Saturday, June 10, 2017

The Passing of Adam West

What can I tell you.

I remember a time when I wandered down the street thinking, "there are people who'd pay THOUSANDS to do what I just did..."

...which was to chat with Adam West over dinner.

ADAM WEST.

As you might expect, I was a little bit in awe of BATMAN. I'd spent over a decade doing celeb interviews, but it's easy when you have a tape recorder and purpose. It's a little daunting in a social setting, and when it's a surprise. This was a little dinner gathering that I knew would include my friend Julie Newmar. But I didn't know her friend Adam West would be in the party.

And I was seated next to him?? I wasn't sure what to say, except to NOT lead with a reference to Batman. So we sat there for a while, eating dinner. We'd been introduced, but that was about it. While I still pondered what I could say that he hadn't heard before, he initiated the conversation. "Talk to me, Ron!"

Well, old chum, that's how to break the ice.

TV LAND had thrown a gala party. Stars from beloved shows turned up, and I found myself at a pre-show party talking with Barbara Feldon, Tina Louise and Martin Mull among others.

Afterward, I was invited to be part of a relatively small celebration table that seated maybe 10 people, among them Dawn Wells, Julie Newmar and Adam West.

Here's a shot of them during the TV LAND event.

At the dinner party after, I was across from Dawn, and seated between Adam and Julie.

I hadn't met Dawn in person before, and since I'd written her up (doing a phone interview) in "Sweethearts of 60's TV," I talked to her more than anyone else. I didn't know Adam from Adam, and I wanted Julie to feel free to chat with other people.

OK. Adam turned to me with THE REQUEST. "Talk to me, Ron!" So I said, "I thought you gave a funny little speech at the TV Land event. I know a lot of actors have hosted shows like "Live at the Improv" or "Saturday Night Live." Did you ever consider stand-up?"

"Oh no, that seems much too difficult..." he said, and we were off, talking about this and that.

About a year later, I was similarly situated. It was one of those Comic-Con deals, and I was again between Julie and Adam. I was just there keeping Julie company, not selling or autographing books. I sometimes explained the pricing to fans, or answered a trivia question. If somebody asked Julie some question starting with "Didn't you once..." she waved her graceful fan and said, "Ask him...he knows more about my career than I do!"

While Julie was ebulliently talking with fans, I found Adam in a talkative mood. His manager Fred was running interference, telling fans not to take flash pictures and or shake Adam's hand. They did it anyway. Adam put up with it, even if his eyes were sensitive, and his hand was getting numb if not painful from the constant signing and enthusiastic hand-squeezes.

"What time is it...when do I leave!" he joked.

I say "joked." Because he appreciated the fans. All of you, who have expressed condolences on Twitter or on message boards, either about loving his show, his other work, or being able to meet him...he knew your love. He appreciated it. He was proud of it, and I think he lived up to what everyone expected from "Batman," which is morality, decency, a will to serve, a desire for excellence, and a sense of humor.

I humbly think he was talking a lot to me just to detox from all the "You're the best BATMAN" stuff, which can be pretty exhausting for five or six solid hours. If he was taking a moment to talk to me, or his manager Fred, it was just a break from answering predictable questions.

At one point he began to softly sing old songs to himself. I joked, "Are you doing to do "Miranda?" He said, "Now now..."

I noticed that unlike Julie's table, which was festooned with pictures from all phases of her career, Adam's was sparse.

There was an 8x10 of his cartoon character from "Family Guy," two iconic Batman photos to choose from, and a nice photo of the real Mr. West.

I said, "You don't have a photo of yourself with the Three Stooges? I'd think that a lot of Stooge fans would love to get an autograph on an "Outlaws is Coming" still." [I'd given him a copy of my book "The Stooges Fan's IQ Test," which included a still of him and "the boys" from the movie.

"My philosophy is 'keep it simple,' Ron." They see a few pictures and don't spend a lot of time picking one. It keeps the line moving." He did spontaneously start talking about working with the Stooges. He recalled, "They were very polite and quiet. They sat by themselves, and waited for the director to tell them when he was ready for them."

I thought Adam was an underrated actor. He had a unique voice. Like Clayton "Lone Ranger" Moore, Adam's voice was key to giving a masked man personality. His voice and cadence made his Batman scenes highly entertaining, and sometimes quite funny. In fact, you could argue that his Bruce Wayne scenes had no humor at all. Of course, Bruce Wayne was supposed to be a bit of a dull fellow. Unlike Batman. Unlike Adam himself.

Julie's phone was ringing almost constantly today, as reporters asked for her recollections.

She told the Daily News: “I will miss him in the physical world and savor him always in the world of imagination and creativity.”

And for Entertainment Tonight:

"Adam set the bar so high for portraying the role of Batman. He was wonderful, spot on, with a twinkle in his eye. He had it all -- looks, charm, intelligence, I could go on and on."

"In conversation, he was very animated and once told me that Batman was the father that everyone wanted! I never thought of it that way! He had a great way of playing that 'tongue-in-cheek' nature in so much of the dialogue."

"If I had to describe him in a word or two, they would be 'stellar' and 'exemplar,' qualities that we want to encourage in ourselves and in young people."

The illness that took Adam apparently was quick, as Julie saw him about a month ago, and he seemed fine.

You can go back to even his earliest TV appearances and notice what an individual he was, how distinctive, and that even in a minor role on some WB TV show such as "Sugarfoot," he was showing the potential for stardom. I suppose Roger Moore was the same way; obviously good looking and tall, but don't underestimate his ability to dominate a scene and make it look effortless.

Many of you had the chance to meet Adam West at a memorabilia show, and so you know that he wasn't one of those "head down" signers. While his manager (who passed on a year or two ago) played "the bad guy," and wanted fans to move it along, Adam always made eye contact, even if risking a flash camera going off. He didn't restrict himself to a one-word reply if a fan wanted to ask a question. Not that he didn't find some of this rather boring. I remember him doodling on the white plastic fake-table cloth with his Sharpie pen. He was a very good artist, by the way, but the doodling was just his way of staying creative and breaking up the inevitable monotony of the same compliments over and over.

I remember that around 4pm or 5pm one day, probably Sunday, last day of a week-end of signing, there was no more line, just the occasional fan, and he was relieved when manager Fred agreed, "we can pack up."

All the tables at the even were covered with plastic-paper to protect the tables from ink stains and scratches. I thought Adam's doodles on it were worth preserving. And so, using a key, I cut away the section of the disposable table cloth and rolled up the drawing. Later, I stretched it onto cardboard backing, and put it in a plastic frame to protect it.

Adam and I both appeared on the A&E Biography episode on Julie Newmar. Adam's most amusing quote on the show was to say that as a personality, the marvelously eccentric, beautiful and talented Julie was "out there."

Now Adam is "out there," in an existential way.

He left behind a wife, children, grand-children, fans, memories, TV shows, movies and art.

The odd doodling bit of art below? Symbolism anyone? Like his "Batman" character, it's deceptively simple, citizen. There might be a horse's head outline on one side, lips, there's definitely an eye, a woman's leg...Holy Dali!

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