TV SERIES · 1966– · USA
Batman
158 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (158)
- #001
Before this TV series went on the air, it had received the worst audience test scores in the entire history of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Initially, the only reason it made it to air was that so much money had already been invested in it.
- #002
Robin (Burt Ward) used 357 "Holy (such and such)!" catchphrases in the TV series, ranging from "Holy Agility!" to "Holy Zorro!"
- #003
After the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) cancelled the series, the producers waited to see whether anyone else would pick it up, and when they saw that no one wanted to, they tore down the Batcave set. Two weeks later, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), unaware that the Batcave set had already been demolished, offered to take it on; unwilling to invest in the high cost of rebuilding the entire set, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) ultimately decided not to continue the series.
- #004
Burt Ward stated that he was seriously injured several times during the period he appeared in this series. He claimed that he was burned and/or struck by flying shrapnel several times when poorly designed pyrotechnic effects went wrong. At least once, he was thrown out of the Batmobile after its door opened during a high-speed turn.
- #005
The bust of William Shakespeare in the TV series, used to slide the bookcase open and reveal the Batpoles, contained an electric switch that could not open the bookcase; instead, a light came on behind the set, signalling the off-screen crew to slide it open.
- #006
Decades after the series was cancelled, Cesar Romero claimed that he did the Joker's laugh so many times in the series that it permanently changed his natural laugh.
- #007
Mr. Zero was renamed Mr. Freeze for this TV series. The name change eventually carried over into the Batman comic books as well.
- #008
When the TV series first aired, Alfred had been killed off in the Batman comic books a few years earlier. However, when the series' producers announced that they planned to make Alfred a regular character on the show, he was brought back to life in the Batman comic books.
- #009
The National Security Council asked why the Batmobile was not equipped with seat belts. The series' producers answered this question by having Batman and Robin "buckle up" before leaving the Batcave. Although it was initially intended as a joke, the series received great praise for encouraging the use of seat belts.
- #010
Alan Napier had never heard of Batman before he was cast in the series and did not even know who the character was. Napier was therefore quite reluctant about the idea of playing Alfred in a TV series with what seemed like an absurd premise; but when his agent told him the part could pay more than $100,000.00, Napier immediately changed his mind and took the role.
- #011
The Batmobile was a customized 1955 Lincoln Futura that had previously been used in the film It Started with a Kiss (1959). According to George Barris, five Batmobiles were both built and used throughout the series.
- #012
The Batmobile's rotating turntable in the Batcave was not powered by electricity. Six off-camera crew members pushed the car 180 degrees on the platform. As with most of the special effects in the series, the scene was shot only once and inserted wherever it was needed.
- #013
Burgess Meredith's role as the Penguin was one of the series' most popular guest roles. While Meredith was in Los Angeles, his producers always had a script ready.
- #014
The series' Batcave set was built on the same spot where the door in the wall of Skull Island stood in the film King Kong (1933). This was noted by a visitor to the set who had worked as a technician on "King Kong." The door had already been destroyed by fire during the filming of Gone with the Wind (1939) to simulate the burning of Atlanta, Georgia, during the American Civil War.
- #015
Among all the villains portrayed in the TV series, Mr. Freeze had the most actors play him: three, namely George Sanders, Otto Preminger and Eli Wallach. There were also three actresses who played Catwoman: Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt, although Meriwether played her only in the film Batman: The Movie (1966).
- #016
Eartha Kitt took on the role of Catwoman in three consecutive episodes of season 3 because Julie Newmar was then appearing in the film Mackenna's Gold (1969). Some of the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) affiliates in the southern United States objected to the casting of an African American actress in the role, but Charles B. Fitzsimons said that he and the series' other producers did not care about the issue; however, that challenge did not go so far as to maintain Catwoman's mutual attraction to and from Batman; this was a character undertone that was removed entirely from all three of Kitt's episodes.
- #017
Many of the best Hollywood actors of the time appeared as guest stars in the TV series, including some who did very little television work. Performers who did not appear as Special Guest Villains would often poke their heads out of windows to exchange a few words with Batman and Robin as they climbed the walls of buildings using their Batropes. Frank Sinatra, Natalie Wood and Cary Grant were fans and wanted to appear in the series, but the producers could not find the right roles for any of them. Van Williams and Bruce Lee teamed up with the Dynamic Duo in the two-part crossover episode of The Green Hornet (1966) and made a window cameo in another series.
- #018
Many of the sets used in this series were also used in other series of the period, such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), Lost in Space (1965), The Time Tunnel (1966) and Land of the Giants (1968).
- #019
Shortly after the series began airing in the United Kingdom, several children were injured while trying to be like Batman outside "flying" windows. A public service announcement by Adam West in the role of Batman was filmed to discourage children from doing this, and he made it absolutely clear that he could not "fly."
- #020
At the end of the series' season 3, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) planned to reduce its budget by eliminating Chief O'Hara and Robin; Batgirl would then become Batman's full-time young partner. Both executive producer William Dozier and Adam West were strongly opposed to the idea. In the end, however, it did not matter, because the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) cancelled the series shortly afterwards anyway.
- #021
In every scene where the villains hide out, the camera was shot at a specific angle, or "crooked." This is known as an "oblique" angle or "Dutch" angle. The reason was that all the villains were crooked too, and it gave the scenes a feeling that something was wrong.
- #022
The TV series' fight scenes used 88 unique word overlays in alphabetical order, from "! OX?-ETH!" and "AIEEE!" to "ZZZZZWAP!" "KAPOW!" was used 54 times, "BOFF!" and "POW!" tied at 53 times each, and 32 word overlays were used only once. The word overlays appeared 832 times with a total of 1,120 exclamation points. The single-word overlay with the most exclamation points was "BIFF!" The Great Train Robbery (1968) had the most word overlays: 18. Both The Great Escape (1968) and Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires (1968) had the most word overlays in a single Batman fight: 15.
