Making BATMAN (1966-68): The Story of a Camp Classic

April 23, 2022

After the success of the children’s-aimed, action series the Adventures of Superman at ABC in the late 1950s, Ed Graham Productions decided they wanted to do something similar. As a result, they optioned the rights to Batman from National Periodical Publications (the publisher of DC Comics). The intention was that this series would air Saturday mornings on CBS. However, the series was stuck in development for several years and didn’t go anywhere.

Enter Yale Udoff, an executive at rival ABC who had been a fan of the Batman comics during his childhood in the early 1940s. When National reobtained the rights to the character, Udoff stepped in and grabbed them for his network. Udoff’s vision was to put a version of Batman on the air that was similar in tone to NBC’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. An arrangement was made for 20th Century Fox to produce the series.

With a deal in place, 20th Century Fox gave the project to Greenway Production, which was helmed by William Dozier. Since Dozier had never read a comic book in his life, he decided to head down to the closest five and dime and pick up the latest issues of Batman and Detective Comics. This was so he could familiarize himself with the source material.

After reading the comics, which he thought were terrible, Dozier decided that it could only work as a campy comedy. This was the opposite of the tone that Udoff wanted for the show. Another person that didn’t like this shift in tone was spy novelist Eric Ambler. He had been hired to write a TV movie to launch the new series. Subsequently, Amber dropped out of the project immediately.

The Cast and Characters

Batman and Robin

An extensive casting search began in order to fill the roles of Batman and Robin. The final choices came down to either Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell, or Adam West and Bert John Gervis Jr. Screen tests were ordered for both pairs, with the latter duo winning the roles. West got the part partially because of a Nestle Quik TV commercial which was a spoof of the James Bond movie Thunderball (1965). Gervis decided to adopt the stage name of Burt Ward upon winning the role.

Ward did most of his own stunts on the series. Producers claimed this was because it would be obvious to the audience as Robin’s mask didn’t cover most of his face. However, it is believed the primary reason was to cut costs as Ward’s meager salary of $350 per week was less than what a stunt man would cost. Regardless of the reason, Ward was injured several times during the production of the series. Said injuries included pyrotechnic burns as well as being thrown out of the Batmobile after his door flew open during a high-speed turn.

Penguin

Burgess Meredith’s Penguin was extremely popular with both audiences and the producers, who would always have a script ready for him when he was available to shoot. Meredith, who had quit smoking in the 1940s, hated cigarettes. However, he was required to smoke them while filming as the Penguin. As a result of his constant coughing from the smoke, Meredith came up with the character’s squawking in order to mask the unwanted sounds. Meredith also found it difficult to walk while in the fat suit he wore as the character. Subsequently, he improvised the Penguin’s “waddle” to hide this fact.

Meredith had parlayed his popularity as the Penguin into other venues. Some examples were recording a 45 single as the Penguin, as well appearing as the character in a cameo on The Monkees’ hit TV series.

Burgess Meredith’s record single recorded as The Penguin

The Joker

Although the “Latin from Manhattan” Cesar Romero won the role of the Clown Prince of Crime, another famous New Yorker threw his hat in the ring after Romero had been cast but before cameras rolled – Frank Sinatra. Since they wouldn’t fire Romero, Sinatra, who was known to hold a grudge, told producers he would never appear on the show in any capacity.

“We have a lot of fun doing this show, and we had a lot of fun making the movie. It’s a part that you can do everything that you’ve always been told not to do as an actor. In other words, you can get as hammy as you like and go all out. It’s great fun, I enjoy it.”

– Cesar Romero

Romero refused to shave his mustache for the role, which he considered his trademark. Instead, he would have it painted white along with the rest of his face.

Prior to filming his first episode, Romero met with producers to discuss his role on the series. While there, he happened to see the conceptual art of Joker’s costume. Romero broke out into playfully loud and almost manic laughter. This was because he felt the character design looked ludicrous. A producer overhearing it responded by telling Romero “That’s it, that’s your Joker’s laugh!” Years later, Romero stated that he had done the Joker’s laugh so many times that it permanently altered his real laugh.

The Riddler

Frank Gorshin, the first actor to play the Riddler on the series, hated the Riddler’s spandex costume. To appease the actor a green business suit was designed for him to wear. This outfit eventually made its way into the comics.

Due to a contract dispute, Gorshin abandoned the role of the Riddler. For one storyline, producers brought in John Astin of The Addam’s Family fame to play the role. In another instance, they just changed the character from “The Riddler” to “The Puzzler.” This was a character that the show had invented in order to solve the problem. Gorshin did return for one final appearance in the show’s third season.

Catwoman

Susanne Pleshette was the first choice for the role of Catwoman, but she turned it down. With her out of the running, producers set their sights on Julie Newmar. The actress was visiting her brother at his College in New York when first contacted with the offer. A group of Newmar’s brother’s friends were regular watchers of the series. After much consultation, Newmar was convinced to take the part.

Newmar does not appear in the 1966 Batman movie because she did not know about it and had already signed on to film the racy comedy Monsieur Lecoq in England. By the time she learned of the movie, she could not get out of her commitment in time. Subsequently, Monsieur Lecoq was abandoned and left unfinished. Lee Meriwether portrayed Catwoman in the Batman movie.

