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IMDbPro

Adam West(1928-2017)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
"Batman" Adam West 1966 ABC
Remembering America's favorite Batman, Adam West (1928 to 2017)
Play video1:48
Remembering Adam West
26 Videos
99+ Photos
Adam West was born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington, to parents Otto West Anderson, a farmer, and his wife Audrey V. (Speer), an opera singer. At age 10, in 1938, West had a cache of comic books; and starting in 1939, Batman, who appeared in Detective Comics, made a big impression on him--the comic hero was part bat-man (a la Count Dracula) and part world's greatest detective (a la Charlie Chan and Sherlock Holmes). When his mother remarried to a Dr. Paul Flothow, she took West and his younger brother, John, to Seattle. At age 14, West attended Lakeside School, then went to Whitman College, where he got a degree in literature and psychology. During his last year of college, he married 17-year-old Billie Lou Yeager.

West got a job as a disc jockey at a local radio station, then enrolled at Stanford for post-grad courses. Drafted into the army, he spent the next two years starting military television stations, first at San Luis Obispo, California, then at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Afterwards, West and his wife toured Europe, visiting Germany, Switzerland and Italy's Isle of Capri. When the money ran out, he joined a childhood and college buddy, Carl Hebenstreit, who was starring in the kiddie program "The Kini Popo Show" in Hawaii. West would eventually replace Carl but not the other star, Peaches the Chimp. In 1956, he got a divorce and married a beautiful girl, originally from Tahiti, named Ngatokoruaimatauaia Frisbie Dawson (he called her "Nga" for short). They had a daughter, Jonelle (born 1957), and a son, Hunter (born 1958). In 1959, West came to Hollywood. He adopted the stage name "Adam West", which fit his roles, as he was in some westerns.

After seven years in Tinseltown, he achieved fame in his signature role as Bruce Wayne / Batman, on the wildly popular ABC-TV series Batman (1966) (though he has over 60 movie and over 80 television guest appearance credits, "Batman" is what the fans remember him for). The series, which lasted three seasons, made him not just nationally but internationally famous. The movie version, Batman (1966), earned West the "Most Promising New Star" award in 1967. The downside was that the "Batman" fame was partly responsible for ruining his marriage, and he was typecast and almost unemployable for a while after the series ended (he did nothing but personal appearances for two years).

In 1970, he met and then married Marcelle Tagand Lear, and picked up two stepchildren, Moya and Jill. In addition, they had two children of their own: Nina West in 1976 and Perrin in 1979. You can't keep a good actor down--West's career took off again, and he appeared in 50 projects after that: movies, television movies and sometimes doing voices on television series. West wrote his autobiography, "Back to the Batcave" (1994). One of his most prized possessions was a drawing of Batman by Bob Kane with the inscription "To my buddy, Adam, who breathed life into my pen and ink creation". Beginning in 2000, West made guest appearances on the animated series Family Guy (1999), on which he played Mayor Adam West, the lunatic mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island.

On June 9, 2017, Adam West died at age 88 after a brief battle with leukemia in Los Angeles, California. On June 15, 2017, Los Angeles shone the bat-signal on City Hall, and Walla Walla shone the bat-signal on the Whitman Tower, both as a tribute to West.
BornSeptember 19, 1928
DiedJune 9, 2017(88)
BornSeptember 19, 1928
DiedJune 9, 2017(88)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 5 wins & 3 nominations

Superheroes In and Out of Costume

Superheroes In and Out of Costume

What does Shazam look like when he's not geared up to do battle? Check out this gallery of stars in character and in real life.
See more heroes without their costumes
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Photos

Photos249

Adam West in TCM Remembers 2017 (2017)
Adam West in TCM Remembers 2017 (2017)
Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)
Adam West and Julie Newmar in Batman (1966)
Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)
Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)
Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)
Adam West and Donna Loren in Batman (1966)
Adam West in Batman (1966)
Adam West, Yvonne Craig, and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)
Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)
Adam West and Yvonne Craig in Batman (1966)

Known for

Batman (1966)
Batman
7.5
TV Series
  • Batman
  • Bruce Wayne
Adam West, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Burgess Meredith, Lee Meriwether, and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)
Batman
6.5
  • Batman
  • Bruce Wayne
  • 1966
Chicken Little (2005)
Chicken Little
5.7
  • Ace - Hollywood Chicken Little(voice)
  • 2005
Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Kirsten Dunst, and Denise Richards in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
Drop Dead Gorgeous
6.6
  • Adam West
  • 1999

