Los Angeles remembers ‘Batman’ star Adam West with Bat Signal
WASHINGTON – The city of Los Angeles honored the late Adam West, also known as Batman, by projecting the Bat Signal onto City Hall’s tower Thursday night.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, accompanied by Police Chief Charlie Breck, hit the switch for the spotlight (actually just a prop) and Batman’s yellow-and-black winged emblem appeared on the building. Hundreds of people – many of them dressed as characters or wearing paraphernalia from the iconic television show – cheered. The red Bat Phone was stationed next to the podium. Garcetti led the crowd as they sang the show’s theme song, simply titled “Batman Theme.”
Actor Burt Ward, 71, who played Batman’s crime-fighting partner Robin, and actress Lee Meriwether, 82, who portrayed Catwoman in the 1966 “Batman: The Movie,” which starred West, also were on hand for the tribute. In addition to her movie role, Meriwether also appeared in two episodes of the show as a love interest of Batman’s alter ego, millionaire Bruce Wayne. Members of West’s family also attended.
West died June 9 after a short battle with leukemia. He was 88.
“Batman” aired for only three seasons, from 1966-1968, but many of the characters and lines from the campy show – based on the DC Comics character – have become fixtures in American culture. In the show, the mayor and police chief of the fictional Gotham City summoned the Caped Crusader by lighting up the sky with the Bat Signal.
West’s family suggested that fans who could not attend the tribute make a donation to the Adam West Memorial Fund for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or Camp Rainbow Gold, an Idaho-based charity for children with cancer.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News.
Regina Holmes has more than two decades of experience as a journalist –editing and reporting for news dailies including the Miami Herald, Newsday and the Baltimore Examiner.