Adam west

Early lifeWest was born William West Anderson in Walla Walla, Washington to Otto West Anderson and Audrey V. Speer.[1] He has a younger brother named John. He attended Walla Walla High School during his freshman and sophomore years, and later enrolled in Lakeside School in Seattle. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and a minor in Psychology from Whitman College[2] in WallaWalla where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and participated on the speech and debate team.

[edit] Career[edit] Early rolesLater, while living in Hawaii, West landed a role as the sidekick on a children's show called El Kini Popo Show, which featured a chimp. West later took over as star of the show.[3]

In 1959, the actor moved to Hollywood and took the stage name "AdamWest." In his autobiography Back to the Batcave he explains that he chose "Adam" simply because he liked the way it looked and sounded with "West", his mother's maiden name. His close friends and family still call him "Bill".

He appeared in the film The Young Philadelphians with Paul Newman, and guest-starred in a number of television Westerns. He guest starred on Edmond O'Brien's syndicated crimedrama Johnny Midnight and soon snagged a supporting role as police Sergeant Steve Nelson in the crime drama, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor. He portrayed Wild Bill Hickok in the episode "Westbound Stage" of the 1960 NBC western series Overland Trail, with William Bendix and Doug McClure. He starred in an episode of the original television series The Outer Limits titled "The InvisibleEnemy". He made a brief appearance in the film Soldier in the Rain starring Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen and in the 1964 film Robinson Crusoe on Mars. In 1965, he starred in the comedy western The Outlaws Is Coming, the last feature film starring The Three Stooges.

[edit] BatmanMain articles: Batman (TV series) and Batman (1966 film)
Producer William Dozier cast West as Batman and his alter ego,Bruce Wayne, in the hit television series Batman, in part after seeing West perform as the James Bond-like spy Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik television ad. West beat out Lyle Waggoner for the Batman role.

The popular, campy show ran on ABC from 1966 to 1968; a film version was released in 1966.

In 1970, West was offered the role of James Bond by Cubby Broccoli for the film Diamonds AreForever. West declined, later stating in his autobiography that he believed the role should always be played by someone British (despite the fact that an Australian had already played him).

[edit] Post-Batman career
West in 1989 at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards.After his high-profile role, West, along with Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig (who played crimefighting sidekicks Robin and Batgirl), wasseverely typecast. West's first post-Caped Crusader role was in the 1969 release The Girl Who Knew Too Much. His lead performance against type as cynical tough guy Johnny Cain did not erode his Batman image; the movie was a box office disappointment.

For a time, West made a living doing personal appearances as Batman. In 1972, when Ward and Craig reprised their Batman roles for a TV public-serviceannouncement about equal pay for women, West was absent. Instead, Dick Gautier filled in as Batman. One of his more memorable Batman appearances post-series was when he made an appearance in the Memphis, Tennessee based United States Wrestling Association to engage in a war of words with Jerry "The King" Lawler while wearing the cowl and a track suit and even name-dropping Spider-Man, though he is aMarvel Comics hero.[4]

West subsequently appeared in the theatrical films The Marriage of a Young Stockbrocker (1971), The Curse of the Moon Child (1972), Partizani/Hell River (1974), The Specialist (1975), Hardcore (1977), Hooper (as himself; 1978), The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980) and One Dark Night (1983). West also appeared in television films as The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972),...