- #023
A then-new costume for the Riddler, consisting of a green jacket covered in small black question marks and a green derby hat with a small black question mark on the front, was designed for a two-part episode in season 2 because Frank Gorshin disliked wearing the Riddler's original costume, which was too tight on him. Decades later, this costume was incorporated into the Batman comics in a three-part comic story titled "Dark Knight, Dark City" from "Batman" #452-454 (early August-September 1990), and from that point on it became the Riddler's costume in the Batman comics.
- #024
When producers at the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) decided to make a TV series based on a comic book or comic strip, Batman was not their first or only choice of character. The producers surveyed the public on which character they wanted to see a series based on, and other options included Superman, Dick Tracy, Green Hornet, Phantom and Little Orphan Annie. Batman ranked at the top of the list among the characters whose rights were both available and obtainable at the time. Green Hornet also had its own series at the time.
- #025
Otto Preminger was reportedly kept away from his own home by his grandchildren until he agreed to appear as Mr. Freeze in the series. Likewise, Eli Wallach successfully took on the role of Mr. Freeze in the series at his children's insistence, and Tallulah Bankhead saw appearing in the series as an opportunity to entertain her grandchildren. When Julie Newmar was first contacted with the offer to play Catwoman, she was visiting her brother at college in New York. A group of her brother's friends watched the series regularly, and after consulting him, he convinced her to take the role.
- #026
The Joker (Cesar Romero) and the Penguin (Burgess Meredith) tie in most of the stories in which both appeared in the TV series (10 stories each; multi-part stories are counted here as a single story). On the other hand, nineteen villains each appeared in only one story.
- #027
According to Adam West, Cesar Romero wore his own watch while appearing as the Joker in the series. The watch was a gift to Romero from the then-President of Mexico.
- #028
Yvonne Craig stated that she briefly had a stunt double but ultimately did most of her own stunts in the series. In fact, she performed the Batgirl Cycle herself as well. She was a successful motorcyclist at the time and actually owned a motorcycle.
- #029
Dick Grayson's Aunt Harriet Cooper character was introduced in the Batman comics in 1964, 18 months before the TV series aired. Her first appearance coincided with Alfred's death.
- #030
Batman co-creator Bob Kane once stated that this TV series saved the Batman comics from being cancelled outright when it revived the character's popularity. Despite this positive situation, most comic book fans despised it for stereotyping superheroes and comic books as nonsense. Moreover, shortly after it was cancelled, the Batman comics took on a dark and deadly serious tone reminiscent of the original late-1930s Batman comics, as a reaction to its light touch.
- #031
In an episode of Batman: The Animated Series (1992) titled Beware the Grey Ghost (1992), Adam West played an actor who was once known above all for a superhero role in a TV series long ago and who had since struggled to find work because of producers who modeled themselves on him. This is known as the DC Old Cameo.
- #032
According to Adam West, Robert F. Kennedy was a fan of the series. Attempts were made for him to make a cameo as a character called the Attorney General, but the details could not be worked out. Kennedy's assassination on June 6, 1968 ended all such plans thereafter.
- #033
The TV series' Narrator (uncredited in the titles) was voiced by executive producer William Dozier. On the TV series' 1966 Original Television Soundtrack Album, the Narrator is named "Desmond Doomsday."
- #034
Mickey Rooney turned down the offer to play the Penguin. Spencer Tracy was offered the role, but he said he would only take it if he could kill Batman.
- #035
In a 2019 interview on the Australian show "Studio 10," Burt Ward talked about how they held a question-and-answer panel on stage after some episodes of the series. The studio audience would fill with fans, including several children. Once, Julie Newmar (Catwoman) came out in a dress and announced loudly to everyone present: "All right, for all you eager beavers, I just wanted to let you know that I'm not wearing any underwear!" Naturally, this little announcement brought the house down.
- #036
Adam West (Batman / Bruce Wayne), Burt Ward (Robin / Dick Grayson) and Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon) were the only actors and characters to appear in all 120 episodes of this TV series. Only one non-actor also did so: its executive producer, William Dozier (the Narrator). Stafford Repp (Chief O'Hara) appeared in all but three. Alan Napier (Alfred) appeared in all but nine.
- #037
Suzanne Pleshette was one of the top choices to play Catwoman before Julie Newmar took the role.
- #038
Mary Ann Mobley was the first choice for the role of Barbara Gordon / Batgirl. The character was initially to have her own series, which would then air as part of this series every week.
- #039
Despite the series' popularity, it was not officially released on DVD until late 2014. This is thought to have been due to a rights dispute between 20th Century Fox, which produced the series, and Time Warner, owner of DC Comics, the publisher of the characters. By that time, an agreement had been negotiated between the two parties, and the TV series was finally given an official DVD box set release from Warner Home Entertainment, with 20th Century Fox still receiving a percentage of the profits.
- #040
Batman was the first TV series to hold two spots in the weekly Nielsen ratings every week, a feat that was not repeated until the premiere of the TV quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999) several years later.
- #041
Adam West was 37 years old when the series first aired.
- #042
The role of Mayor Linseed, played by actor Byron Keith in 10 episodes of the series, was a pun on the name of John V. Lindsay, who was Mayor of New York during the series' run.
- #043
The spinning "blur"/fanfare that appears just before the series' opening theme song is actually a rotated image of the "START BUTTON" on the Batmobile's dashboard console.
