Fourth Season Myth

[Bob Furmanek]

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Bob Furmanek, you hit it out of he park again!

Of note, there's no denying there would be not be a fourth season, and Dozier did expect The Green Hornet to continue--why else would he want ABC to expand it to a 60 minute show?

[Bob Furmanek]

Thank you, it's my pleasure to share the research and tell the full story.

The problem with the book that seems to be accepted as the Bat-Bible is that I'm not sure the author did much research in primary source documents. It appears he took everything said by cast/crew members as gospel and that's a risky approach. Memories cloud and some may have reasons for not being 100% truthful. The cast members than start repeating what's written in the book and fiction becomes fact.

It's most important to go to the source and consult production files, trade journals and contemporary newspaper articles to tell the story.

As an example: ratings. The show was already in trouble in the fall of 1966 and Dozier began looking at ways to win back their audience. Here's a syndicated article from November 3, 1966.

By November 1967, the show wasn't even the most popular among children. BATMAN only placed first with 2 to 5 year olds and ranked third with 6 to 11 year old children. No wonder Dozier was anxious to wrap it up. As he said to syndicated columnist Bob Thomas in that January 25, 1968 interview: "The kids are just as happy to watch the old shows; they don't care if it's a repeat. So why go on spending $87,000 for new ones?"

Ratings 11.26.67.JPG (28.49 KiB) Viewed 6312 times

Another note on the importance of research: the Liberace episodes are reportedly the highest-viewed of the series. Not true. I don't have the final Nielsen figure but neither episode cracked the top ten for that week. I suspect it did no better than the other Batman episodes broadcast in late 1966.

The shows broadcast in the first few months were MUCH higher-rated in the Nielsens.

[Ben Bentley]

The problem with the book that seems to be accepted as the Bat-Bible is that I'm not sure the author did much research in primary source documents. It appears he took everything said my cast/crew members as gospel and that's a risky approach. Memories cloud and some may have reasons for not being 100% truthful. The cast members than start repeating what's written in the book and fiction becomes fact.

BINGO! This has been widely established and understood by a lot of those who have a part of this Message Board's community here for the long-haul but unfortunately the wider fan-base at large, (particularly the Facebook armchair quarterbacks) have no tangible way of archiving their discussions. With those kind of groups, any real factual information in a comment thread exists for the moments/hours/day it is in their feed and is then subsequently lost into the black-hole that is a Facebook page with such a high volume of repetitive and predominantly image centric content. Thus the circle of misinformation is perpetuated. I see it on an almost daily basis.

[John Mack]

Bob, as always I commend you on your tireless work in all matters of our show. I always look forward to your posts and actively search for them on the board.

Being born and raised in Chicago in the 1970's, I was able to meet Adam and Burt probably on a yearly basis or more, especially with their World of Wheels car show appearances. It became apparent to me after meeting them after my third or fourth time, that they had a kind of "script" they followed, with "stock answers" if you will. Even as a 10 to 12 year old, I tired of asking them questions only to be given the same glib responses such as, "Julie gave me strange stirrings in my utility belt, or yeah, they wrecked the Batcave, probably the evil doings of the Riddler etc, etc. Give the devil his due, probably not the best setting to get detailed answers to questions in the middle of a costumed appearance, besides I was very young and they probably thought the answers would satisfy me.

Flash forward to the mid 80's and there I was again as an adult speaking with them. My questions still be answered with silly comments, I said to Adam in all seriousness, "I'd love the opportunity to have a real talk with you about some things about the show." He took my address and said he'd try and find time to answer my question via mail. Well, about three months later, I received a letter from Adam from his Walla Walla address saying how great it was to speak with me at the last appearance and if I still wanted, I could ask him questions and he would SERIOUSLY (His word not mine) try and answer them.

Well, you are exactly correct Bob. He admitted to me that it was a hectic time for him back then, and not all of the events that led to the cancellation of show were remembered by him, partly due to just wanting to move on. He further stated that a lot of things like the tearing down of the Batcave set was emotional for him. He didn't recall it costing $800,000 dollars to build, saying that sounded "a bit steep for those days."

I wrote him a few more times and it took several months to get replies, but that was alright. I joined the Air Force and started a family and remember fondly the one letter that Adam wrote me saying, "Fans like you are an extreme pleasure!"