Eartha Kitt took over the role of Catwoman in the third season because Newmar was busy filming Mackenna’s Gold (1969). ABC’s affiliates in the South objected to the casting of an African-American actor, but producers didn’t care. However, the sexual flirtation between Catwoman and Batman was completely excised during these episodes.

Other Casting Notes

Several guest stars on Batman also made appearances on Star Trek. These guests included Julie Newmar, Yvonne Craig, Frank Gorshin, Charles Dierkop, Jon Lormer, Roger C. Carmel, Angelique Pettyjohn, John Crawford, Gene Dynarski, Sherry Jackson, Lawrence Montaigne, Ted Cassidy, Leslie Parrish, Lee Meriwether, Stanley Adams, and Malachi Throne.
Jill St. John appeared in the first and second episodes of the television series as the Riddler’s moll “Molly.”
There were over two dozen cameos on the series of celebrities popping out of the window as Batman and Robin climbed up a wall. Stars featured in this manner were: Jerry Lewis, Dick Clark, Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Dana, Howard Duff, Werner Klemperer, Ted Cassidy, Don Ho, Andy Devine, Art Linkletter, Edward G. Robinson, Suzy Knickerbocker, and Cyril Lord.
Natalie, Wood, Cary Grant, and Attorney General Robert Kennedy were all fans of the show and wanted to make appearances, either as guest stars or in cameo roles. However, the opportunity to do so never materialized.
Otto Preminger took the role of Mr. Freeze at the behest of his grandchildren. Likewise, Eli Wallach took the same role at the urging of his children.
The uncredited narrator for the series was voiced by producer William Dozier.
Like Burt Ward, Batgirl actress Yvonne Craig did most of her stunts herself. This included all of the motorcycle work on the series since she was an accomplished rider.
The watch necklace often seen worn by Barbara Gordon was actually one of Yvonne Craig’s personal jewelry pieces. It originally belonged to her real-life mother.
Anne Baxter was the only person during the series that had acted in two different criminal role personalities: Olga and Zelda.

The Batcave

Like many other movies and shows, the exterior of the Batcave was shot at the Bronson Caves in Griffith Park in the Hollywood Hills. Because the width of the Batmobile and the cavern were close to the same size, the car was driven at a very low speed through the opening, and then the film was sped up for the series.

The set for the Batcave was built in the same location as the gates for the Skull Island set in King Kong (1933). These gates were famously set ablaze during the burning of Atlanta scenes in Gone With the Wind (1939).

The Batmobile

In 1965, American custom car builder George Barris, an American designer, built the Batmobile. This was done at his workshop, Barris Kustoms, located on Riverside Drive in North Hollywood. To accomplish this task, he augmented a 1955 Ford Lincoln Futura concept car with materials he bought at a local hardware store. It took three weeks to design and build the car. In total five Batmobiles were produced during the span of the series.

When completed, the car weighed 5,500 pounds. Some of the other specifications of the car include a wheelbase of 129 inches. The overall length of the car is 206 inches with a height of 48 inches. Under the hood is a 429 Ford Full Race engine.

Writing and Episode Structure

Head writer Lorenzo Semple wrote the first four episodes of the series himself. Originally planned to be an hour-long, the series was broken into two half-hour slots, with a cliffhanger to accommodate the openings in ABCs schedule. Semple also defined the structure of the series that all episodes would follow.

Each story would begin with a villain’s caper. At Wayne Manor, Alfred the butler answers the Batphone and informs Bruce Wayne of the call. Batman and Robin use the deduction from the clues left by the villain to determine things such as who they are and their motivation. When Batman and Robin locate the villain, they are captured and placed in a deathtrap leading to a cliffhanger ending. The first few minutes of the next episode resolve the cliffhanger. The same general plot pattern of investigation repeats in the following episode with the villain being defeated in a sound effect-filled brawl.

Although the show started off strong with audiences, by the time it rolled cameras for the third season, its cultural impact and Nielsen ratings share had diminished. In order to adjust to this and remain on the air, the series was changed to one self-contained episode a week, with the cliffhanger endings dropped. In addition to adding Batgirl to the fray, the tone of the series also shifted by incorporating surrealistic elements and incorporating late 1960s culture, such as hippies, into the show.

Lee Meriwether, Frank Gorshin, Burgess Meredith, and Cesar Romero in a publicity shot for the movie, “Batman” (1966). Photo courtesy of Fox

Cancellation

The ratings for the series continued to fall in the third season and Batman was unceremoniously canceled by ABC in March 1968. The producers reached out to other networks to see if they were interested in picking up the series for a fourth season. Eventually, NBC got back to them and wanted to move forward. However, they backed out when they learned that the sets had all been demolished in the interim period.

Legacy

Batman continues to be ingrained in the psyche of pop culture over five decades after going off the air. The show has influenced other Batman animated and live-action products over the decades. It has also been paid homage to in many series, including The Simpsons, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and Spongebob Squarepants. In 2016 West, Ward, and Newmar lent their voices to the animated movie Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.

{{post_title}}

Making BATMAN (1966-68): The Story of a Camp Classic