- #044
In the series' first season, Burt Ward (Dick Grayson / Robin) was paid $350.00 a week.
- #045
José Ferrer and Gig Young were considered for the role of the Joker. Frank Sinatra also expressed interest in the role.
- #046
Catwoman (Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt) was the only major villain whose costume in both the series and Batman: The Movie (1966) was completely different from what was seen in the Batman comics of the time. As a result, her costume in the Batman comics was briefly drawn to resemble the series' costume somewhat.
- #047
Madge Blake fell seriously ill just before filming began on the series' third season, which caused her to leave the show; however, she appears briefly as Aunt Harriet Cooper in two episodes: Ring Around the Riddler (1967) and The Bloody Tower (1967). Aunt Harriet was written out of the series in the third season for two reasons; the first was Blake's failing health, which constantly irritated the producers and directors with her stuttering or forgetting her lines, and the second was the budget cuts that occurred that season. For the most part, it was said that Aunt Harriet was away on various overseas vacation trips throughout the third season.
- #048
In an interview, Frank Gorshin said that he developed the Riddler's manic, high-pitched laugh at Hollywood parties, where the funniest jokes brought out the laugh. He also stated that he realized it created a sense of threat, not about how one laughs but about what one laughs at.
- #049
The staircase leading up to Commissioner Gordon's office, seen in every opening of every episode of the series, was filmed at the Warner Brothers studio and is still standing today. These are the facade of a triangular-shaped building attached to a sound stage. This triangular-shaped building holds every outfit Clint Eastwood wore in every one of his films.
- #050
In 1974, Yvonne Craig and Burt Ward reprised their roles as Batgirl and Robin respectively, and William Dozier, the series' executive producer, returned as the Narrator's voice in a US Department of Labor public service announcement advocating equal pay for women in the workplace. Adam West, who at the time wanted to distance himself from the role of Batman, turned down the PSA, and as a result Batman was played there by Dick Gautier.
- #051
This wild cult TV series premiered on January 12, 1966, and ran until March 14, 1968, for a total of 120 episodes. It was one of the few series watched on two separate nights of the week: 7:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM PT on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It stayed there for a season and a half (January 1966-August 1967) until, for its third and final season, it returned to once a week (Thursday 7:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM PT). Episodes generally consisted of two parts: the Wednesday episode was the cliffhanger and the Thursday episode resolved it. In the 1966-1967 season there were two three-part storylines (The Zodiac Crimes (1967), The Joker's Hard Times (1967) and The Penguin Declines (1967), and Penguin Is a Girl's Best Friend (1967), Penguin Sets a Trend (1967) and Penguin's Disastrous End (1967)) the following week. When the series was reduced (mostly) to single-part episodes in season 3, the thrilling death traps were still used, but they were also greatly scaled down and usually occurred in the middle of a commercial break.
- #052
In the series' third season, each episode ended with a teaser featuring the villain or villains of the next episode.
- #053
When the Green Hornet (Van Williams) and his driver Kato (Bruce Lee) from the series The Green Hornet (1966) made a two-part crossover appearance in this series, it was the first time in history that a live-action TV series featuring superheroes had done any kind of crossover episode.
- #054
Although most of the villains in the TV series came from the Batman comics, three of them were enemies of other DC Comics superheroes. The Archer and the Puzzler were actually minor enemies of Superman, and the Clock King was actually a minor enemy of Green Arrow.
- #055
Some episodes of the series mention an unseen Governor Stonefellow, with whom Commissioner Gordon is sometimes said to be on the phone or in contact. Governor Stonefellow's name was a pun on the name of Nelson Rockefeller, who was Governor of New York at the time, since Gotham City is based in New York, New York.
- #056
During the TV series' run, three major villains from the Batman comics were never used on the show: Poison Ivy (who had been newly introduced to the Batman comics at the time the TV series aired and was therefore not one of the "major villains" then), the Scarecrow and Two-Face, though the third was nearly used. In fact, Two-Face was being considered before the series was cancelled. The character's origin was to be that of a TV commentator whose face was blown up by a TV tube (as the character's original origin, Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent having a bottle of acid thrown in his face in court by angry mob boss Salvatore "Boss" Maroni, would have been too horrifying for TV at the time). In the end, the character did not appear in the series. Ultimately, all three of these villains would see live-action incarnations: Poison Ivy in the film Batman and Robin (1997), the Scarecrow in both Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), the first of two sequels, and Two-Face in the films Batman Forever (1995) and The Dark Knight (2008). In contrast, Adam West's version of Batman and Burt Ward's version of Robin would finally meet Two-Face in Batman vs. Two-Face (2017), the second (and final) animated direct-to-video continuation/spin-off of the series, which was West's last role before his death on June 9, 2017.
- #057
Each of the three main cast members of the series The Addams Family (1964) appeared in this series. Carolyn Jones played the Diamond Queen Marsha, and John Astin played the Riddler in season 2. There was also a window cameo by Ted Cassidy, appearing in his role as Lurch from The Addams Family (1964). Interestingly, Cassidy's small role was in a story featuring the Penguin, with whom Jones's Diamond Queen Marsha character appeared together in one of the series' two three-part storylines.
- #058
Burt Ward reprised the role of Dick Grayson in Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One (2019). This episode revealed that the TV series takes place on Earth-66, referring to the year the series premiered.
- #059
The refrain in the TV series' theme song is believed to have inspired the similar vocals in The Beatles' song "Taxman." The series premiered in the United Kingdom in May 1966, right in the middle of the recording of their album "Revolver." The final recording sessions for "Taxman" were being recorded in June, so it is possible that The Beatles, known for their endless love of pop culture, borrowed the vocal idea for their song.
