Why Did Lee Meriwether Replace Julie Newmar as Catwoman in the 1966 ‘Batman’ Movie?
On July 30, 1966, Batman, now commonly known as Batman: The Movie, had its world premiere at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. The big-screen adventure reunited Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) with three of the television show’s most popular villains: the Joker (Cesar Romero), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), and the Riddler (Frank Gorshin).
However, fans who had watched the first season of the ABC series immediately noticed that Catwoman looked different. Julie Newmar was replaced by Lee Meriwether, who made the role her own for Batman’s first feature-length theatrical adventure.
Why wasn’t Julie Newmar in the Batman movie?
20th Century Fox Film Corporation/Everett Collection
Newmar had introduced her version of Catwoman during the first season of Batman in March 1966. Almost immediately, her chemistry with West made Catwoman one of the show’s most memorable villains. However, the success of the television series led 20th Century Fox to move quickly on a feature film, and Newmar already had another commitment. She did not know that a Batman movie was being planned and had already signed on for an adaptation of Monsieur Lecoq. The production, filmed in London with Zero Mostel, was unfortunately never completed.
Meriwether later gave a similar explanation. She recalled that Newmar had accepted the other film before production began on Batman and could not get out of the commitment. The studio auditioned other actresses, and Meriwether won the role. “I read for the part. And luckily I got it,” she recalled in an interview with The 13th Dimension. Newmar was not fired from the television series or permanently replaced. She returned as Catwoman during the show’s second season. When she was unavailable during the third and final season because she was filming Mackenna’s Gold, Eartha Kitt took over the role.
How did Lee Meriwether become Catwoman?
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
Meriwether, who had been crowned Miss America 1955, drew upon her own experience with cats during her audition. She later explained that she curled up in a large chair, kneaded her knees and mimicked some of the grooming motions she had observed in her pets. She also got the accent down for the character. In addition to joining the Joker, Penguin and Riddler as part of the United Underworld, Meriwether’s Catwoman disguises herself as Soviet journalist Miss Kitka. Bruce Wayne falls for Kitka without realizing that she is one of the criminals he is trying to stop.
Meriwether later described herself as the “luckiest” of the Catwomen because she had the opportunity to work alongside Romero, Meredith and Gorshin at the same time. She particularly remembered watching the three experienced actors develop gestures and small comic bits for their characters between takes.
What was Batman: The Movie about?
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
Directed by Leslie H. Martinson and written by television series writer Lorenzo Semple Jr., the film expanded the show’s world for theaters. The four villains acquire a device that can dehydrate people into piles of dust and use it against the members of the United World Organization’s Security Council.
The film also gave Batman and Robin several new vehicles, including the Batboat and Batcopter. Of course, it featured some of the most famous moments of West’s time as Batman, including his encounter with an exploding shark and the conveniently labeled can of Bat-Shark Repellent. Another scene finds Batman desperately running around a waterfront while trying to dispose of a bomb without harming innocent bystanders.
The movie was Meriwether’s only appearance as Catwoman, although she later guest-starred on the television series as a different character, Lisa Carson, in the two-part King Tut story “King Tut’s Coup” and “Batman’s Waterloo.”
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