Adam West: Behind the Mask

In the world of superheroes, there was no one quite like his Batman or the man himself

In the world of actors who played Batman, there was no quite like Adam West, who interpreted the character with a unique pizzazz, physical style, and vocal timbre unlike any other before or since his performance on the 1960s cult classic television show of the same name.

In the process, West became what many consider the quintessential Batman for every generation.

On June 9, 2017, the always vibrant West, seemingly immortal, succumbed to leukemia at 88-years-young, and, no doubt for the first time, a bat went to Heaven.

Although the Batman series screened for only three seasons (twice weekly on ABC from 1966 to 1969), its popularity never wavered, exemplified by consistently high ratings in syndicated reruns (and on networks such as ME-TV, where it presently airs).

In 2016, the show commemorated its 50th Anniversary with a posh box set of the entire series released on Blu-ray, as well as an all-new animated Batman movie, Return of the Caped Crusaders.

West lent his distinguished vocals to the film, alongside Burt Ward as Robin, the Boy Wonder, his co-star and cohort from the original live-action series, as well as Julie Newmar, reprising her live-action Catwoman.