Why didn't Julie appear in season 3?

[epaddon]

The Batman movie was filmed during April-May 1966, so it had to have been filmed before "The Undefeated,"

Yes, that's what I said. I was referring to the fact that Lee's memory had grown hazy over what came first and how sometimes over the years an actor will think he/she didn't do something because they were doing something else that in fact did *not* conflict with their actual schedule at the time.

[epaddon]

Thanks, HONK! She was in 11 second-season eps, including the cameo in part 2 of Ma Parker.

And she was also basically shoehorned into a script not meant for CW at all in the Sandman episode. It also raises the possibility that she might have felt a case of burnout with the role after being used so much in S2.

[exm]

Yeah, another good possibility...

I guess they were so in love with using Julie for season 2, that it's unlikely they decided to replace her, no matter how impressed they were with Eartha Kitt or no matter how much Batgirl changed the playing field

But I love a conspiracy theory - we need to find some way to pin this on George Lucas! Lucas reportedly first considered using the Star Trek franchise for his space epic....Julie's next role after MacKenna's Gold is on Star Trek...it's all starting to fall into place....

[dell]

But I love a conspiracy theory - we need to find some way to pin this on George Lucas! Lucas reportedly first considered using the Star Trek franchise for his space epic....Julie's next role after MacKenna's Gold is on Star Trek...it's all starting to fall into place....

Yikes, Batman will be shooting first before this is over...

[High C]

Another potential clue:

http://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=wyu-ah06851.xml

Scroll down to 'Box 8' and you'll see that Dozier wrote a letter to Eartha on Sept. 19. Kitt's eps would be filmed the next month. I don't know the contents of that letter, but a reasonable guess would be either it was an offer to play Catwoman, or a thank-you to Eartha for agreeing to play CW. Certainly by then, if the show-runners had been hoping for Julie to appear, they knew it wasn't happening. If they had known from the start Julie wasn't coming back, wouldn't they have lined up another actress much sooner??

My speculative timeline, based on the available evidence, goes like this: by late August or very early September 1967, it became evident to Dozier and Co. that Newmar would not appear and they began pursuing other options in terms of an actress to portray CW. That, IMO, would account for the decision at some point to move up the air dates of the two episodes featuring Joan Collins as the Siren so they could feature a sexy villainess early in the season, knowing logistically it would take a while to get CW eps in the can while they searched for a replacement.

Again, this is speculation, but I believe it is educated speculation.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Great detective work, guys. I tend to agree with epaddon regarding the burnout theory. We have to remember that for Julie, Catwoman was a guest starring role, no matter how significant it was to fans.

So, with no serious investment in the series (like Adam & Burt, for example), it is possible she simply wanted to do other things. After all, CW granted her the kind of visibility to "flex her wings" actors spend entire careers trying to gain, so why return as CW, when the rold made her one of the most recognized faces of that era?

[Dr. Shimel]

Another possible reason for the Eartha Kitt letter: In early September 1967, Eartha was doing summer theatre when she hurt her back, which caused her to have to be flown back to Los Angeles on a stretcher. Dozier may have been checking on her availability--after allowing for roughly a few weeks recovery, or her status if they had already OKed her.

[High C]

Another possible reason for the Eartha Kitt letter: In early September 1967, Eartha was doing summer theatre when she hurt her back, which caused her to have to be flown back to Los Angeles on a stretcher. Dozier may have been checking on her availability--after allowing for roughly a few weeks recovery, or her status if they had already OKed her.

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

Great detective work, guys. I tend to agree with epaddon regarding the burnout theory. We have to remember that for Julie, Catwoman was a guest starring role, no matter how significant it was to fans.

So, with no serious investment in the series (like Adam & Burt, for example), it is possible she simply wanted to do other things. After all, CW granted her the kind of visibility to "flex her wings" actors spend entire careers trying to gain, so why return as CW, when the role made her one of the most recognized faces of that era?

It's possible she was trying to escape being 'typecast,' yes.

[High C]

Another possible reason for the Eartha Kitt letter: In early September 1967, Eartha was doing summer theatre when she hurt her back, which caused her to have to be flown back to Los Angeles on a stretcher. Dozier may have been checking on her availability--after allowing for roughly a few weeks recovery, or her status if they had already OKed her.

Here's a photo of Eartha with her daughter, in obvious pain, after that injury, via corbis images:

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo ... r-reunited

[LittleLouisGroovy]

Perhaps Julie was "on call" in case of the need to do re-shoots and post-production work for Mackenna's Gold and, therefore, not available for other jobs?

Interesting to note that in the Dr. Cassandra episode, the Catwoman released from Gotham State Penitentiary was modeled on Julie Newmar and not Eartha Kitt. That could be seen as an indication that Julie would have returned for season four.

[High C]

Perhaps Julie was "on call" in case of the need to do re-shoots and post-production work for Mackenna's Gold and, therefore, not available for other jobs?

Possible, but I doubt it. Mackenna was filmed on location, thus I doubt there was much re-shooting, except for maybe a closeup or two. Plus, her character was a mute, so there wouldn't have been a need for her to provide any overdubs or 'looping' in post-production.

[exm]

I personally doubt thatJulie's departure was a case of outside demand for her making her unavailable (and I think any 'tired of the CW role' kind of assumes she had other offers rolling in).

The Star Trek episode Friday's Child was filmed in May, 1967, so wouldn't have conflicted with appearing in 'Joke's on Catwoman'. Other than that, Julie does not pop up too often for the rest of the 60's...on guest shot on Get Smart in '68, one film in '69 (not the female lead). She was really valuable to the Batman show, but that wasn't translating into tons of other parts right at that time.

So salary dispute seems like a decent guess.

[Mr.Freeze]

Lucas wanted to do Flash Gordon but couldnt get the rights , thus SW

[BatToys]

Maybe Julie or her agent thought it a career move not to be typecast as Catwoman. I have never seen McKenna's Gold but I think Julie would have been better off playing Catwoman in the Batman movie and season 3.

I rationalize Eartha Kitt was that she was really Talia Al Ghul. Note Marion Cottard (misspelled) who played Thalia in DKR had the same voice.

[zowiedied]

Poor Eartha Kitt. She gets no respect for her brilliant stand in as Catwoman in the third season. Her performance was absolutely purrrrrfect!