This is an excellent interview with Adam West, the original Batman, and so much more.
On the new Batman series Adam West says he barely recognizes Gotham City these days. “Batman is so dark now,” the 80-year-old actor said with a carefree chuckle. “The new films, they are grim, Gothic, full of explosions, mayhem. It’s the way of things, I suppose, the whole world seems darker.”
West wore the cape and cowl for 26 months of prime-time television that started in January 1966. West became an icon of camp with his masked-man deadpan and, for much of America, his version was the enduring definition of the caped crusader for decades.
The perception of Batman has changed since the rise of darker characters thanks to Tim Burton’s Bat-movies and the epic films by Christopher Nolan, whose “The Dark Knight” shattered the billion-dollar mark.
“I look at [it] this way: They’ve got the ‘Dark Knight,’ and I was the bright knight,” he said with the breathy, oddball diction that still keeps him in demand as a voice actor in animation. “Or maybe I was even ... the neon knight.”
West is soon to appear on 30 Rock, he also has an ongoing role on Family Guy,
on which he plays Mayor Adam West, he also has done numerous voice over work in animated Batman media, in Batman: TAS he played an aging typecast actor from a show called Grey Ghost which was loosely based off of his career, and animated Batman shows on which he played the mayor of Gotham, not its infamous protector.
“I’m like Madonna, I keep reinventing myself,” said West, who splits his time between Palm Springs and Sun Valley, Idaho. “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.”
This week, West is back behind the wheel of a familiar vehicle. The new film Super Capers, a superhero parody, opened Friday and while its showing in only 80 theaters nationwide, it’s a memorable gig for West because it puts him back in the driver’s seat of his most famous ride.
“It’s a very bright comedy adventure. In it I’m a cab driver whose gotten a hold of the Batmobile and converted it to a taxi cab –- with air conditioning,” West said. “I meet up with a young guy who’s trying to be a super hero, played by an actor named Justin Whalin, who is quite good, and I’m able to drive him around on some of his misadventures.”
And how did it feel to return to the old emblem of a bygone era? “It was great,” he said. “All those things that you do in a long career come back pretty easily once you get your hands on the wheel.”
After years of comic book conventions and car shows West is more pleasant than proud about his film. "It’s a family film which means you can take anyone from a 2-year-old to your great-granny to it and they probably would all enjoy it,” he said. “I’m happy to be part of that.”
On his post bat carreer he said. “I remember the struggle that I had,” West said. “I mean, I did the Music Center in L.A., I did the Mark Taper Forum, I did regional theater, anything I could to keep working. I think it’s an actor’s obligation, if possible, to keep working, playing the instrument. But, yes, there were a lot of doors closed for a long time.”
As the years passed, West decided it was best to celebrate and spoof the old days instead of trying to avoid them. Still, there’s a tinge of jealousy in West’s voice when he talks about the actors today who can play Batman, Wolverine or Iron Man and simply move on the next non-hero role without the sort of treacherous typecasting that faced West, Clayton Moore, George Reeves and Christopher Reeve.
“I’ve never felt the envy ... well, I don’t know. Maybe I have a little,” West said. “I look at it and I think, ‘Well, it’s a lot simpler now to do other things. And why is that? Well, I think they’re in big movies on big screens and they’re in roles written for the actor to have moments outside of that superhero thing. I fought for that a little bit and they gave me a little more Bruce Wayne, but still he was a comedic Bruce Wayne. ... it was still theater of the absurd.”
And related to Batman, West has a new DVD venture called Adam West Naked, which has him recounting anecdotes about all 120 episodes of Batman. As the title suggests, the behind-the-scenes tales are often sexed-up anecdotes about a 1960s tomcat who sometimes comes off like Austin Powers with a cape.
“It wasn’t easy, I had a lot to take care of,” the actor said. “With three Catwomans, that’s 27 lives total. That’s not easy. Who was my favorite? Well, I wouldn’t be honorable. ... I think I'd better not say. Julie Newmar was first, Lee Meriwether was Catwoman in the feature, Eartha Kitt as the black Catwoman. They were all splendid in their own way. We tried to put a lot of sexual tension in there between Catwoman and Batman and in costume, it was almost absurdly delightful. In one episode I said, ‘You give me strange stirrings in my utility belt, Catwoman.’ The guys loved that.”
The Neon Knight says he has no plans to slow down despite that fact that he has been in the business for 55 years.
“The reaction has been so positive and good for me that I love it now,” West said of his enduring pop-culture image. “How could I not? 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.”
Well I for one am thankful for Mr. West’s career. He gave us an enduring emblem of a hero for generations. No one can watch that show without a smile coming to their face. He was the first to portay the Batman on a weekly basis and he has been ridiculed since for it, I for one respect him for what he did. I hope we see more much more of him in the years to come, maybe as an aging Bruce Wayne in a Batman Beyond movie, hintity hint hint. God speed Mr. West.