ZOWIE WEDNESDAYS!
Welcome to ZOWIE WEDNESDAYS — in which we’re serializing across 13 weeks Mark Voger’s forthcoming book Zowie! from publisher TwoMorrows. Click here for a ton more on this feature — and info on the book itself, a brightly colored history of “the TV Superhero Craze in ’60s Pop Culture.” You can also find there links to previous installments. Right on! — Dan
Adam West and Burt Ward were the glue that held Batman ’66 together — their deadpan (West) and energetic (Ward) performances gave us a Batman and Robin that were central to the show’s campy conceit.
Oh, but the Special Guest Villains! Never was so much scenery chewed with such madcap glee. With a few notable exceptions, you always got the feeling that the actors who popped up on the show playing baddies were having the times of their lives. Method acting? Pfaw! Ham it up with as much ham as you could muster!
Found this online. Not sure who created it, but if it’s you, let me know! — Dan
What made the performances even more enjoyable was that while West and Ward were the unknowns when the show began, the villains were the pros. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names visited Gotham during the show’s three seasons, with many more making window cameos and even more wanting to join the fun but unable to, for one reason or another.
With all that in mind, dig Zowie’s guide to the actors who played every major Special Guest Villain on the show — in chronological order. (Lee Meriwether, the second Catwoman, appeared in the 1966 movie.)
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Zowie! by Mark Voger, is a 192-page, full-color hardcover that lists for $43.95. It is scheduled to be released July 31 and will be available through booksellers and comics shops. You can also pre-order it directly from TwoMorrows. Click here.
Also check out MarkVoger.com!
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MORE
— The Complete ZOWIE WEDNESDAYS! Index. Click here.
— Dig This Glorious Gallery of Groovy 1960s Superhero Booty — BATMAN and Beyond. Click here.
July 3, 2024
If you want to see a really different performance from Frank Gorshin, check out Disney’s “That Darn Cat!” (1965). He and Neville Brand make very non-typical Disney villains in it. Aside from the Big Four, my favorites were the Mad Hatter, played by David Wayne (who apparently didn’t enjoy being in “Batman”) and Louie the Lilac, played extremely straight by Milton Berle.
July 8, 2024
There is a typo on the Ida Lupino/Howard Duff episode-it was March 7, 1968, not 1966.