- #060
According to Adam West, a sudden and severe illness forced him to miss the filming of one episode. The producers solved the problem by using his stunt double to shoot West's scenes. West recovered in time to dub his voice during post-production and to film the close-ups and reaction shots.
- #061
In some episodes of the TV series in 1966-1967, the villains teamed up with each other following the theatrical release of Batman: The Movie (1966).
- #062
Burt Ward claimed that the producers asked him to take pills to conceal the size of the genital bulge in the Speedo he had to wear on the series. Three days later he decided to cover himself with his cape.
- #063
Chief O'Hara was a creation of this series' producers. DC Comics eventually adapted O'Hara for use in the Batman comic books as well. DC Comics also adapted King Tut, created for the TV series, for use in the Batman comics in the 2000s. King Tut also most likely inspired Maxie Zeus, a similar villain introduced in the Batman comics in the 1980s.
- #064
Anne Baxter was the only actress to play two Special Guest Villains over the course of the series: Zelda the Great and Olga, Queen of the Cossacks, Egghead's girlfriend.
- #065
Frank Gorshin's manic, high-pitched laugh as the Riddler was heavily influenced by the character Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) in the film Kiss of Death (1947).
- #066
The full real names of these characters were never stated on screen in the TV series: * In the Batman comics, Bruce Wayne's middle name is Thomas, and he is named after his father, Dr. Thomas Wayne. * According to the Batman comics, Robin's full real name is Richard John Grayson. Dick is short for Richard, and John is his father's name. * Alfred's surname was never revealed in the series. In the Batman comics and other adaptations his surname was originally Beagle but was eventually changed to Pennyworth, and his full name became Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth. * Commissioner Gordon's first name (James) is never used on screen in the series. His full name is James Worthington Gordon, Sr. * Chief O'Hara's first name was never revealed in the series, but according to some sources it was either Miles or Clancy. * The real names of the Penguin, the Riddler and Catwoman (respectively Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, Edward Nashton / Edward Nigma (or "E. Nigma") and Selina Kyle) were never used in the series, and these names were not even mentioned. The only villain referred to by his real name was the Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch).
- #067
With Adam West's death on June 9, 2017, Burt Ward became the last surviving regular cast member of the series. Julie Newmar is also the last surviving Special Guest Villain to have appeared in more than three episodes of the series.
- #068
Two sets of screen tests were filmed for this TV series, one with Adam West and Burt Ward and the other with Lyle Wagoner and Peter R. J. Deyell. The roles went to West and Ward. Years later, Wagoner appeared in another live-action TV adaptation of a DC comic book character, Wonder Woman (1975).
- #069
Before the third season of the TV series aired, a promotional short was filmed featuring Yvonne Craig as Batgirl and Tim Herbert as Killer Moth. The short was convincing enough for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) to pick up the series for another season, on the belief that Batgirl would attract more female viewers.
- #070
Adam West, Roddy McDowall, Bob Hastings, Barry Dennen, Steve Franken, Michael Pataki and Judy Strangis are the only actors to appear both in this series and in another series, Batman: The Animated Series (1992).
- #071
Although the TV series was mocked for its campy nature, it actually preserved the tone of the Batman comics of the time, which had drifted from their dark origins in the 1930s and 1940s toward a more outlandish storytelling style in the 1950s and 1960s.
- #072
The series' main villains — the Joker (Cesar Romero), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (both Frank Gorshin and John Astin) and Catwoman (both Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt) — each had their own instrumental theme music.
- #073
In this series Barbara Gordon has dark hair and wears a red wig with her Batgirl costume. In the Batman comics, Gordon is a natural redhead (this was written that way because Yvonne Craig did not want to dye her hair red or wear a red wig as Barbara Gordon did).
- #074
Writer Stanley Ralph Ross named many characters (and settings) in the series after family members and friends. In addition, Ross used foreign words and phrases, some of them mildly dirty, in many of his scripts.
- #075
In 2013, DC Comics published "Batman '66", a comic book series tied to the story and continuity of this TV series. Some of its stories included the first comic book appearances of villains originally created entirely for the TV series. Others featured the first appearances of characters from the Batman comics as they would have looked on the series had they appeared at the time. The biggest of these introductions was Two-Face in the legendary story "The Two-Way Crimes of Two-Face" in "Batman '66: The Lost Episode" #1 (January 2015), based on a story written by Harlan Ellison.
- #076
Each of the two-part episodes in the series' first season, the majority of the two-part episodes in its second season, and both of the three-part episodes have rhyming titles.
- #077
Alan Napier was a cousin of then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. The thug Jack Nicholson played in the film Batman (1989) before becoming the Joker was also named Jack Napier in his honor (Napier died on August 8, 1988, at the age of 85).
- #078
Originally conceived by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a serious TV drama series, Mike Henry (known as one of the many actors to play Tarzan) shot promotional photos for the role. According to Adam West, a nervous American Broadcasting Company (ABC) asked the producers to hold two test screenings for the series, one with a laugh track added and the other with additional narration. Neither change worked.
- #079
At the end of two two-part episodes of the TV series, Catwoman appeared to die falling from a great height, but she later reappeared as if nothing had happened, with no explanation of how she survived any of her "deaths". This had already become a long-running and ongoing tradition for the Joker in the Batman comics from the beginning of his history there, where he is presumed dead at the end of one story and later reappears in another as if nothing had happened, often with no explanation of how he survived the "death".
- #080
Alan Napier was a friend of Michael Gough, who played Alfred Pennyworth in both Tim Burton's Batman films (Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992)) and Joel Schumacher's Batman films (Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997)).
