Adam West’s Most Painful ‘Batman’ Memories
What To Know
- Adam West recalled two particularly painful memories involving his Batman co-star Alan Napier: one where Napier was embarrassed to wear the Batsuit for a comedic scene, and another during a difficult reunion show after Napier suffered a stroke.
- West was frustrated by the lack of sensitivity shown to Napier during the reunion, as the host asked him complex questions despite his impaired ability to speak following his stroke.
- Despite these challenging moments and being labeled “Bitter Batman” in the late 1980s, West experienced a career resurgence thanks to new opportunities in animation and pop culture, ultimately earning widespread appreciation before his passing in 2017.
Fans of the classic TV show Batman know that Adam West‘s ability to deliver cheesy one-liners with a perfectly straight face was second to none. But behind the campy persona, there was a real person with real emotions. West was someone who forged strong bonds of friendship with his castmates, including Alan Napier, the actor who played Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler, Alfred. It was their relationship that resulted in a couple of memories that were not particularly happy ones for Adam.
He hated seeing Alfred become a punchline
The first of these painful memories goes all the way back to the filming of the second season of Batman. In an episode titled “Walk the Straight and Narrow,” Alan was asked to wear the Batsuit. Yep, Alan, a very dignified actor who played an even more dignified butler, was being asked to put on the gray long johns, as well as the cape and cowl. And he knew that the show’s adult viewers would be laughing at him.
© 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, TM & Copyright / Courtesy: Everett Collection
According to Adam, the idea of putting on the Batsuit was incredibly painful for Alan. He felt that it was pushing the theater of the absurd too far, even for a show as silly as Batman. Being the loyal friend, Adam offered to stand behind Alan if he decided to tell the higher-ups that he just couldn’t do it. However, Alan felt it was best to simply put the costume on and finish the episode. But afterwards, he made it very clear that he never wanted to do anything like that again.
He felt protective of his costar
Adam’s second, even more painful memory involves a 1988 reunion show on Fox’s The Late Show, hosted by Ross Shafer. Now, to be clear, Adam was never a fan of reunion shows in general; in his memoir Back to the Batcave, he said that he found them to be “bittersweet and somewhat shallow”. However, this particular show was especially difficult.
Alan, who had recently suffered a stroke, had been invited to attend, and after extensive conversations with some of the other cast members, he made the decision to be present. Unfortunately, the stroke had really done a number on Alan, who had difficulty speaking, sometimes slurring his words. Adam couldn’t believe that the host was asking Alan questions that required lengthy answers with no consideration given to his condition.
In Back to the Batcave, Adam said, “I sat there fuming as he was asked questions that required lengthy answers, or as the camera would catch this wonderful human being gazing blankly into space.”
To better understand Adam’s frustration, you can watch that very painful moment on YouTube.
Naturally, it was unintentional, But it was truly a sad ending to his distinguished co-star’s career because Alan passed away shortly after the taping.
Without a doubt, the late eighties were kind of tough for Adam. His late-career renaissance had not yet begun, and even reliable top-tier publications like TV Guide were painting him as the “Bitter Batman.”
Thankfully, the very reason that Adam was being painted as bitter, Tim Burton‘s 1989 Batman, also seemed to create new opportunities for Adam. In particular, animated programs like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and of course Batman: The Animated Series seemed to relish the opportunity to put Adam back in front of TV audiences. The “icing on the cake” had to be when Adam and Burt got the chance to voice the characters of Batman and Robin again in two feature-length animated movies.
Here’s what Adam told People magazine in 1986, right before his career renaissance: “When people get pretentious and talk about their great body of work, I think, ‘What the hell am I going to say?’ But then I look around and realize I’ve not done too bad for a farm boy.”
So, despite some challenging moments throughout his career, I think it’s fair to say that life was good for Adam, and when he left us in 2017, the world was more than ready to acknowledge his contributions. Yep. All of us Bat-fans wiped the tears away from our eyes, and said one last time: “Farewell, old chum”.
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