PART 1: Hey are you related to Adam West?
By Christopher West
Growing up with the last name West, you’d figure if I was made fun of it would be some sort of directional joke. My childhood saw the meteoric resurgence of Batman and with that came Chicago’s WGN re-airing of the original Batman ’66 TV series. A whole new generation of kids discovered Adam West’s Batman.
For years to come I was constantly asked, “Oh are you related to Adam West?” Ha. Ha. Ha. You are so funny. It happened so much that I actually started thinking maybe I am related to Adam West. From optometrists, teachers, bus drivers, and child idiots, I was the butt of many Adam West jokes.
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With his new found popularity, Adam West suddenly found himself in some of my favorite shows as a child. This was the 90’s. It was a time when people didn’t understand the true genius and timing that Adam West brought. This was way before Seth McFarlane beat us over the head with how great he was. People didn’t get it back then. All they saw was Batman and for a while, that really ate away at Adam West. He actually started out as a serious actor of stage and film, and wanted to be a great leading man like Clark Gable, Cary Grant, or Jimmy Stewart. He felt so type cast that for a time he refused to do the “Batman” style of voice acting.
Eventually as the kids of the 60’s and 70’s came into Hollywood, Adam West was held to hero status and not just a campy gimmick. These people understood him and respected him, and brought his career to new heights. In his honor, I would like to mention some of my favorite cameos from 90’s Adam West.
1992 – Batman the Animated Series “Beware the Gray Ghost”
This was an early episode of this groundbreaking cartoon. Even as a kid I knew this was on a level so far above all the other cheap Korean made cartoons. This episode was so meta that obviously I couldn’t completely appreciate it until I was older.
Adam West plays a character that starred in a superhero show when Bruce Wayne was a child. His character many years later is largely forgotten, broke and unemployed. Bruce shows him how he was a hero to him and inspired some of what would become Batman. The writers almost scrapped the episode because it mimicked West’s life so much and never imagined he would do it.
1992 – The Ben Stiller Show Episode 5
To this day for me, this is the best thing Ben Stiller has ever done. It’s a perfect snapshot of early 90’s cynicism and youth culture. It threw a middle finger to all the corporations who tried to co-opt the music and fashion of that time for cash.
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This was a show written by the likes of Bob Odenkirk, Judd Apatow, Janeane Garafalo, David Cross and Stiller himself. These were the 60’s and 70’s kids who grew up absorbing modern pop culture. They idolized West and knew how to use him, but not exploit him. It’s a spoof of the show Rescue 911 with West playing William Shatner’s character. It again shows that West is willing to poke fun of himself.
1992 – The Simpsons “Mr. Plow”
Not only is this one of the greatest Simpsons episodes, but next to Batman, it’s probably his most seen appearance in pop culture. Again these are writers who grew up idolizing him and wrote him in the script so they could meet him. He agreed and again was willing to poke fun at himself.
For a time West did make most of his living doing Batman appearances when he couldn’t find a lot of work. He actually did car shows just like in the episode. This shows how much humility he had as well as finally embracing he would always be Batman and that wasn’t a bad thing.
>>>>CHECK Dayton Can Comedy for part 2 very soon!