- #081
The TV series established that the Batmobile could perform a Bat-Turn, which involved deploying two drag parachutes to bring the car to a rapid stop and then making a 180-degree turn to speed off in the opposite direction; viewers, however, complained that this meant Batman was littering, since the parachutes were abandoned. In response, and with a humorous touch, the producers later had the Dynamic Duo keep a parachute-collection van crew always on standby, complete with a specially labeled van, to retrieve the parachutes.
- #082
Alfred (Alan Napier) wore the Batman costume in four episodes across the TV series (three of those four episodes were in season 2 alone). In an earlier example of this, Alfred (Eric Wilton) and Robin (1949) in the Batman serial wore the Batman costume to trick villains who suspected Bruce Wayne was Batman into thinking they were mistaken.
- #083
In the fight scenes of the series' third season, the henchmen always tried to capture Batgirl rather than beat her. It was written this way because Yvonne Craig did not even want a stunt double in these scenes, which carried a risk of serious injury for her.
- #084
The interior scenes of Wayne Manor in the series were filmed on a highly detailed set at the studio.
- #085
Lesley Gore played Pussycat, the young partner of Julie Newmar's The Catwoman, in one of the TV series' two-part episodes, just as Burt Ward was the young partner of Adam West's Batman as Robin.
- #086
Dick Grayson was never seen in the Batcave without his Robin costume throughout the entire series.
- #087
The role that brought Adam West to the attention of the series' executive producer William Dozier was West's deadpan performance as the resourceful superhero Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik commercial made in the early 1960s.
- #088
Throughout the entire TV series, some villains (or allies) had several encounters with Alfred; however, when Alfred went undercover for Batman disguised as a different person with a different occupation, he was never recognized by the aforementioned villains (or aforementioned allies) in those encounters.
- #089
Two-Face was not a recurring villain in the series because he was thought to be too frightening for young viewers (the main target audience), and so he was dropped from the series. The Two-Face character was not played on the big screen until Batman Forever (1995), in which Tommy Lee Jones played Two-Face / Harvey Dent, a role taken over by Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight (2008). Billy Dee Williams had also played Harvey Dent in Batman (1989) before the District Attorney became a villain.
- #090
José Ferrer was initially set to take on the role of the Joker, but he turned it down shortly afterward (either he did not want to do it or could not, and he was said to have regretted the decision ever since). Ferrer was the uncle by marriage of George Clooney, who played Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman & Robin (1997).
- #091
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and the TV series' executive producer William Dozier wanted to follow up its extraordinary success with another TV series based on another comic book or comic strip character. At first they considered Little Orphan Annie. They then set their sights on Wonder Woman. In the end, they focused on The Green Hornet (1966), which both got the green light and stayed on the air for a year. The Wonder Woman project was later revived by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Lynda Carter as the series Wonder Woman (1975).
- #092
In an interview with Nerdist, Burt Ward said that Frank Sinatra had actively campaigned to play the Joker in the series, but the producers could not cast Sinatra in the role because they had already hired Cesar Romero for the Joker.
- #093
Cesar Romero absolutely refused to shave off his mustache before applying his white makeup in every episode in which he played the Joker in this series and also in Batman: The Movie (1966), making him the only performer to play the Joker with a mustache (barely concealed each time by the white makeup).
- #094
Burt Ward received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2020.
- #095
After Julie Newmar left the series to take a role in Mackenna's Gold (1969), Eartha Kitt, who played Catwoman, became the first African American to star in a live-action DC film or TV series. Bruce Lee, who played Kato, the Green Hornet's driver, in The Green Hornet (1966), was the first Black person to star in a live-action DC film or TV series.
- #096
This series was produced at the same time as the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) other hit superhero series, The Green Hornet (1966).
- #097
The series premiered as part of American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) "Second Season" promotional campaign for four new TV series meant to replace recently cancelled shows. It was the only one of the four renewed for a second season; the other three were The Double Life of Henry Phyfe (1966), Blue Light (1966) and The Baron (1966). All four were produced in color.
- #098
Milton Berle appeared twice in the series' third season as the Special Guest Villain Louie the Lilac. Berle had previously appeared in The Mark of Zorro (1920), starring Douglas Fairbanks, whom Batman co-creator Bob Kane cited as one of the greatest inspirations for the character.
- #099
Frank Gorshin's manic portrayal of the Riddler on the TV series was directly responsible for turning the character from a minor villain who had appeared in only two Batman comic book stories in the late 1940s ("The Riddler" in Detective Comics #140, October 1948, and "Crime's Puzzle Contest" in Detective Comics #142, December 1948) into one of the most popular characters in Batman's rogues gallery almost overnight and ever since.
- #100
Before producing the Batman (1966) TV series, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) sought the license to Dick Tracy to adapt it for television, but lost it to National Broadcasting Company (NBC). After the success of Batman, executive producer William Dozier was hired to make a TV pilot for Dick Tracy (Dick Tracy (1967)) largely in the style of Batman (even Victor Buono, often a Batman guest star, was brought in to play the pilot's villain). National Broadcasting Company (NBC) eventually passed on Dick Tracy, but later tried to acquire the rights to Batman, only to learn that the expensive Batcave set had already been demolished before they could.
- #101
In 1987 the UK TV channel TV-am suffered a staff strike that led to classic American TV series replacing its morning news programming. One of these new series, Batman, became so popular that ratings rose sharply and the UK experienced what was described as a second Batmania. Good Morning Britain (1983), a TV news talk program on TV-am that the series had helped launch, reached out to Adam West to bring him on as a guest to discuss the phenomenon; however, when West learned of the strike situation surrounding the appearance, he flatly refused to cross the picket line. The following year, after the strike had effectively ended and the workforce had been laid off, West finally appeared on the program as a guest.
