A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: The show ended but the actor kept returning to the Batcave — and became a national treasure… By CHRIS FRANKLIN Adam West was the first actor to make an indelible mark on the character of Batman. Through 120 television episodes and a theatrical film, West personified the most noble, kind, and yes, square iteration of the Caped Crusader. The 1966-68 Batman television series was a two-layer cake: a straight adventure for the kids, and a biting satire of their parents’ old comics for the adult crowd. The balance of the series rested on West’s masterful ability to ride that line between the inspiring and the absurd. But Batman wasn’t merely a popular show, it was phenomenon. The show burned bright but quickly, and in its wake left West’s career on incredibly shaky ground. Perhaps more than any actor before or since, West was forever typecast in the role that made him famous. For years he tried to act against that type on screen, while still accepting the opportunity to voice Batman in animation, or even appear in live action, whether on TV specials, or at personal appearances. When the children who idolized West’s Batman as their personal hero slowly took over Hollywood, the actor received a reprieve, allowing him in on the joke, and able to lampoon himself and his most famous role. Eventually this would lead to perhaps his second most famous part, playing a mad version of himself as the Mayor of Quahog on Seth McFarlane’s Family Guy. But the Batsignal continued to shine, and West answered, embracing his iconic role in pop culture. Old fans watched these new projects with their children, and even grandchildren, and West’s status as a true pop culture icon grew. On the occasion of his birthday — the late actor was born Sept. 19, 1928 — let’s take a look at 13 other times West played Batman, or characters inspired by/or connected to the Caped Crusader, in chronological order: — The New Adventures of Batman (Batman/Bruce Wayne – 1977). Filmation dusted off their model sheets from the 1968 Batman cartoon and gave the Caped Crusader another go with this CBS production. The big pull here was the coup of scoring both West and Burt Ward to reprise their roles as the Dynamic Duo. While Filmation’s first effort often...