Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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Bob Furmanek
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Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by Bob Furmanek »

Burt Ward Vietnam.JPG
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Keith Mayo
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by Keith Mayo »

That's a new angle I've never heard before. 😁
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vintagematt
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by vintagematt »

I feel like this could just be fake news...but I wonder if it's true at all...?
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epaddon
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by epaddon »

I haven't heard that either. It's certainly wasn't impossible that such a scenario *might* have happened. On "The Big Valley" the actor who played the seldom-scene youngest member of the Barkley family, Eugene (who was attending Harvard which was to explain his only occasional appearances) was drafted and as a consequence Eugene Barkley became the forerunner to Chuck Cunningham!

Obviously if such a sequence had been filmed and been needed it would have no doubt appeared as the tag for the S2 finale (the Mr. Freeze episode, where tellingly Barbara Gordon is mentioned by the Commissioner in it!)
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dell
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by dell »

If it was filmed you would think that Burt would have mentioned this scene by now. The draft was a huge deal to young men back then. My brother joined the Army and became a doctor because of the draft.
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BatMite
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by BatMite »

Wow...incredible to think that sequence might have been filmed?
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AndyFish
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by AndyFish »

I doubt it’s fake Bob has been impeccable in research, but it could be the PR department tripping up.
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Jim Akin
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by Jim Akin »

Fascinating. Does anyone have any knowledge of the draft process and why Burt's divorce would've changed his eligibility status?
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High C
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by High C »

Jim Akin wrote: Sun Dec 02, 2018 7:48 pm Fascinating. Does anyone have any knowledge of the draft process and why Burt's divorce would've changed his eligibility status?
I found several stories about how LBJ signed legislation on Aug. 26, 1965, without any advance warning, that got rid of the marriage deferment for men who were married WITHOUT children. So any man not married w/out kids before Aug. 27 was not eligible. Burt and Bonney Lindsey had gotten married in July 1965.

Terrific research as always by Mr. Furmanek.
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elmrgraham
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by elmrgraham »

Interesting.
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Jim Akin
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by Jim Akin »

High C wrote: Sun Dec 02, 2018 11:24 pm I found several stories about how LBJ signed legislation on Aug. 26, 1965, without any advance warning, that got rid of the marriage deferment for men who were married WITHOUT children. So any man not married w/out kids before Aug. 27 was not eligible. Burt and Bonney Lindsey had gotten married in July 1965.
Thanks for the research, High C. I don't doubt your findings (and I haven't done any digging myself), but the logic of the law (or its applicability to Burt) confuses me.

In August 1966, while still married to his first wife, Burt became a dad (having famously left the Batman set for daughter Lisa's birth). So in March 1967, even though he'd divorced and remarried, he still had an infant child and, presumably, an ex-wife dependent on his financial support. If the purpose of married-with-children deferments was to protect kids' welfare, it seems crazy that the law would have kept Burt draft-exempt if he'd stayed married to Lisa's mom, but made him draft-eligible once he divorced her.

I'm not saying things didn't work that way, only that I don't think it made much sense if they did.
High C wrote: Sun Dec 02, 2018 11:24 pm Terrific research as always by Mr. Furmanek.
I'll second that. This is great stuff, Bob!
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Bob Furmanek
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by Bob Furmanek »

Thanks, I'm glad that you've found it interesting.

Burt received his A1 reclassification in early January 1967 meaning he was available for unrestricted military service and meant he could be drafted whenever needed.

The first mention of Batgirl was in the trades on January 9, 1967 and the presentation was filmed on January 26.

These clippings are from Variety.

Burt Ward draft 1.16.67.JPG
January 16, 1967
Batgirl 1.9.67.JPG
January 9, 1967
Batgirl 1.18.67.JPG
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January 18, 1967
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Bob, that's great research, but as dell mentioned, if true, I wonder why Burt never mentioned it over the decades? Could it have been a publicity stunt only to "explain" why Batgirl was being added to the series, or taking the teeth out of pro-Vietnam critical who thought young stars should "do their part" and not avoid the war?
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Bob Furmanek
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by Bob Furmanek »

I really doubt the change in his military classification was a publicity stunt!

I think the producers - who were still anxious to get enough shows in the can for syndication - were taking no chances.
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Bob Furmanek
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Re: Robin, Batgirl and Vietnam

Post by Bob Furmanek »

Did anyone know this bit of trivia!
Bonnie 1.28.67.JPG
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