"Batman" (1966) TV series 1966-1968

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

12 January 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The ludicrously straightlaced Caped Crusader battles evil in this parody of the comics.

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Fighting | Police Commissioner | Mansion | DC Comics

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Adam West	...	Batman (120 episodes, 1966-1968)
Burt Ward	...	Robin (120 episodes, 1966-1968)
Neil Hamilton	...	Commissioner Gordon (120 episodes, 1966-1968)
Stafford Repp	...	Chief O'Hara (117 episodes, 1966-1968)
Alan Napier	...	Alfred (111 episodes, 1966-1968)
William Dozier	...	Narrator / ... (109 episodes, 1966-1968)
Madge Blake	...	Mrs. Cooper (79 episodes, 1966-1967)

(more)

Series Directed by
Oscar Rudolph		(37 episodes, 1966-1968)
James B. Clark		(15 episodes, 1966-1967)
George Waggner		(10 episodes, 1966-1967)
Sam Strangis		(8 episodes, 1967-1968)
Robert Butler		(6 episodes, 1966)
Murray Golden		(6 episodes, 1966)
Larry Peerce		(6 episodes, 1966)
Norman Foster		(4 episodes, 1966)
Tom Gries		(4 episodes, 1966)
Charles R. Rondeau		(4 episodes, 1966)
Don Weis		(4 episodes, 1966)
William A. Graham		(2 episodes, 1966)
Jeffrey Hayden		(2 episodes, 1966)
Sherman Marks		(2 episodes, 1966)
Leslie H. Martinson		(2 episodes, 1966)
James Neilson		(2 episodes, 1966)
Richard C. Sarafian		(2 episodes, 1966)
James Sheldon		(2 episodes, 1966)
Robert Sparr		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Writing credits
Bob Kane		(93 episodes, 1966-1967)
Stanley Ralph Ross		(27 episodes, 1966-1968)
Charles Hoffman		(22 episodes, 1966-1968)
Stanford Sherman		(18 episodes, 1966-1968)
Lorenzo Semple Jr.		(16 episodes, 1966-1967)
Jerry Robinson		(13 episodes, 1966-1967)
Stephen Kandel		(5 episodes, 1966-1967)
Earl Barret		(4 episodes, 1966)
Francis M. Cockrell		(4 episodes, 1966)
Marian B. Cockrell		(4 episodes, 1966)
Fred De Gorter		(4 episodes, 1966)
Robert C. Dennis		(4 episodes, 1966)
Max Hodge		(4 episodes, 1966)
Elkan Allan		(3 episodes, 1967)
John Cardwell		(2 episodes, 1966)
Richard Carr		(2 episodes, 1966)
Robert Dozier		(2 episodes, 1966)
Bill Finger		(2 episodes, 1966)
Lee Orgel		(2 episodes, 1966)
Jack Paritz		(2 episodes, 1966)
Bob Rodgers		(2 episodes, 1966)
Edwin Self		(2 episodes, 1966)
Charles Sinclair		(2 episodes, 1966)
Henry Slesar		(2 episodes, 1966)
Sheldon Stark		(2 episodes, 1966)
Ellis St. Joseph		(2 episodes, 1966)
Jay Thompson		(2 episodes, 1966)
Hendrik Vollaerts		(2 episodes, 1966)
William P. D'Angelo		(2 episodes, 1967)
Robert Mintz		(2 episodes, 1967)
Peter Rabe		(2 episodes, 1967)
Leo Townsend		(2 episodes, 1967)
Pauline Townsend		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Produced by
William Dozier	....	executive producer / producer (95 episodes, 1966-1968)
William P. D'Angelo	....	associate producer (94 episodes, 1966-1968)
Howie Horwitz	....	producer (93 episodes, 1966-1968)

