Memories of Adam West

William West Anderson September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017

In my childhood, I was a big fan of the Batman television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward.

Now in my child orientation to all things at that juncture I was unable to discern the tongue in cheek schtick of this program and I simply viewed it as a serious foray into science fiction and that super hero worship of which I was held in it's grip of starstruck awe for years.

Later, in my adult life I was fairly put out with myself for actually believing in this stuff because at that time it was evident that they were poking fun at me the entire time.

Adam West was the stage name of William West Anderson. He was an American actor known primarily for his role as Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film. The film career of Adam West began in the 1950s.

He played in Geronimo in the year 1962 opposite Chuck Connors.

He was featured with The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming in 1965.

He was also in the science fiction film Robinson Crusoe on Mars in the year 1964.

He did voice work on The Fairly OddParents from 2003 through 2017 as well as The Simpsons from 1992 through 2002 and was a staple on Family Guy from 2000 through 2019. He portrayed fictional versions of himself in all three.

Late in his career, Adam West starred in two direct-to-video animations of Batman; Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, and Batman vs Two-Face which was released after his passing.

Mr West died from leukemia in Los Angeles, California, on June 9, 2017. Rest in peace.