- #102
In the comic book series Batman '66, which adapted and continued the TV series' own story, two popular villains introduced in the Batman comics long after the show was cancelled appeared in stories done in its style. Harley Quinn was given an origin similar to the one used in Batman: The Animated Series (1992) and renamed Harlequin, while Bane resembled a Mexican luchador (that is, a masked Mexican wrestler). In addition, two villains who appeared in the Batman comics during the TV series' run but required expensive special effects to bring to life — Clayface and Solomon Grundy — also appeared in this comic book series.
- #103
The watch necklace Barbara Gordon frequently wore was actually one of Yvonne Craig's personal pieces of jewelry, and had originally belonged to her real-life mother.
- #104
A casual remark by composer Neal Hefti led some people to believe that the distinctive "BATMAN!" chorus was performed not by human voices but by the orchestra's horn section.
- #105
The Joker (Cesar Romero), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (both Frank Gorshin and John Astin), Catwoman (Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt) and King Tut (Victor Buono) were the only Special Guest Villains to appear in all three seasons of the TV series. Of these five, the only one who did not appear in Batman: The Movie (1966) was King Tut.
- #106
Dick Grayson (Burt Ward) attended Woodrow Roosevelt High School in Gotham City on the series.
- #107
Among the TV series' Special Guest Villains were five Oscar winners: Anne Baxter — Big Zelda and Egghead's girlfriend Olga, Queen of the Cossacks; Cliff Robertson — Shame; George Sanders — Mr. Freeze (season 1); Art Carney — the Archer; and Shelley Winters — Ma Parker. There were also eight Oscar nominees: Burgess Meredith — the Penguin; Victor Buono — King Tut; Carolyn Jones — Marsha, Queen of Diamonds; Glynis Johns — Lady Penelope Peasoup; Terry Moore — Venus; Otto Preminger — Mr. Freeze (season 2); John Astin — the Riddler (season 2); and Jack Kruschen — Eivol Ekdal.
- #108
Following the success of the Batman (1989) film, 20th Century Fox ran a campaign reuniting the TV series' other actors to promote its syndication to the series' affiliates. Adam West, Burt Ward, Yvonne Craig and Julie Newmar returned, along with Van Williams as the Green Hornet, the last being an optional addition to the campaign package.
- #109
The animated TV series Freakazoid! (1995) parodied the TV series in one episode with the characters Fatman and Boy Blubber, whose adventures are narrated to the tune of "na na na na na na na na na" throughout their appearances in the episode, as well as a version of the handshake between Batman and Robin seen in the animated opening sequence of each of the TV series' 120 episodes.
- #110
Two of the actors who played villains on the series died on the same day twelve years apart. Victor Buono (King Tut) died on January 1, 1982, and Cesar Romero (the Joker) died on January 1, 1994.
- #111
Interestingly, Alfred had previously been killed in the Batman comics when he sacrificed his life to save both Batman and Robin, but when it was announced that he would be a recurring character on the TV series, he was brought back to life in the comics as well; the explanation was that a scientist, having learned after his funeral that he was still alive, revived him. However, he returned from death as a strange alien with soft white skin, circular marks all over his body, and superhuman strength and telekinetic powers; he now hated his former employer and had become a supervillain known as the Outsider before returning to normal, with Alfred losing all memory of having been the Outsider. It is also interesting that this sinister identity of Alfred's never appeared in the series.
- #112
The word overlays that appear during the TV series' exciting fights are called onomatopoeia.
- #113
Julie Newmar, Frank Gorshin and Yvonne Craig all appeared as guest stars on Star Trek (1966). In later years, several other actors would appear in both TV series: two other Star Trek actors played the Riddler, John Glover and Brent Spiner, the latter of whom also played the Joker; Clive Revill and Ian Abercrombie played Alfred; Ray Wise played Commissioner Gordon; Peter Weller and Bruce Greenwood both played Batman; George Clooney was the cousin of Star Trek actor Miguel Ferrer; in Batman vs. Two-Face (2017), the second and final animated continuation of this TV series, William Shatner voiced Two-Face; and David Warner, Brock Peters, Ron Perlman and Diana Muldaur also appeared in Batman: The Animated Series (1992).
- #114
American Broadcasting Company (ABC) initially ordered the series for the 1966-1967 season; however, the network, desperately in need of programming, ultimately decided to air it in January 1966 as a midseason replacement.
- #115
The TV series' executive producer, William Dozier, wrote a script treatment for a crossover film titled "Batman Meets Godzilla." It was intended to be a co-production between Dozier's Greenway Productions and the Japanese film studio Toho Company, Ltd. Toho's own writer Shin'ichi Sekizawa (who was at the time writing scripts for the ongoing Godzilla film series) also wrote his own script treatment for the film: "Batman vs. Godzilla." Neither of these projects got past that stage, and the unmade film(s) became something of an urban legend. Years later, in the 21st century, the crossover story was finally (and unofficially) done in the style of DC Comics' comic book series Batman '66 and released as a free online, fan-made three-issue comic book miniseries titled "Batman Meets Godzilla" #1-3 (June - July 2020 and July 2025).
- #116
National Broadcasting Company (NBC) considered picking up Batman (1966) from American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and using it as part of an adventure-themed Friday night TV series block for the 1968-1969 TV season. It was to be packaged with two series, Tarzan (1966) and Star Trek (1966). In the end, reviving Batman was too expensive and National Broadcasting Company (NBC) declined to do it, Tarzan was cancelled at the end of the 1967-1968 season, and the move to Friday nights hurt Star Trek's ratings, so it was cancelled as well.
