Batman (TV series)

as Bruce Wayne / Batman:
A multi-millionaire industrialist whose parents were murdered when he was a child and who now secretly uses his vast fortune to fight crime as the masked crime fighter Batman. Producer William Dozier cast Adam West in the role after seeing him perform as the James Bond-like spy Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik television commercial. Lyle Waggoner had screen-tested for the role, though West ultimately won out because, it was said, he was the only person who could deliver his lines with a straight face. West later voiced an animated version of the title character on The New Adventures of Batman while Waggoner would appear in a later superhero TV series of his own, as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman.

Adam West

as Dick Grayson / Robin:
Batman's sidekick, dubbed the "Boy Wonder": a high school student noted for his recurring interjections in the form of "Holy ________, Batman!" The series avoids referencing Robin's origins as Bruce Wayne's fellow "crime orphan", as whose legal guardian the courts appoint Bruce. Ward voiced an animated version of this character on The New Adventures of Batman. Since the death of Adam West on June 9, 2017, Burt Ward is now the only surviving main Batman cast member.

Burt Ward

as Alfred:
Batman's loyal butler and Batgirl's discreet confidant. He is the only person who knows the true identities of Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Barbara Gordon.

Alan Napier

as Commissioner Gordon:
The Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and one of Batman's two major police contacts. He summons the Dynamic Duo via the Batphone or the Bat Signal.

Neil Hamilton

as Chief O'Hara:
Gotham City's Chief of Police, and Batman's other major police contact. The character was created by Semple for the series, as someone for Gordon to talk to, and later briefly added to the comics. In 2013, DC revealed this incarnation's first name to be "Miles" in their Batman' 66 comics.

Stafford Repp

as Harriet Cooper:
Dick Grayson's maternal aunt. She first appeared in the comics, two years before the series premiered, to give Bruce and Dick a reason to be secretive about their dual identities.

Madge Blake

as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl:
Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Gotham City librarian, and crime-fighting partner for Batman and Robin in the third season. Occasionally, this threesome was nicknamed the "Terrific Trio".

Yvonne Craig

as Narrator (uncredited).

William Dozier

Negotiations between DC Comics (and parent company ), owners of the Batman character, and 20th Century Fox Television.^{[notes 2]}

Warner Bros.

Greenway/ABC/Fox rights issues: The Batman series was conceived as an equal partnership between William Dozier's Greenway Productions and Fox in 1964, before Fox entered into a separate agreement with to produce the series in 1965. With three companies involved almost from the outset, some speculation indicated these rights were tangled even before the DC Comics character ownership rights were to be considered. In 2006, Deborah Dozier Potter, "the successor-in-interest to Greenway Productions" sued Fox for allegedly withholding monies under the Fox/ABC agreement.^[23][24] Dozier Potter further claimed that this came to her attention when, in March 2005, "she considered releasing the series on DVD", implying that (from her perspective at least) Greenway/Dozier Potter had some say in the matter of potential DVD release of the series. The case was resolved/dismissed in November 2007. In February 2005, John Stacks had approached Deborah Dozier Potter to market the series on DVD. There were many offers and lots of interest in the release of the series, as can be read in Joel Eisner's The Official Batbook Revised Bat Edition 2008.^{[notes 3]} Soon after, Classic Media bought out the Dozier estate's interest in the series, which they then sold to Fox in the early years of the 2010s.^[25]

ABC

numerous cameos

In 1977, Adam West and Burt Ward returned as voice actors for the second Filmation-produced animated series, .

The New Adventures of Batman

In 1979, West, Ward, and Frank Gorshin reunited and reprised their respective roles on NBC for 's two Legends of the Superheroes television specials.

Hanna-Barbera

In the 1980s, several cast members teamed up for a series of celebrity editions of . The participants were West, Ward, Yvonne Craig, Lee Meriwether, and Vincent Price.

Family Feud

In 1984, West would once again reprise his role as Batman in animated form when he succeeded in the final two seasons of Super Friends.