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • XIII (2020)
    XIII
    • General Carrington (voice)
    • Video Game
    • 2020
  • Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Alex Borstein, and Seth MacFarlane in Family Guy (1999)
    Family Guy
    • Mayor Adam West
    • Mayor Adam West as Grand Moff Tarkin
    • Ace Merrill (voice) ...
    • TV Series
    • 2000–2018
  • William Shatner, Adam West, Julie Newmar, and Burt Ward in Batman vs. Two-Face (2017)
    Batman vs. Two-Face
    • Batman
    • Bruce Wayne (voice)
    • Video
    • 2017
  • Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero (2014)
    Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero
    • Captain Super Captain
    • Professor Evil Professor (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2015–2017
  • Christina Kirk, Alan Tudyk, Vanessa Hudgens, Danny Pudi, and Ron Funches in Powerless (2016)
    Powerless
    • Chairman Dean West
    • Narrator
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)
    Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders
    • Bruce Wayne
    • Batman (voice)
    • 2016
  • Mayim Bialik, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Jim Parsons, Melissa Rauch, and Kunal Nayyar in The Big Bang Theory (2007)
    The Big Bang Theory
    • Adam West
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Moonbeam City (2015)
    Moonbeam City
    • Razzle Novak (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2015
  • Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 3: Magical Friendship (2015)
    Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 3: Magical Friendship
    • 60's Batman
    • Bank Robber (voice)
    • TV Movie
    • 2015
  • Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie (2015)
    Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie
    • Sandy Blake (voice)
    • Video
    • 2015
  • David Arquette, Colin Ford, Madison Pettis, and Jonathan Morgan Heit in Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates (2011)
    Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates
    • Wise Old Parrot
    • TV Series
    • 2011–2014
  • Alex Borstein and Seth MacFarlane in Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff (2014)
    Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff
    • Mayor Adam West (voice)
    • Video Game
    • 2014
  • Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
    Grand Theft Auto V
    • 1st Guard - Prologue (voice, uncredited)
    • Video Game
    • 2013
  • Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Lauren Tom, and Billy West in Futurama (1999)
    Futurama
    • Adam West (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2013
  • Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (2012)
    Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse
    • Mayor Adam West (voice)
    • Video Game
    • 2012

Director

  • Pet Star (2002)
    Pet Star
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2002

Additional Crew

  • Adam West and Burt Ward in Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003)
    Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt
    • executive creative consultant
    • TV Movie
    • 2003

Videos28

Is the New 'Joker' Most Like Jared, Heath, or Jack?
Clip 4:46
Is the New 'Joker' Most Like Jared, Heath, or Jack?
Batman: The Complete Series
Clip 0:56
Batman: The Complete Series
Batman: The Complete Series
Clip 1:28
Batman: The Complete Series
Batman: The Complete Series
Clip 1:01
Batman: The Complete Series
Batman: The Complete Series
Clip 1:13
Batman: The Complete Series
Return To The Bat Cave
Clip 2:45
Return To The Bat Cave
Trailer
Trailer 1:52
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:00
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:54
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 4:02
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:01
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:21
Official Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Official Site
  • Alternative names
    • William Anderson
  • Height
    • 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
  • Born
    • September 19, 1928
    • Walla Walla, Washington, USA
  • Died
    • June 9, 2017
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(leukemia)
  • Spouses
      Marcelle LearNovember 7, 1970 - June 9, 2017 (his death, 4 children)
  • Children
      Hunter Anderson
  • Parents
      Otto West Anderson
  • Other works
    Radio commercial: "Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction" (Radio Show), WUSB, 90.1, FM, Stony Brook, New York, USA
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Biographical Movies
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 5 Interviews
    • 4 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 4 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    After playing the role of a resourceful secret agent in a Nestle's Quik commercial in the early 1960s, he caught the eye of ABC executives. The execs thought he might be right for an upcoming television series they were about to produce, Batman (1966).
  • Quotes
    [on his typecasting as The Caped Crusader] It was inescapable. I'd just about land something substantial, something I like or a good career move. Then some dinosaur would rear up and say, "But the audience will think of him as Batman." It was formidable. It was there like a brick wall.
  • Trademarks
      Unmistakable deep smooth voice
  • Salary
    • Batman
      (1966)
      $100,000

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