Series Original Music by
Nelson Riddle		(85 episodes, 1966-1967)
Billy May		(7 episodes, 1967-1968)
Neal Hefti		(5 episodes, 1967-1968)
Warren Barker		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Cinematography by
Howard Schwartz		(43 episodes, 1966-1967)
Meredith M. Nicholson		(28 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ralph Woolsey		(10 episodes, 1966)
Jack A. Marta		(7 episodes, 1966)
Charles Straumer		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
Sam Leavitt		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Film Editing by
Hugh Chaloupka		(23 episodes, 1966-1967)
Homer Powell		(22 episodes, 1966-1967)
J. Frank O'Neill		(14 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ronald J. Fagan		(9 episodes, 1966)
Bill Murphy		(7 episodes, 1966-1967)
James Blakeley		(6 episodes, 1967-1968)
Byron Chudnow		(5 episodes, 1966)
Harry Coswick		(3 episodes, 1966)
Newell P. Kimlin		(2 episodes, 1966)
Leon Selditz		(2 episodes, 1966)
Robert Phillips		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
Jack Martin Smith		(93 episodes, 1966-1968)
Serge Krizman		(70 episodes, 1966-1967)
Jack T. Collis		(10 episodes, 1966)
Russell C. Menzer		(8 episodes, 1966)
Frank T. Smith		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
Franz Bachelin		(2 episodes, 1966)
Ed Graves		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Set Decoration by
Walter M. Scott		(93 episodes, 1966-1968)
Chester L. Bayhi		(67 episodes, 1966-1967)
Warren Welch		(14 episodes, 1966)
Bert Allen		(12 episodes, 1967)
Robert De Vestel		(4 episodes, 1967-1968)
Joseph Reith		(unknown episodes)

Series Costume Design by
Andrew Pallack		(4 episodes, 1966-1968)
Jan Kemp		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist supervisor / hair styling supervision (86 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ben Nye	....	makeup supervisor / makeup supervision (86 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Production Management
Jack Sonntag	....	production supervisor (92 episodes, 1966-1968)
William Self	....	in charge of production: Twentieth Century Fox Television Inc. (91 episodes, 1966-1968)
Sam Strangis	....	unit production manager (87 episodes, 1966-1968)
James Blakeley	....	post-production supervisor (86 episodes, 1966-1967)
Gaston Glass	....	production manager (2 episodes, 1966)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bill Derwin	....	assistant director (39 episodes, 1966-1967)
David Whorf	....	assistant director (25 episodes, 1966-1968)
Maxwell O. Henry	....	assistant director (17 episodes, 1967-1968)
Jack Barry	....	assistant director (14 episodes, 1966)
Mark Sandrich Jr.	....	assistant director (6 episodes, 1966-1968)
Norman August	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1966)
Robert G. Stone	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1966)
Sam Strangis	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1966)
Steven Bernhardt	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Sound Department
Ralph Hickey	....	supervising sound effects editor (86 episodes, 1966-1967)
Harold E. Wooley	....	sound effects editor (86 episodes, 1966-1967)
Dan Finnerty	....	sound effects editor (5 episodes, 1967-1968)
Dick Le Grand	....	sound effects editor (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects (29 episodes, 1967-1968)
Greg C. Jensen	....	special effects (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Victor Paul	....	stunt coordinator (120 episodes, 1966-1968)
Jesse Wayne	....	stunt double / stunt double: Walter Burke (28 episodes, 1966-1967)
Charlie Picerni	....	stunt double: Cliff Robertson (4 episodes, 1966-1968)
Ron Burke	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Vince Deadrick Sr.	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Angelo De Meo	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Louie Elias	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Tony Epper	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Lee Faulkner	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Johnny Hagner	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Eddie Hice	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Hubie Kerns	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Troy Melton	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
George Sawaya	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Alex Sharp	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Roy N. Sickner	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Al Wyatt	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Del Ruth	....	assistant camera (unknown episodes, 1966)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Andrew Pallack	....	wardrobe: men (46 episodes, 1966-1968)

Series Editorial Department
Robert Mintz	....	post-production coordinator (93 episodes, 1966-1968)

Series Music Department
Lionel Newman	....	music supervisor / music supervision (94 episodes, 1966-1968)
Leonard A. Engel	....	supervising music editor (93 episodes, 1966-1968)
Sam Horta	....	music editor (93 episodes, 1966-1968)
Neal Hefti	....	composer: theme music / composer: Batman Theme (91 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (4 episodes, 1967-1968)

