Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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WayneGrayson
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by WayneGrayson »

Peter Lawford would have been incredible. He played a villain who terrorized Robert Wagner in a tv movie right around the time of Batman. It was called "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" and Jill ST John was in it, too.

Might have been good as Sandman.
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TBolt
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by TBolt »

Would have loved to see J Carol Naish reprise his role of Prince Daka from the serial, same goes for Lyle Talbot's Luthor.
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High C
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by High C »

Alfred's Apron wrote:Shirley Jones as The Siren.
Shirley Jones obviously wouldn't have been my first choice for this role, but it's not at all far-fetched. Not only was she an accomplished singer, she was interested in playing a guest villainess, according to Dozier's correspondence.

I think, however, The Siren as portrayed by Shirley Jones would have to be written much differently from The Siren as portrayed by Joan Collins.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
Gorshin Romero
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by Gorshin Romero »

I know many actors and actresses wanted to be cast on the show. I would have preferred Gale Sondergard as The Black Widow. That said, does anybody here know if Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, or Gale Sondergard were ever seriously considered for roles? Just curious.
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High C
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by High C »

Gorshin Romero wrote:I know many actors and actresses wanted to be cast on the show. I would have preferred Gale Sondergard as The Black Widow. That said, does anybody here know if Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, or Gale Sondergard were ever seriously considered for roles? Just curious.
Sondergaard was not. Davis was offered Ma Parker but turned it down. Crawford was offered a role (I don't know which) but couldn't do it because of a scheduling conflict.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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Bat-Tiger
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Top 10

Post by Bat-Tiger »

I couldn't resist... My top 10 fantasy cast list


10 Howard Keel
Shame

9 Ann Margaret
Poison Ivy

8 John Astin
The Puzzler

7 Michael Caine
The Archer

6 Dick Van Dyke
Mad Hatter

5 George C Scott
Mr. Freeze

4 Paul Newman
Louie The Lilac

3 Anthony Perkins
Scarecrow

2 Mako
Fu Manchu

1 Christopher Lee
Dracula, or anyone he wants
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Dr. Shimel
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Re: Top 10

Post by Dr. Shimel »

Bat-Tiger wrote:I couldn't resist... My top 10 fantasy cast list
6 Dick Van Dyke
Mad Hatter

5 George C Scott
Mr. Freeze

4 Paul Newman
Louie The Lilac

2 Mako
Fu Manchu
*Van Dyke was finishing up his show when the first Mad Hatter episodes were shot.

*Scott swore off TV (until the late 80's) after his bitter experiences on East Side/West Side

*Newman was TOO BIG a star to do it.

*Mako was filming The Sand Pebbles during the first season, and even though he appeared on The Green Hornet, my guess is Dozier's sensibilities would never have accepted him in a guest villain role. Mako ended up being nominated for an Oscar, which likely took him out of the budget range.
elmrgraham
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by elmrgraham »

Ann Margret or Tina Louise as Poison Ivy.
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Bat-Tiger
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Re: Top 10

Post by Bat-Tiger »

Dr. Shimel wrote:
Bat-Tiger wrote:I couldn't resist... My top 10 fantasy cast list
6 Dick Van Dyke
Mad Hatter

5 George C Scott
Mr. Freeze

4 Paul Newman
Louie The Lilac

2 Mako
Fu Manchu
*Van Dyke was finishing up his show when the first Mad Hatter episodes were shot.

*Scott swore off TV (until the late 80's) after his bitter experiences on East Side/West Side

*Newman was TOO BIG a star to do it.

*Mako was filming The Sand Pebbles during the first season, and even though he appeared on The Green Hornet, my guess is Dozier's sensibilities would never have accepted him in a guest villain role. Mako ended up being nominated for an Oscar, which likely took him out of the budget range.
Yes but we can dream 8-) What did you think of my other picks?


Elmrgraham, I could see either of those as Poison Ivy. Good call on Tina Louise.
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epaddon
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by epaddon »

I have never been convinced of Ann-Margret for Poison Ivy unless this was Batman 1975. A-M was not only a film star who did no TV then, but she also IMO lacked the gravitas that she only acquired in her later years. The A-M of the 1960s still has too much of the "Bye Bye Birdie" teen quality to the point that her scenes with Dean Martin in the Matt Helm movie she did with him during this era really come off as creepy to me.

If I'm going to rule out A-M based on chronology though I have to also rule out my #1 choice Barbara Rhoades who wouldn't have been able to do it before 1969 at the earliest when she would have been on the radar screen as a low-budget alternative (though I have to say she had more gravitas at 22 than A-M did at 30). So if I'm limited to 1967-68 my choices are:

1-Lee Grant
2-Tina Louise
3-Jill St. John
4-Kipp Hamilton (if Ivy is more a henchmoll to another villain than lead villainess)

Julie London would have had the right look but she's my #1 alternate for Siren. Suzy Parker would have been terrific look-wise but she would have had to be a more passive Ivy since she had trouble handling more difficult roles requiring her to be a focal point.

If Poison Ivy had been a villainess in a 1955 Batman production the absolute best choice would have been Amanda Blake of "Gunsmoke". Back then she had the best look possible and also had experience playing nasty in several films before she got her role of Miss Kitty. Sadly, by 1967, Amanda while still attractive by this point looked her age and was too matronly looking to be Ivy (in contrast to Lee Grant who was older but looked a decade younger).
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Dr. Shimel
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by Dr. Shimel »

I doubt Tina Louise would ever have agreed to the role, simply because she wasn't happy on the set of Gilligan's Island. That was a show that skewed to a younger audience, and she likely would have been underwhelmed to be on another "kids" show--especially when the shine had faded after the first year.
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High C
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by High C »

Dr. Shimel wrote:I doubt Tina Louise would ever have agreed to the role, simply because she wasn't happy on the set of Gilligan's Island. That was a show that skewed to a younger audience, and she likely would have been underwhelmed to be on another "kids" show--especially when the shine had faded after the first year.
You might be right, but it would've beat some of the parts she got soon after GI, including a thankless blink-and-you'll-miss-her-role as a murderous senorita in The Wrecking Crew, the last of the Matt Helm movies with Dean Martin.

She made some interesting choices after GI--a very non-glamorous non-Ginger role in Bonanza in the fall of 1967, but then did a season 1 ep of It Takes a Thief, in which the majority of the female roles were glamorous.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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High C
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by High C »

epaddon wrote:I have never been convinced of Ann-Margret for Poison Ivy unless this was Batman 1975. A-M was not only a film star who did no TV then, but she also IMO lacked the gravitas that she only acquired in her later years. The A-M of the 1960s still has too much of the "Bye Bye Birdie" teen quality to the point that her scenes with Dean Martin in the Matt Helm movie she did with him during this era really come off as creepy to me.
Spot-on.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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Bat-Tiger
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by Bat-Tiger »

Well forgive a younger fan who didn't see her in an thing until Grumpy Old Men. :)

I was thinking of the Ann Margaret from Viva Las Vegas.
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Quarhog
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Re: Actors you wish would have been casted as villains

Post by Quarhog »

I saw the 1964 Outer Limits episode 'The Bellero Shield' a couple of days ago, in which the acclaimed Broadway musical star Chita Rivera was cast against type as a spooky Miss Danvers-like housemaid, who pads about barefoot with a gun in her stocking top. She wears a severe beehive, a high-necked, long-sleeved shiny black dress and a key on a heavy chain around her neck; the combined effect of which was to make her strongly resemble Eartha Kitt as Catwoman when seen from the waist up. (If I knew how to attach photos I'd post one of her in the role so you'd be able to see what I mean).
Chita Rivera.png
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