Olan Soule

November 1985 would see several cast members reunited on the syndicated afternoon talk show , as West, Ward, Julie Newmar, Vincent Price, Cesar Romero, Terry Moore, Liberace, Eartha Kitt and Zsa Zsa Gabor (Yvonne Craig does not appear) were reunited along with the original Batmobile which was still covered with flocking from its tours since the 1970s. In the opening scene, West and Ward were in the Batmobile from an actual TV episode. They are segued from the TV film episode to the live stage again inside the Batmobile. They are introduced by Ricardo Montalban. Ward makes a request he would like to have a 15th anniversary reunion of the Batman Class of 1968.

America

In 1997, West returned to the role of the Batman for the first time in 12 years voicing the Caped Crusader/Spruce Wayne in the animated short Boo Wonder. It was the fourth segment of episode 93 (season 5) of produced by Warner Bros. It was a parody of the 1966 Batman TV series with Animaniacs character Chicken Boo replacing Robin the Boy Wonder.

Animaniacs

In 2002, West and Ward did their voice-over, and reprised their roles as Batman and Robin in an episode of , "Large Marge". Bart Simpson with his friend, Milhouse Van Houten watched an old Batman episode as the dynamic duo were trapped on a carousel by Krusty the Clown as ClownFace. Batman and Robin made their escapes, thanks to their Bat Carousel Reversal Spray. The police arrested ClownFace and his henchmen.

The Simpsons

In 2003, West and Ward reunited for a tongue-in-cheek titled Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt which combined dramatized recreations of the filming of the original series (with younger actors standing in for the stars), with modern footage of West and Ward searching for a stolen Batmobile. The film included cameo appearances by Newmar, Gorshin, and Lee Meriwether, as well as Lyle Waggoner, who had been an early candidate for the role of Batman. Yvonne Craig did not appear in the film as she reportedly disliked the script. The film was released on DVD in May 2005.

television movie

In 2005, West again returned to the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne for the Digital Animation & Visual Effects (DAVE) School released Batman: New Times, a short CGI film in which all characters were portrayed as (predating the Lego film craze). In addition to West, other notable voice actors included Mark Hamill as The Joker, Courtney Thorne-Smith as Catwoman and Dick Van Dyke as Commissioner Gordon.

Minimates

Ward reprised his role as Dick Grayson / Robin in the 2019 crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths".^[38]

Arrowverse

Lava Soap Grime Fighters – in this 1966 commercial Batman and Robin had just wrapped up the latest crime when Commissioner Gordon notices Chief O'Hara's dirty hands and asks Batman to pass the chief a bar of Lava Soap.

Rally Car Wax – Batman and Robin demonstrate this DuPont product on the Batmobile before pursuing the Joker in a 1974 commercial.

[63]

Fact Toothpaste – stars as the faithful Alfred Pennyworth as he explains how to get Batman and Robin posters through Fact toothpaste.

Alan Napier

The spinning scene transitions, a feature of the 1960s series, are parodied in several episodes.

Adam West guest stars in "" as he attends a new car show with the Simpsons and argues with Bart over the Tim Burton films starring Michael Keaton vs. the 1960s series. He also mentions the "real" Catwoman which was played by three different actresses in the 1966 movie and the series.

Mr. Plow

In "", Homer sings the theme song but replaces "Batman" with fishing. Later, "Batman" is replaced with leader.

The Joy of Sect

"" guest stars Stan Lee who hangs around Comic Book Guy's store and wrecks a character's Batmobile by sticking an action figure of the Thing into the toy.

I Am Furious (Yellow)

In "", Bart and Milhouse watch an episode of the 1960s TV series where Krusty the Clown is a guest villain called Clown Face. Adam West returned to reprise his role as Batman, and Burt Ward returned to reprise his role as Robin.

Large Marge

In "", Mr. Burns becomes a character similar to Batman.

Dark Knight Court

1960s in television

Television in the United States

at IMDb

Batman

"Batman" at the Museum of Broadcast Communications

at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television

Batman

Jean Boone – interview with cast of Batman, The Movie (1966) from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image

Batman Sells US Savings Bonds (1966)