"Myths" Surrounding The Show

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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Progress Pigment
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Progress Pigment »

double post
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Progress Pigment
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Progress Pigment »

Progress Pigment wrote: Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:09 am
BATWINGED HORNET wrote: Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:53 am
Progress Pigment wrote: Wed Aug 29, 2018 10:18 pm
The Green Hornet[/i] was cancelled after the most dismal ratings ABC TV had ever seen?
Not even close to historically accurate. ABC was in last place among the networks for several years before 1966, with a number of series facing cancellation, whether they were on for one or more seasons, with TGH nowhere near your wild fantasy claim. I know you are very West-defensive, but posts like that in the quote just invalidate your arguments. Regarding fitness, visual evidence cannot be denied: Williams was in superior shape to West while both were Greenway employees (which was the point all along)--

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West-defensive? Of course I am! Dude, this is a 66batman fan board! Everyone here is! Where the heck do you think you are?

And there they are! More incredibly creepy male cheesecake pics. :( Uggg. Like Cary Grant & Randolph Scott in the 40's. How happy am I That Adam & Burt didn't do any of those? VERY.
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Scott Sebring
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Scott Sebring »

Progress Pigment wrote: Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:10 am
West-defensive? Of course I am! Dude, this is a 66batman fan board! Everyone here is! Where the heck do you think you are?
***Admin note***
This and other quotes on this thread that I'm not going to bother copying are too confrontational, put down and more argumentative in nature rather than part of an articulate debate.

Chill.

Any reactions or rebuttals with this and or my previous notice need to be handled via PM and not on this thread. Not even an "Ok Scott" or "We're cool." Any replies on here will be deleted.

This thread is very close to being locked. Sorry, but play nice. I'd rather spend time enjoying my labor day weekend rather than worrying and policing this thing. Thank you.

Moving on...
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Progress Pigment
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

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Adam West was a big. A big man. All I was saying. At 6′ 2″ & 6′ 4″, the fights he & Cesar Romero had in the first season seemed almost in danger of knocking down the soundstage! Wonderful to watch. No other actor other than West could have come across as well onscreen against the large & imposing former Latin lover Romero. Other actors that might've been cast, at 6′ 0″ or less would have looked dwarfed.

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Can you believe Cesar could look that harsh in season 3?!! Omg. So many lost opportunities.

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Progress Pigment
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Progress Pigment »

Progress Pigment wrote: Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:37 pm Adam West was big. All I was saying. At 6′ 2″ & 6′ 4″, the fights he & Cesar Romero had in the first season seemed almost in danger of knocking down the soundstage! No other actor other than West could have come across as well onscreen against the large & imposing former Latin lover Romero. Other actors, at 6′ 0″ or less would have looked dwarfed.

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Keith Mayo
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Keith Mayo »

I wrote to one of the authors who've perpetuated the "paunch" idea in their book. Will Brooker who wrote "Batman Unmasked" was kind enough to reply to my email concerning this issue. Here is our correspondence:


To: Brooker, Will <W.Brooker@kingston.ac.uk>
Subject: Batman Unmasked

I recently finished reading your book "Batman Unmasked". Your name kept popping up in my study of Batman and that caused me to look you up and purchase your book. "Batman Unmasked" is a most interesting read and I applaud your ability to present an academic level subject in a form that the uneducated, like myself, can easily digest. Your use of footnotes opened doors to other author's work on the subject and of that I am grateful. My wallet, however, not so much.

I have only one negative comment of your work and I hope you will allow me to discuss it with you. I was a bit put off by your description of Adam West's physique with the word "paunch". Now I realize this is a widely held impression but the facts do not support it. I have the entire Batman Tv Series on HD DVD and have seen several hundred photos of Mr. West taken while the show was on the air, and I cannot remember ever seeing one that portrayed him as fat or having a beer belly.

It is my contention that this idea stems from the fact that Mr. West's stunt double Hubie Kerns was rather thick in the waste. Also, the placement of the utility belt added to both men's waste line and gave the appearance of a gut. Lastly, Adam West possessed a rather large rib cage. Although he wasn't the typical body builder type we see in modern superhero films today, he was quite athletic. I attach a screen shot from the final episode of the Batman tv show as proof that Adam West did not in fact sport a "paunch". Also included is a side by side comparison photo with Mr. Kerns on the left and Mr. West on the right.

With warmest regards,

Keith Mayo

To which he replied...…………………………….


