"Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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bat-rss
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"Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by bat-rss »

Paul and I are now reading Burt Ward's memoir for a future TO THE BATPOLES. I've picked up from comments on the board that much of what he writes in this book should be taken with a large grain of salt. I'm not even that far in and the boasts about his sex life are already making me roll my eyes. But aside from that, as far as information he gives about the show, what can I believe? I'm certain that some of it is exaggerated, to say the least.
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Commodore Schmidlapp
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by Commodore Schmidlapp »

It's been years since I read it, but as we were alluding to in the movie thread, there is definitely a good deal of exaggeration. If memory serves, he suggests he was likely to get Dustin Hoffman's part in a big movie, but was contractually obligated to Batman. Could be true, but I'm not sure he had the acting chops.

I'm also not convinced on the validity of his bragging about how well endowed he was, and all the backlash from censors. I mean we see close-ups of him buckling his seat belt and such, and nothing looks unusual or shocking. It's not like say I Dream of Jeannie, where censors would not allow Barbara Eden to be seen in a bikini; not even on a beach in Hawaii surrounded by other women in bikinis.

One thing I do believe that I never noticed until reading the book,was how much Adam West upstaged him. Especially in later seasons, it's painful to watch. West stutters through his lines and walks in front of Butt Ward. He even interrupts him.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by Scott Sebring »

Folks, in keeping with our board's G Rating, let's shy away from any discussion about the sexual escapades or debates over physicality claims and so forth. Thank you. :)
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Exaggeration or unclear memories applies to nearly every former Batman cast member. I learned to accept that decades ago, and chalk it up to a sales pitch many old TV series stars use to either keep their appeal to the convention circuit alive, or sell something new, like books or documentaries. The truth is usually found somewhere in the middle of a story.

At times, some former cast members left out certain details of their...shall we say...interests, such as Donna Loren's Adam West story.

One thing we do know is that Burt's Bruce Lee stories are largely matching what Lee's friend/student M. Uyehara detailed in Bruce Lee: The Incomparable Fighter, and quoted here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5570&p=54026&hilit=Fighter#p54026

Aside from that, from Adam's published biography--which is certainly no hymn book, or his post-series tendency to make Batman seem it was filled with as many double-entendres as The Benny Hill Show, including his oft-repeated, half joke/half claim of Batman talking about "Strange stirrings in my utility belt", Adam added more "red light district" shenanigans to the overall '66 experience than anything ever seen in the actual series. Some fans seem to gloss over the fact that he was pushing the "naughty, naughty" routine long before Burt ever put pen to paper, so contrary to certain fans' beliefs, Batman--in front of or behind the camera--had been taken to the aforementioned "red light district" by the guy at the top, and I don't mean Dozier.

But one thing is certain: beyond Ward's sideline misadventures, his version of Robin and Dick Grayson was as much a part of the reason the 1966 series worked as West's Batman. Although Robin was already popular in the pre-series comics, Burt truly brought Robin to life and shot him to explosive level of popularity to the degree where from 1966-forward, it was rare to ever hear anyone refer to "Batman..." without its natural 2nd half, "..and Robin". That's how much he made Robin inseparable from Batman, to the point where comic book Robin was a Teen Titan and in 1969, started college, but all other media representations of Batman always had an energetic Robin at his side. A Burt-style Robin.

Undeniably, Burt's Robin was the inspiration for the Boy Wonder from 1968's The Adventures of Batman cartoon, and obviously, the Robin from a decade of Super Friends shows. Even the 2003-2006 Teen Titans animated series featured a Robin that took part of its inspiration from Burt, such as the Ward-invented punching an open palm, and general hotheaded, action-oriented temper.

So, the takeaway is that Burt was not alone in adding ego-building tales to his bio, or the history of the series, but in all honesty, his Batmobile was late in taking a kind of highway already marred by plenty of cracks and potholes.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Scott, you posted while I was writing, so I hope I have not moved into the territory you're referring to.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by bat-rss »

Yes, Hornet, it's certainly true that Burt had a lot of impact on the Robin character!

For sure, among those involved with the show, there's plenty of exaggeration and misinformation to go around (Stanley Ralph Ross, anyone?). It's striking, though, how much more shameless Burt's book is than Adam's -- regarding, in G-rated parlance, relationships with women in particular, but, even being only up to page 60, there have been plenty of other types of assertions where I thought "Really? That's a bit hard to believe..." Where I seldom had that thought with Adam's book unless it directly contradicted something I had seen elsewhere.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by Commodore Schmidlapp »

Scott Sebring wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:16 am Folks, in keeping with our board's G Rating, let's shy away from any discussion about the sexual escapades or debates over physicality claims and so forth. Thank you. :)
Sorry, my bad; won't happen again! :oops: :oops:

Great post Batwinged Hornet, and as I'm sure we are all aware, 'Exaggeration or unclear memories' are pretty much par for the course in any such memoir. I've read a few from different members of the same rock band, and the stories, in addition to being wildly exaggerated, often don't even match.

