Batman Before Clooney and Carey

Batman

(CBS)  Before Clooney and Carey, there was West and Gorshin. Of course, we are talking about comic book superhero, Batman and his nemesis, The Riddler. These became household names back in 1966, when TV's "camp" series, Batman, took America by storm. Adam West and Frank Gorshin are our guests for The Early Show's Retro Reunion.


The Story:

In January 1966, with a POW!, ZAP!, and ZONK!, Batman hit the airwaves with a shot heard round the world. Of course, by the time the series premiered, Batman was already a beloved comic book and movie serial hero. But to an entire generation of television-watching, Tang-drinking, moon-shot-dreaming kids and adults alike, ABC's hyper-sensational, color-saturated, over-the-top treatment is the only version that matters. The show's tone was light, yet real, with no murky Gotham to grapple with.


Show In Brief:

First Telecast On ABC: 1966
Last Telecast On ABC: 1968

There was drama and conflict galore between the forces of good and evil, but the series essentially came down to two burning questions:

Will young Master Dick Grayson remember to be polite?

Will Batman lose the struggle against his libidinous desires for Catwoman?
In many respects, the show broke new ground. Each episode was done as a two-part cliffhanger. All scenes set in a villain's lair were filmed at an angle. And each villain and hero was costumed in such a way as to never let viewers forget that this was play.


The Cast:

Caesar Romero (the Joker), Frank Gorshin, John Astin (the Riddler), Burgess Meredith (the Penguin), Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, Lee Merriweather (Catwomen all), George Sanders, Eli Wallach, Otto Preminger (Mr. Freezes all), Tallulah Bankhead (the Black Widow), Anne Baxter (Zelda), Vincent Price (Egghead), Roddy McDowall (the Bookworm), David Wayne (the Mad Hatter), Victor Buono (King Tut), Michael Rennie (the Sandman), and the effervescent Liberace (Chandell) -- and more -- all faced Adam West's Batman with an evil glee. They always lost, and sometimes even saw the error of their ways, thanks to the caped crusader.