Dear Keith,

Thanks very much for reading my book, and sorry for my delay in replying.

I think you raise a great point, and you’re absolutely right. Saying that Adam West had a ‘paunch’ is lazy writing and received wisdom. It’s generally assumed that he was not athletic, so I thoughtlessly repeated that idea in my book – not really justifiable, as in every other way, I tried to offer a detailed analysis of the material.

I’d agree that Mr. West did not have the physique of Christian Bale in the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, but his appearance is partly due to the costume, which of course didn’t have built-in musculature. Michael Keaton’s Batman benefited from this sculpted costume.

It’s a cliché to say that Mr. West was fat and I think your informed views are a very valuable response. If I ever had the opportunity to rewrite the book, I’d add a footnote and thanks to you! I think it’s unlikely to come out again in a new edition though. I do have another book, Hunting the Dark Knight, which you might also enjoy.

Best wishes
Will
"It's the very essence of our democracy". - Batman, S1 Ep 11
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Blue Meanie »

Good work Keith.
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Progress Pigment
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Progress Pigment »

Very nice Keith!
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Is all subjective whether or not West was fat, but visual evidence (including comparisons fro others of the same era) certainly shows he was not that muscular at all.
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Progress Pigment
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Progress Pigment »

BATWINGED HORNET wrote: Thu Sep 06, 2018 6:45 pm Is all subjective whether or not West was fat, but visual evidence (including comparisons fro others of the same era) certainly shows he was not that muscular at all.
:roll: Well yeah, subjective. Mike Henry was being positioned to play Batman in 1965. Compared to him, youth oriented 1960's film contact player Van Williams looked like Don Knotts. Would Henry have made a better Green Hornet due to his enviable mass? Or a better Batman?

http://mentalfloss.com/article/74315/15 ... out-batman

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Here's West at home in '67. About the time of the second season. He looked okay! If this 30-something guy was around today I'd pick him over Ben Affleck to portray the caped crusader. I think almost anyone would.

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"Not muscular" or what, West somehow managed to look better in the suit (rubber or not) than anyone else ever has. Ouuuu, it's a mystery!

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Dan E Kool
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Dan E Kool »

And there's our favorite Fourth Season myth at number 11 again! Perhaps you need to send another one of your emails, eh, Keith? ;)

That was very kind of Mr Booker to reply. I'd bet that he didn't expect an email on Adam West's tummy! :D
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Keith Mayo
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Keith Mayo »

Dan E Kool wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:34 pm
And there's our favorite Fourth Season myth at number 11 again! Perhaps you need to send another one of your emails, eh, Keith? ;)

That was very kind of Mr Booker to reply. I'd bet that he didn't expect an email on Adam West's tummy! :D
Just who would direct such an email to, PP?
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Progress Pigment
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Progress Pigment »

This quote is from the gothamalleys.blogspot. I love how comics fandom has in the last decade or so embraced the series they once scorned.

http://gothamalleys.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... rance.html

Adam West is the only actor to date to match Batman's 6'2 height in the comics. Also, while it was a bit hard to tell when in the costume, West was well built as well, even more so than his comic counterpart at the time. His physique actually matched that of the Bronze Age Batman, and he actually resembled him quite a bit.

BTW, isn't this great?

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Dan E Kool
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Dan E Kool »

Keith Mayo wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 3:06 pm
Dan E Kool wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:34 pm
And there's our favorite Fourth Season myth at number 11 again! Perhaps you need to send another one of your emails, eh, Keith? ;)

That was very kind of Mr Booker to reply. I'd bet that he didn't expect an email on Adam West's tummy! :D
Just who would direct such an email to, PP?
:?:

I was talking about the article which was linked to above. PP could receive a CC if you like...

;)
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Dan E Kool
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Re: "Myths" Surrounding The Show

Post by Dan E Kool »

Progress Pigment wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 7:27 pm Adam West is the only actor to date to match Batman's 6'2 height in the comics. Also, while it was a bit hard to tell when in the costume, West was well built as well, even more so than his comic counterpart at the time. His physique actually matched that of the Bronze Age Batman, and he actually resembled him quite a bit.
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I know that these are comic books (not real people) and granted, the suit that Adam West wore wasn't going to show musculature the way it does in comic books, but there's still a big difference between the comic and West physique... He wasn't better built than his comic book counterpart of the time, as seen in the 1960s comic book covers above. He did have the height and jawline for it, though.
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