The ghost writers are probably as much to blame, and I guess it does make for more interesting reading. But as fans, we often prefer the truth. Same with the movie Amadeus - if you read an actual biography of Mozart, some very important factual events are drastically altered to make for a more interesting story.

I think human nature gravitates toward 'What could've been if only x happened,' scenarios. Could Batman have continued another season or longer? Would Adam's or Burt's careers progressed better had they not been contractually obligated/typecast as Batman and Robin?

This thread has inspired me to dig up my copy, but like bat-rss said, I do recall having a hard time believing some of it when I first read it. Many of the same scenarios were depicted in Return to the Batcave, but I'm sure those were based in part on Burt's book, so that doesn't necessarily validate them.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by Lord Death Man »

Even now Mr. Ward is the master of hyperbole, based on the interviews he was giving for the new 1966 Batanimated movies. I remember reading that book when it first came out and it seemed he was trying very hard to upstage Adam West's book (which had come out about a year prior).

And of course, Mr. Ward's book was edited by Stanley Ralph Ross ;)
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by Kamdan »

bat-rss wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 7:18 am But aside from that, as far as information he gives about the show, what can I believe? I'm certain that some of it is exaggerated, to say the least.
I always felt irritated that Ward made it seem that his stunt double, Victor Paul, hardly did his job. Even before the series came out on Blu-ray, you could tell when Paul was standing in for Ward, namely shots in the Batvehicles that Ward claimed he was injured doing. Ward was definitely very green when he was cast as Robin and I always used his antidotes as an example of what happens you haven’t had much experience and you’re apart of something major like Batman. Wouldn’t mind discussing the matter in your podcast.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by bat-rss »

Kamdan, I see your point. And yes, I don't see any compelling reason why they needed Burt in what became the stock shots of the Batmobile going in/out of the Batcave, zooming by the camera and in aerial shots. It's a lot harder to tell who's in the car in the stock footage than it is to tell whether Burt or Victor is in any particular Batfight shot!
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by bat-rss »

By the way, if you've heard any Ward interview recently, it's likely he's still exaggerating when he talks about his miracle dog food...
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by AndyFish »

Lord Death Man wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:23 pm Even now Mr. Ward is the master of hyperbole, based on the interviews he was giving for the new 1966 Batanimated movies. I remember reading that book when it first came out and it seemed he was trying very hard to upstage Adam West's book (which had come out about a year prior).

And of course, Mr. Ward's book was edited by Stanley Ralph Ross ;)
Agree with LDM here.
I can understand the exaggerations; imagine you have a job that lasts 2 years and then for fifty years people keep asking you only about that job-- you tell the same stories over and over again and then they morph both because of the retellings and to keep them interesting to both you and the audience.

I never read Burt's book, the reviews of it summed up (as well as the cover) that it was not the kind of book I had any interest in reading.

It's a shame the cast did this, Adam in private was MUCH more entertaining than he was on the floor of any show. Sitting there with him on the show floor one long day in New York and hearing the SAME thing over and over again from hundreds of fans would have driven me nuts.

Cary Grant was the master of this. After he retired he started to do a lecture tour called An Evening with Cary Grant and he just sat up there and talked off the cuff. He wasn't worried about being overly clever or even interesting but in doing so he was.

With BATMAN, the truth is much of the cast had some resentment towards the show. They did 120 episodes and a film, got paid what would be considered minimum wage in today's Hollywood and then watched their respective careers die due to the strangulation of being typecast. Eventually most of them learned to embrace it, but there was always pain associated with it.

It's little wonder they invented a lot of information to stay relevant and give the fans what they thought they were looking for.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by Kamdan »

bat-rss wrote: Thu Jun 07, 2018 1:47 am It's a lot harder to tell who's in the car in the stock footage than it is to tell whether Burt or Victor is in any particular Batfight shot!
It was always clear as day to me it was Paul in those shots with his thinner hairline and bigger nose. Also, Ward had to add the detail that they made him finish the shot with his finger dislocated. My guess is that he’s mixing up other incidents to make a more compelling and embellished “first day on the job” story that apparently he told at lectures before the book was published.
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

Post by bat-rss »

Kamdan wrote: Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:34 am My guess is that he’s mixing up other incidents to make a more compelling and embellished “first day on the job” story that apparently he told at lectures before the book was published.
And probably got more and more outlandish with each telling!
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights"

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"It's the very essence of our democracy". - Batman, S1 Ep 11
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