- #117
When 20th Century Fox pressured its affiliates to pick up the 1966 Batman film to capitalize on the success of the 1989 Batman movie, they also produced a documentary titled "Batmania." Hosted by Adam West and Burt Ward, "Batmania" featured Bat-trivia about the TV series and comedy sketches, with appearances by Yvonne Craig, Julie Newmar and Van Williams. The documentary was designed to program blocks and marathons that would draw in viewers.
- #118
When the TV series was finally released on DVD in 2014, Warner Bros. produced a 30-minute infomercial hosted by Adam West to promote the DVD box set. Footage from the infomercial was also cut into a TV commercial format.
- #119
When Filmation took back the Batman license from Hanna-Barbera, Adam West and Burt Ward were brought back to voice Batman and Robin respectively, since the original voice actors remained the voices of those characters on Hanna-Barbera's Saturday-morning animated TV series Super Friends (1973). West's work on the Saturday-morning animated TV film The New Adventures of Batman (1977) marked the start of a decades-long career for him as a voice actor.
- #120
Burt Ward promoted the Gentle Giants Dog Food and Products line using a promotional image that showed him as Robin both on the product packaging and in the commercials.
- #121
Adam West reprised his role as Batman in "Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 3: Magical Friendship." Burt Ward also played a parody of himself in the special.
- #122
While the TV series was on the air, Lava Soap aired a commercial set in the Commissioner's office at the Gotham City Police Headquarters, in which Commissioner Gordon took fingerprints from criminals brought in by Batman and Robin and then warned Chief O'Hara about his dirty hands. Gordon pulled out a bar of Lava Soap and told the Dynamic Duo that it fought dirt the same way they fought dirty crooks.
- #123
In the first two seasons of the series, the only characters who did not fall into a death trap during the cliffhanger were Alfred, Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara.
- #124
Staff writer Stanley Ralph Ross worked on Wonder Woman (1975), also adapted from DC Comics. Ross also voiced characters on Super Friends (1973), in which Batman and Robin appeared as regular characters.
- #125
Mary Ann Mobley was seriously considered for the role of Batgirl and was one of the frontrunners until Yvonne Craig ultimately beat her out for the part. Mobley went on to appear as Phillip Drummond's wife Maggie Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes (1978). Similarly, Lyle Wagoner was a candidate for the role of Batman but was beaten by Adam West; Wagoner later appeared on Wonder Woman (1975) and was also an announcer and cast member on another TV series, The Carol Burnett Show (1967).
- #126
Contrary to what some people believe, Neil Hamilton was not related to John Hamilton, who played Perry White on Adventures of Superman (1952). In the comics, Commissioner Gordon and Perry White were often seen as counterparts on the respective supporting casts of Batman and Superman.
- #127
In 1964, the addition of the character Aunt Harriet Cooper to the cast of characters in the Batman comics came about as follows: by then two events had combined to strike a blow to the Batman comics and lift Batman to the top of the pop culture world. First, Batman's publisher and copyright holder, National Comics / Periodical Publications (now known as DC Comics), initiated an editorial change to revive Batman's flagging performance and newsstand sales. Longtime editor Jack Schiff was removed from the character on two publications, the monthly anthology comic "Detective Comics" and the eight-times-a-year comic "Batman," the latter of which featured only stories about Batman and Robin's adventures. An incredibly serious change came very early with the killing off of Alfred, the longtime confidant and supporting character. In the same story, Dick Grayson's Aunt Harriet Cooper arrived on the scene to take up residence and place a female character in the hallowed halls of the stately Wayne Manor; thus the "homosexual dream" accusations raised in anti-comic-book criticism in the 1950s by the notorious psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham in his book "Seduction of the Innocent" (1954) were defused. The second major external force on the Batman comics came from Hollywood. Having acquired the rights to the now-famous TV series, executive producer William Dozier's Greenway Productions, 20th Century Fox and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) apparently realized while researching the Batman comics that they genuinely needed some elements recently removed from them. These included the Batcave, the Bat-Signal and Alfred. Thanks to the magic of the comics, it turned out that Alfred's death had never actually happened. However, Aunt Harriet remained in the cast for a while, and the accusations of latent homosexuality continued in the Batman comics for a long time.
- #128
On the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) schedule, this TV series replaced The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952), which was then the longest-running sitcom in TV history, ending its 14-year run in the process.
- #129
In the United Kingdom, the TV series was included in after-school children's programming and aired at around 5:00 p.m. It was rerun several times on the ITV network from the late 1960s to the early 1980s and inspired a significant merchandise line even though production had ended more than 10 years earlier.
- #130
When the series was cancelled, Filmation acquired the license to the characters to develop the similar animated series The Adventures of Batman (1968). For its release in the fall of 1968, development of both a new animated TV series, "Metamorpho," and the second season of the animated TV series "Aquaman" was postponed (and both projects were ultimately cancelled).
- #131
In 2002, Adam West played Bruce Wayne in TV Land's commercials and sketches during a marathon of the TV series called Batmanathon.
- #132
When Batmania swept the United States, it hit other countries as well. One country in particular was Argentina, so much so that Adam West compared himself to The Beatles there. In 1997, West attended the second annual Fantabaires convention in Buenos Aires, where the actor appeared across all media, including radio, television and newspapers. With thousands of attendees (somewhere between 13,000 and 25,000), West, who was there for five days, agreed to return. Two years later, for Fantabaires 99, West not only returned but brought Frank Gorshin with him. The convention's organizers launched the publication of the magazine "Batmania," which put out nine print issues over five years before continuing online.
