paul Michael Glaser and singers such as Pat Benatar.401 Later, when appearances as Robin at schools led him to become an advocate for children’s’ issues, Ward created the Early Bird Learning Program, an early education program for children ages 3 to 8.402 In 1990, Ward married Tracy Posner, daughter of billionaire business mogul Victor Posner. Besides various business interests, the couple is involved in Great Dane rescues, and Ward manages a visual effects company, Boy Wonder Visual Effects, which did work on the films Bulletproof Monk, Out of Time and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (all 2003).403 He looks back on his time in tights without regret. “I learned a great deal from Batman,” he told Steve Swires of Starlog magazine. “It was an experience I will treasure forever. It gave me a fantastic opportunity. It has enabled me to meet and be welcomed by people throughout the world.”404

  By the time Adam West made Return to the Batcave, he had finally become an in-demand actor once again. “A big meteor has hit Hollywood, and the dinosaurs are dying,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 1994, after he’d won the role of Peter Weller’s father in The New Age. “The guys and ladies in power are the ones who appreciated me.”’ After a couple of decades where he had trouble getting roles, he now found that the kids who had grown up watching him on TV were writing and directing movies, and they not only remembered him but wanted to work with him. He remained busy doing cartoon voices, including playing Mayor Adam West on Family Guy and a cat-obsessed version of himself on the Nickelodeon series The Fairly Oddparents, as well as providing voices for feature films such as Chicken Little (2005) and Meet the Robinsons (2007). He also made guest appearances on TV shows like The Simpsons, The Drew Carey Show and 30 Rock. He regrets, however, that he was never asked to appear in any of the modern Batman movies. “I look at it this way: they’ve got The Dark Knight, and I was the bright knight,” he told Geoff Boucher of The Los Angeles Times. “Or maybe I was even the neon knight.”405 He did, however, provide the voice of Batman for Batman: New Times, an animated short featuring a Lego version of the Caped Crusader, and was the voice of Mayor Grange in six episodes of the animated series The Batman (2004-2006). “I’m like Madonna: I keep reinventing myself,” West told Boucher. “I get called ‘Mayor West’ a lot in airports. I’ve been very fortunate to have a fan base that keeps growing, and the work gets such a warm response and humor from people.”406

  In 2009, West appeared in the film Super Capers, which put him back behind the wheel of the Batmobile, though not in his bat costume. “It’s a very bright comedy adventure,” he said. “In it, I’m a cabdriver who’s gotten hold of the Batmobile and converted it to a taxi cab—with air conditioning. I meet up with a young guy who’s trying to be a superhero, played by an actor named Justin Whalin, who is quite good, and I’m able to drive him around on some of his misadventures.”407

  Though he once tried to distance himself from Batman, West now embraces his association with the character. In 2009, he created a DVD which he sells through his website, www.AdamWest.com, called Adam West Naked. Despite its provocative title, it’s basically West sitting in his basement, attic and home gym, reminiscing about anecdotes from the filming of each episode of the series. For die-hard fans, it’s captivating, like listening to a favorite uncle talk about the good old days.

  For the time being, Adam West Naked and the Batman feature film may be as close as fans can get to owning the series on home video. For four decades it has been held in limbo by foes too overpowering for even Batman to overcome—corporate lawyers. When the series was originally produced in the late 1960s, there was no such thing as home video; consequently, contracts between DC Comics, who owned the characters of Batman and Robin, and 20th Century Fox Television, who, along with Greenway Productions, produced the program, made no provisions for anything other than television airings. The contracts for the Batman movie, on the other hand, included provisions for ancillary non-theatrical markets (like, for instance, airlines) that, broadly interpreted, did allow for it to be released on home video. In order for the TV series to be released, rights will have to be settled between not only DC Comics, 20th Century Fox and Greenway Productions, but also with all of the directors, writers, actors, and musicians who worked on the show, or their estates. The show basically presents a Gordian knot of licensing tangles that, thus far, the studios have been unable to untie.408

  Unlike other shows of the period, Batman, when seen today, retains much of its humor and freshness; because the series created its own warped universe, it doesn’t feel dated. “If you look at the shows today, they’re just as timely as they were then because it takes place in a fantasy land,” said writer Stanley Ralph Ross. “Gotham City was not a real place. There was nothing anachronistic about the show. Occasionally we would do a joke about someone of the period. For example, the mayor of the town was Mayor Linseed, which was a play off of Mayor Lindsay of New York. But other than that, very seldom would you find a joke that would date the show.”409

  Even Bob Kane, who wasn’t thrilled with the show’s approach initially, came to appreciate it more as the years passed. In a 1988 interview with Jeff Gelb of Comics Interview magazine, he said, “I loved the show! You see, I love it on two levels—I love the mysterioso, but I also love the camp of the show. I thought Batman was the most unique show ever put on, because it was actually a transition from the strip to the screen, with the POWs and the SOCKs. Adam was great, and all the guest stars, the cameos, it was all great!”410

  For the TV generation who grew up with the series, Batman proved inspirational. “The thing is, Batman is very, very sophisticated humor,” said Lorenzo Semple, Jr. “Some of the biggest comedy writers today on David Letterman and even The Simpsons have said to me that they cut their teeth on Batman and that was really what inspired them, in many ways.”411 Looking back on the show in 2004, Adam West told Brenda Rees of The Los Angeles Times, “We were making overstated morality plays for children that adults could watch and enjoy. People from three generations still respond to the warmth and humor.”412 In an interview with the same paper five years later, West told Geoff Boucher, “I would hate
to be a bitter, aging actor. I’ve been so fortunate to have this opportunity to bring Batman alive on the screen. There’s a lot of talent, money and expertise with the new films. They’re beautifully crafted, but there’s something about our Batman that still strikes a chord. And as for me, I’m too young and pretty to retire, as somebody once said.”413

  Over four decades after its first broadcast, Batman is still finding fresh audiences, just as William Dozier predicted in the 1960s when he said, “It will go on forever. There’s always a new crop of children growing up.”414

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  1 Gowran, Clay, “Can We Stand More Batmen?” The Chicago Tribune, Feb. 20, 1966, p. IND_A10

  2 Miles, Marvin, Gemini Pair Safe, The Los Angeles Times, Mar 17, 1966, p. 1

  3 —, “TV Fans Protest Canceling of Shows For Gemini Report,” The New York Times, Mar. 17, 1966, p. 21

  4 —, “Batman Fans Blast Gemini Interruptions,” The Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1966, p. 10

  5 Skow, John, “Has TV Gasp! Gone Batty??” The Saturday Evening Post, May 2, 1966

  6 —, “Batman Fans Blast Gemini Interruptions,” The Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1966, p. 10

  7 Buchwald, Art, “Red Alert and Redder Necks,” The Los Angeles Times, Mar. 22, 1966, p. A5

  8 —, “Marvel and DC Sales Figures,” EnterTheStory.com, http://enterthestory.com/comic_sales.html, accessed Nov. 6, 2011

  9 Bart, Peter, “Advertising: Superman Faces New Hurdles,” The New York Times, Sep 23, 1962, p. 166

  10 Archerd, Army, “Just For Variety,” Daily Variety, Jan. 23, 1964, p. 2

  11 Lopes, Paul, Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book, © 2009, Temple University Press, p. 94