So, thanks for listening to me. A long way round of saying I wanted to validate your comments about the stories that get told as fact and also that the stars do not really remember after a while. It was a job for them for three years, and to try and recall any of our nit picky questions years later is hard. Could any of us recall what happened on our jobs 10 years ago? I know I can't.

[Therin of Andor]

Actors often learn much of this "Will we get renewed/axed?" news through their agents, who often filter and embellish the facts to keep their clients calm.

[Bob Furmanek]

John, thanks for sharing your stories. I got to know Adam pretty well from 1984 to the early 90's when I lived in LA. I was working for Jerry Lewis and helped Adam get copies of his various TV appearances, including Dean Martin, Merv Griffin, The Hollywood Palace, etc. In fact, I was the one who found his Captain Quick commercial and I still have the original 16mm print. I remember how excited he was when I found a print of his first role for WB on SUGARFOOT where he played a Polish concert pianist. I also found RIO, a lost pilot for Roncom; Perry Como's production company.

He was such a wonderful guy and his sense of humor was absolutely delightful. We drifted out of touch in the mid-90's even though I had his home number in Ketchum, I didn't call him out of respect for his privacy. I was SO delighted to see his career renaissance because when I knew him, things were not going so well professionally.

So far as his memories of the show, I can tell you that even twenty years after the fact, much of it was a blur. Those years were SO hectic for him, how can he be expected to remember details from the production?

To be honest, it's now been three decades since we had those discussions at his home in Pacific Palisades (or was it Brentwood?) and I cannot remember details about what was said. Instead, I remember isolated moments like how sweet he was with my girlfriend or the time I was visiting on my parents wedding anniversary and he said "Let's call them." My dad answered the phone and when he discovered who was calling, he said like an excited child, "Holy mackerel, I'm talking to Batman!." Adam got a big kick out of that and I still have the recording of that phone call. He was such a nice man.

I wish I had kept in better contact when he moved to Ketchum but our lives went on different paths. We were both presenting and had a very nice reunion backstage at the TCM Festival in 2016. We hugged, chatted a little and I'm so happy that I had that opportunity. His sense of humor hadn't changed a bit and it was delightful spending a little time with him again.

[Bob Furmanek]

Here's a fascinating interview with Adam from the Philadelphia Inquirer on January 15, 1967. He talks about his approach to the role and his future. It's worth noting this was done when the show was struggling in the ratings, especially on Wednesday nights.

Thanks to the expert research by High C, we know the final episode was a four-day shoot (the only one in the last season) from December 18 - 21, 1967. How did Adam mark the last day of production on BATMAN?

He attended the December 21 world-premiere of DR. DOLITTLE with his new leading lady, Linda Cristel.

With the last show in the can, BATMAN was now behind him and the future looked bright...

batman01a.jpg (314.29 KiB) Viewed 6233 times

[Bob Furmanek]

If the 1967 interview is too small, here's a larger copy.

[Bob Furmanek]

Boy, I'm getting forgetful in my old age. Looks like I've already posted a topic on this issue!

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3556&p=32163#p32163

Well, at least this one has some new information. Sorry about that!

[Mark Racop]

Thanks so much for your fantastic research and analysis, Bob. Kudos to you for helping Adam find those clips in the '80s, as well.

[Bob Furmanek]

Thank you, Mark. It was truly a pleasure!

What did Yvonne do when the show wrapped? She went on a personal appearance tour promoting it and Fox sent out a bunch of Christmas publicity photos (taken October 7) to newspapers and magazines around the country.

Yvonne Craig Dec 12 1967.JPG (26.92 KiB) Viewed 6159 times

Yvonne 12.23.67.JPG (35.08 KiB) Viewed 6159 times

And how did adult viewers take to Batgirl in season 3? Here's one reaction that was printed in newspapers throughout the country on December 17, 1967.

[Bob Furmanek]

[High C]

The 1967 Adam interview with the Philly Inquirer is rather poignant in hindsight. He strongly hints about wanting Dozier and ABC to try to take the show in different directions, which of course, really did not happen.

Plus, he tries to downplay the possibility of forever being typecast, which obviously did happen, and it clearly was something he feared. Basically, for lack of a better cliche, you get the feeling of a man who had scaled a professional mountain but could feel the ground giving way beneath his feat. It's kind of sad and kind of scary.

[robinboyblunderer]

Thanks for sharing those articles and information.
Now...about the Fifth Season Myth...