For the number of actors who have donned the cape to become increasingly more dark Dark Knights in recent decades, the most iconic Batman was the one on TV in the 1960s.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the start of my favorite “Batman,” which succeeded in part because of the charm and good humor of its star, Adam West, who died Friday night in Los Angeles at 88, after a short bout with leukemia.
When I last saw him, at a TV Critics Association summer press tour, he seemed to have the right perspective on the comic book that made him rich: he had outgrown it.
On a panel along with comic book writers for a PBS documentary called “Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle,” West proved his own such battle is long over. With his typical droll humor, West said he was “done with it. I just love the money.”
Asked what he thought about the various Batmen that came after him, West said, “I really don’t even think about it.”
West admitted he doesn’t even go to see the increasingly dark movies under that name. “I just enjoy seeing bits and pieces whenever I check into a hotel or something and it’s playing,” he said.
“Listen,” West finally said, “I’ve been an icon, I’ve been a Superhero, if you will, for almost 50 years. Now, in a sense I’m very grateful for this that we created something that is so lasting.”
But he also said that while he admired what modern comic book writers are doing, he has mostly outgrown it and “became a little more elevated.”
May he rest in peace.