Posted By Dan Greenfield on Sep 19, 2023 | 4 comments

A BIRTHDAY SPECIAL: There were a lot of great guest stars on the 1966 Batman show. But Adam West still wished he’d gotten to work with these folks…

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UPDATED 9/19/23: The late, great Adam West was born 95 years ago, on Sept. 19, 1928! Perfect time to “reprint” this piece from January 2017. Dig it. — Dan

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Well here we are. Batman debuted on ABC 51 years ago today, which means the 50th anniversary year is over.

That’s cool. It’s not like I’m gonna stop writing about it or anything. But to mark the occasion, I wanted to spotlight a pretty cool moment.

I talked to Adam West at New York Comic Con in October as part of a Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders media roundtable. These things aren’t always so easy because a guy like West has been interviewed so many times, you figure there’s nothing he hasn’t been asked. So as a journalist, you try to come up with something fresh.

Wouldn’t you know that’s what happened, even if I didn’t plan it in this case.

I asked him, given the number of great guest stars on the show, whether there was anyone he’d wished he’d gotten to work with — but hadn’t.

He stopped, and said that was a question he’d never gotten.

And then he clapped.

Like I said: Pretty cool moment.

I gave the audio of the complete roundtable to The Batcave Podcast and you can listen here.

But here’s how West answered that question:

“One day, Kim Novak called my assistant and said, ‘Do you think he would have lunch with me?'” he began, then looked around the table and teased, “Should I spill?”

Everyone laughed and said yes.

“So, I put on my bathrobe over my costume. Took off the cowl. Up pulls this Jaguar convertible, with her driving. And I said, ‘Oh, my God, I’m the luckiest man in the world.

“I got in the car and we had lunch. And we had a good time. And she brought me back to the set and I just had a feeling that she really wanted to do the show with me. …  So I was quite impressed and I would have loved to, you know, have worked with her.”

He went on to mention Henry Fonda, Kirk Douglas and Robert Donat, if he’d been alive when the show was on.

The whole interview was a lot of fun, so again, check it out here.

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MORE

— The TOP 13 BATMAN ’66 Episodes Ever — RANKED. Click here.

— Dig This Groovy Custom BATMAN ’66 BATCAVE Playset — That You Can Own. Click here.