Peter Mitchell
Adam West gets out of his chair, leans forward
and offers a strong, superhero-style handshake.
West is 86 years old and it’s almost half a
century since he slipped into his Batman outfit for the iconic 1960s TV series,
but the Washington-born actor doesn’t look a day over 50.
He has the same amount of hair
and just a few more wrinkles than when he was the caped crusader of Gotham City
combining with sidekick Robin (yes, 69-year-old Burt Ward is also alive) to
knock out the Joker, Riddler, King Tut, Egghead and Mr Freeze with “BAM!”,
“WHAM!” and “POW!” punches.
The 1960s Batman television
series only ran for two years yet packed plenty of iconic scenes.
“I feel about 92 today,” West tells AAP with a
smile.
“But the 80s are the new middle
age, right?”
Despite the relatively small
two-year run of the show, West has made a career out of the Batman role,
appearing in numerous shows, movies and spoofs over the years, including
providing his voice for the new Lego Batman Xbox or PlayStation game and his
latest gig as Mayor Adam West on the animated series Family Guy.
“After this interview I’m going
over to do some work on Family Guy,” West says.
West is at the Los Angeles
headquarters of Warner Bros Home Entertainment to promote the new Batman: The
Complete Television Series Limited Edition Blu-ray and DVD box set, which
features all 120 episodes remastered, a personal letter from West to fans, a
Hot Wheels replica Batmobile, trading cards, episode guide and plenty of other
features.
Adam West’s version of Batman
was social satire and comedy, unlike the darker modern depictions starring
Christian Bale.
The campy, humorous TV series
continues to be popular with children too young to watch the new, heavy Dark
Knight feature films by Christopher Nolan.
“I had no idea,” West, when
asked if he thought the show would remain popular decades later.
“As a young actor you are intent on creating a
character and doing the best you can.
“They (the series creators)
sensed that if we did the show on those levels it would continue and the kids,
as they grew into adults, would get the gags.
“We did it as a social satire
and comedy.”
West is not a fan of Nolan’s
Dark Knight films, quickly directing talk back to the DVDs when asked about the
blockbuster movie franchise.
He also reveals his old Batman
suit had a couple of drawbacks.
“It was kind of itchy and made
from clingy material, but the cape was very fine, imported Chinese silk, he
said.
And going to the bathroom in
between takes was an issue.
“I only had one zipper in the
wrong place,” West laughs.
“I didn’t want anyone playing
with my zipper.”
As for West’s secret to looking
so good in his 80s, he denies he discovered an anti-ageing cure in the Bat
Cave.
“The only exercise I get is
doing the chores around the house, the property,” West, who splits his time
between a home in Palm Springs and a farm in Idaho, said.
“I also hike and ski and do
stuff like that.”
Batman: The Complete Television
Series Limited Edition box set is on sale in Australia now.