Adam West: Farcerur Extroardinaire

I was at a World of Wheels show in Edmonton in October 1985 with my dad and sister and we met Adam West under very similar circumstances, right down to the costume. How he saw anything through those eyeholes I'll never know.

But the thing I will always remember about Mr. West was how absolutely pleased as punch he seemed to be there. The people just ahead of us in line had two tykes dressed up as Batman and Superman. He stepped between them, one hand on each of their shoulders, and posed for a picture like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Because whatever misgivings he may have had about being typecast as Batman, by the mid-1980s I think he felt the love for the character and wanted to give some back.

Then he got to us.

And so Mr. West smiled and laughed through my dad's joke about using the Batmobile to get me back to the hospital, as I'd had surgery three weeks earlier and was out on pass that weekend.

And he also laughed and smiled through my sister Jacquie's indignant "That's not how you spell it!" when he dared to spell her name with a k lol. A smart man was he when it came to signing...all the pictures were already signed/stamped "To my pal," His tongue-in-cheek response to my sister? "Chief O'Hara, can I get a stamp?"

Now let's check out a montage of Batman's wall-climbing guest stars.

Rest in peace, Adam West. Your farcical wit will be missed.





MTMG