Series Other crew
Lorenzo Semple Jr.	....	script consultant / executive script consultant / ... (87 episodes, 1966-1968)
Charles B. Fitzsimons	....	assistant to executive producer / assistant to producer (62 episodes, 1966-1968)
Charles Hoffman	....	script editor / story editor (60 episodes, 1966-1968)
George Barris	....	car designer (unknown episodes)
Dean Jeffries	....	car designer (unknown episodes)
Robert Sonntag	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Milton Stark	....	dialogue coach (unknown episodes)
Shirley Ulmer	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• 20th Century Fox Television
• Greenway Productions

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox Television (1966-) (worldwide) (all media)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1966-1968) (USA) (TV)
• Katholieke Radio Omroep (KRO) (1966-1967) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Sat.1 (1989-1990) (West Germany) (TV)
• Verenigde Arbeiders Radio Amateurs (VARA) (1980) (Netherlands) (TV)

Other Companies

• National Periodical Publications  batman and detective comics magazines

Runtime:

30 min (120 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Italy:T | UK:U | USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The series was rushed into production, with props from one episode finding their way (sometimes erroneously) into another.

Goofs:

Continuity: In episode 7, Alfred refers to Robin as Mr. Ward, and not Mr. Grayson.

Quotes:

Robin: Holy oleo!
Catwoman: I didn't know you could yodel!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3: The Jerkinators! (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Batgirl Theme

Absurd Persons, Plural

Looking back at this program from its completion through all of the episodes, it's easy to characterize it as being a campy version of Bob Kane's Dark Knight legend. But I'm not at all certain that it had to be...

In fact, in looking at the first two episodes, which featured Frank Gorshin as the first "Special Guest Villain," The Riddler, the program was quite hard-nosed, pretty straight and sinister (considering the costuming of the lead players), and actually somewhat poignant with the performance of Jill St. John. I would compare these first two episodes with any adventure series and say that they hold their own.

Of course, what happened was that with the wild Rogue's Gallery of villains, the over-the-top costuming, the dutch angle camera setups, with the straight-laced line reads of the two heroes, and the bugle like narration of "Desmond Doomsday" (the alias for Producer William Dozier) Batman was destined to be seen as nothing but pure camp. Not that that's bad, unless you feel this tarnished the legend of The Caped Crusader.

Meanwhile, the show became the hottest thing happening, nearly overnight. All sorts of acting greats wanted their chance to challenge the Dynamic Duo, and unlikely villains played by Liberace, Van Johnson, Art Carney and Zsa Zsa Gabor all appeared, in addition to the semi-regular performers, Caesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Julie Newmar and the aforementioned Gorshin. Those that couldn't be villains turned up in cameos, from Dick Clark to Sammy Davis Jr. to Santa Claus (as portrayed by old time actor Andy Divine) all had a moment of Batman and Robin's time. Though perhaps the most puzzling cameo was when Colonel Klink of "Hogan's Heroes" turned up at a Gotham City window. Not only was he from presumably 23 years in the past, he would have been a Nazi in an American city AND he was from a program on another network! If you know of an explanation for this, please pass it along.

The elements that made the show work were the Batmobile, a beautiful and evocative vehicle that transported the heroes from their secret location the 12 miles to Gotham City before the opening credits for that episode were finished. It's still one of the most instantly recognized automobiles, crafted by design genius Dean Jeffries. Add in the gadgetry, Batman's utility belt, the bust of Shakespeare that held the switch that opened the bookcase... "To the batpoles!" and of course, the talents of the stars, Adam West, Burt Ward, Alan Napier, who was nothing short of brilliant as Alfred, Neil Hamilton and Stafford Repp as the commissioner and chief of police and later the charm of Yvonne Craig as the addition to create "The Terrific Trio." But even as the formula was working, it was wearing out its welcome as it went, and by the time the show started their third season, the ratings were clearly slipping. Despite the addition of Batgirl, and a change in the format so that each episode was self contained, rather than having a two part cliffhanger, the magical run ended and ABC canceled it.

There was a rumor that NBC was interested in giving the program a fourth season, however 20th Century Fox, the production company for the series had already demolished the centerpiece of the program, the batcave set, and NBC was unwilling to spend the time and money to rebuild it.

Probably just as well, as Batman has since been through numerous incarnations to get back to the standard that Bob Kane originally had for him.