RIP Adam West

[bradm]

Adam West, TV's Batman, dies at 88

Aloha,

Brad

[Velvet]

When I was a kid the television set was my best friend.  We laughed and learned together and we had the same heroes.  My favourite tv shows were Sesame Street, Batman, Get Smart, and Planet Of The Apes, pretty much in that order.  

 

Funny, when I look back it occurs to me that Batman was the only one of these shows that I didn’t really ‘get’.  I knew that Sesame Street was an educational show, I knew Get Smart was a comedy and while I didn’t realize that Planet Of The Apes was a statement on racial issues in America I certainly knew it was a drama.  

 

But Adam West was so deadpan, delivering absurd dialogue with such conviction that I thought Batman was a legit superhero action show.  Little did I know that my psyche was absorbing camp-style humour that would flow through my brain forever more.  Suffice to say, the dry, near-psychedelic comedy of Adam West’s Batman made a huge impression on me, whether I knew it or not.

 

Sometime in the mid-to-late 1980’s the Batmobile was touring as part of the annual car show that came to the Moncton Coliseum and Adam West was there too.  Of course I went (the car show was a non-missable event in my family) and marvelled at the beautiful automobile with it’s shiny chrome rocket launchers, ultra-cool rear turbo blaster and sharp, bat-like angles all around.  What an awesome machine.

 

And beside the car was the man himself, Adam West, sitting all alone behind a small folding table.  I was amazed, and so starstruck that I almost didn’t go up and say hello.  As I gazed Mr. West glanced my way and gave me a smile.  I took a deep breath and approached him.  This was long before the whole comicon thing (I think) and certainly long before people had the audacity to charge money for autographs and yet there was nobody at all anywhere near Batman.  

 

Once I opened my mouth I began to gush, breathlessly trying to explain what an impact he had on my childhood and my whole level of being, all the while feeling silly that here I was almost twenty years old and I was acting like a little kid.  I guess I still didn’t quite ‘get’ Batmen even then, otherwise I would have been fully aware that I was exactly his demographic; a former kid who was getting his first full taste of nostalgia.

 

I don’t remember much of what Adam West said to me, but I can picture the easy friendliness on his face, which is kind of odd because I can’t for the life of me remember if he was dressed in his Batman outfit or if he was in street clothes.  I do recall walking away feeling great about the encounter, so I’m sure he was very nice.

 

It’s curious to note that my childhood love of Batman has caused me to virtually run to every Batman movie that has come along since and I haven’t really cared for any of them, and I’ve never ever been into the actual comic books.  I guess I wasn’t a Batman fan after all.

 

I was an Adam West fan.  His comedic approach made him my superhero.

 

Farewell caped crusader, thanks for all the batcomedy.

[edger]

Nicely said. I can relate on many levels. And so can my son so many years later. Timeless. RIP.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

great story mon ami- thanks for sharing