Posted By Dan Greenfield on Apr 5, 2024 | 11 comments

The late, great FRANK GORSHIN was born 91 years ago…

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UPDATED 4/5/24: The late, great Frank Gorshin was born 91 years ago on April 5, 1933. The owner of this Riddler outfit, Dr. Stewart Berkowitz, died recently. He always liked it when I’d re-run these articles. This one first appeared in 2018. Enjoy. — Dan

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There were few things more exciting as a kid watching Batman on New York’s Channel 11 in the ’70s than when Frank Gorshin showed up as the Riddler.

See, I liked Cesar Romero’s Joker and Burgess Meredith’s Penguin just fine. But I didn’t fully appreciate what those actors brought to their roles until I was much older.

Not the case with Gorshin, whose manic, spring-loaded kineticism was mesmerizing from the jump.

So imagine my giddiness at being able to see — to touch — an original Riddler costume that’s part of an extraordinary private collection of screen-used Batman costumes and props:

Costume photos copyright 13th Dimension and Dan Greenfield.

Yeah. That’s the real deal.

Now, the collection — which also features an original Batmobile and a replica Batboat, Batcopter and Batcycle — belongs to an anonymous owner we’re calling Alfred. It’s ensconced in a hidden location in New Jersey and we’ve already teased it for you. (Click here. You want to.)

This doesn’t even include the Joker and the Penguin.

It is, in all likelihood, the greatest Batman ’66 collection you’ll ever see. And hopefully you’ll get the chance in person: Alfred is considering a traveling exhibit.

In the meantime, we’re showing off the items one at a time over the coming weeks and months. For example, we’ve already given you an UP-CLOSE LOOK at Burt Ward’s Robin duds. (Click here for tons of pix.)

But as far as the villains go, I wanted to start with the guy who was Young Dan’s absolute favorite, the Riddler.

Just check this out:

Photo courtesy of Alfred. Copyrighted.

Almost everything you see there is original. (Replica shoes and cane were added to complete the look.)

Oh, and that mannequin? That’s the amazing handiwork of Greg Maraio and a team of fellow artists, including Marc Spess, who handled the 3D rendering, molding and casting; Daniele Tirinnanzi, who did the custom color-matched glass eyes; and, David Costa of Dash-N-Dazzle, who provided the paint job:

That’s a test mask there. Mannequin WIP photos courtesy of Greg Maraio. Copyrighted.

With the test mask

Stunning. Absolutely stunning.

The best part is we’re just getting started.

With that in mind, do you want another tease?

Here you go:

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MORE

— SNEAK PEEK: The Greatest BATMAN ’66 Collection You’ll Ever See. Click here.

— Dig This UP-CLOSE LOOK at an Original ROBIN Costume. Click here.

— 13 QUICK THOUGHTS: Why the RIDDLER Was the Perfect Childhood Villain. Click here.

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Special thanks to Dave DeVenter (aka BatDave of NJ BatSquad Studios) and John Brown of Gotham City Supercars for making this possible.