- #133
Among all the countries where Batmania took hold, Batman (1966) was probably most popular in Japan. The series, whose history included heroes such as the Golden Bat and the Moonlight Mask, was supported in the East by a commercial wave that surpassed it. Shonen Gahosha's magazine "Shonen King" licensed Batman from DC Comics for its own manga as part of the craze.
- #134
Some of Batman and Robin's window cameo roles in this TV series helped promote other American Broadcasting Company (ABC) TV series then on the air, such as The Green Hornet (1966), The Felony Squad (1966) and The Addams Family (1964), while Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer) from Hogan's Heroes (1965) appeared in one of them, though those were series airing on CBS.
- #135
Following the publication of DC Comics' comic book series "Batman '66," four comic book miniseries were also published that crossed the storyline of the TV series and the comic book series over with the stories of four other separate TV series, three of which were on the air in the 1960s (in the same time period) and the rest in the 1970s. These four separate series were The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Avengers (1961) (renamed "Steed and Mrs. Peel" in this miniseries for obvious reasons), The Archie Show (1968) and Wonder Woman (1975). This TV series' two-part crossover episode with The Green Hornet (1966) also received a comic book sequel miniseries.
- #136
Adam West and Frank Gorshin gave musical performances on The Dean Martin Show (1965) and made references to their characters in the series. West sang Frank Sinatra's "Call Me" using a variation of the Batphone, while Gorshin delivered an in-character song and dance number as the Riddler.
- #137
For the 1986 Christmas shopping season, the discount retail chain Zayre's produced a TV commercial adapting elements of the series, including the Batpoles, the Batcave and the Batmobile. Adam West sued over the commercial for unauthorized use of his likeness after a court rejected his endorsement claim.
- #138
In 1988, the Canadian discount retail chain Zellers produced a series of animated commercials depicting Batman and Robin fighting their enemies the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Riddler. The commercials used signature impressions of the series' villains: Cesar Romero's laugh, Burgess Meredith's squawk, Eartha Kitt's meow and Frank Gorshin's laugh, respectively.
- #139
In 1987, the British automaker Rover produced a commercial advertising its Austin Metro using the iconography and imagery of the series, including the Batphone, a bust of William Shakespeare, the Batpoles, the Batcave, the Batmobile and the costumes worn by Batman, Robin and the Penguin.
- #140
The "Let's go!" voice clip played while the Super Meter fills in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Fight for the Future (1999) was taken from Bruce Wayne / Batman (Adam West) saying the line in this series.
- #141
In 2016, the United States Postal Inspection Service launched an advertising campaign called Delivering Trust to warn people about scammers trying to steal their money with fake lotteries and sweepstakes. Among the celebrities chosen to raise awareness was Adam West, who in the public service announcement answered a scammer on a smartphone using the Batphone's ringtone on a screen beside a bust of William Shakespeare in his study. Interestingly, he was under a glass dome, just as the Batphone was presented in Commissioner Gordon's office at Gotham City Police Department headquarters. The ad also drew on onomatopoeia, another staple element of Batman.
- #142
In the fifth season of the animated TV series Animaniacs (1993), the series was parodied in the short "Boo Wonder." There, Adam West voiced the Caped Crusader and his alter ego Spruce Wayne, while Chicken Boo took the role of his sidekick Boo Wonder. The Butler and the Commissioner were parodies of Alfred and Commissioner Gordon from the series, respectively, while the villain Punchline was a mix of the Joker and the Riddler. The Caped Crusader and Boo Wonder wore costumes nearly identical to those of the Batman and Robin TV series and drove a nearly identical Batmobile. Dot Warner and Warner Sister of Warner Brothers fame also made a window cameo.
- #143
Born in 1928, Adam West was the first member of the Silent Generation to play Batman.
- #144
Adam West once claimed that he and Frank Gorshin were thrown out of a sex party for keeping in character as Batman and the Riddler. Gorshin, however, said that he and West sometimes partied together but that he had no memory of any sex party.
- #145
Contrary to what some sources suggest, Burt Ward (whose real surname was "Gervis") chose the surname "Ward" himself (before being cast) because it was his mother's maiden name. It was not given to him because his character Robin / Dick Grayson was Batman / Bruce Wayne's "young ward" in the series (which is a strange coincidence).
- #146
Although Dick Grayson / Robin is a high school student (and backstories state the character is 15 or 16 years old), Burt Ward himself was 20 to 22 years old throughout his time on the series. In fact, Ward became a father for the first time around the period when he began working on the second season.
- #147
The British band The Jam performed a 1 1/2-minute cover of the series' theme on their album "In the City" (1977).
- #148
At least four actors appeared in this TV series who also appeared in The Addams Family (1964): Carolyn Jones, John Astin, Ted Cassidy and Madge Blake. Blake appeared as Miss Comeback in the first episode of The Addams Family (1964), but went on to play Aunt Harriet Cooper in this series.
- #149
The incidental music used during the TV series is nearly identical to the music used during the Western film El Dorado (1966), which starred John Wayne. In both cases the music was written by Nelson Riddle.
- #150
In keeping with the concept that Gotham City was based on New York, New York, the names of notable figures in the TV series were parodies of real-life New York politicians of the time: "Mayor Linseed" is a play on the name of John V. Lindsay (Mayor of New York from 1965 to 1973), and "Governor Stonefellow" is a play on the name of Nelson Rockefeller (Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973).
- #151
Robin's real name is Dick (short for Richard) Grayson. Adam West was the uncle of a nephew named Richard and a great-nephew named Grayson.
- #152
Carolyn Jones, Roddy McDowall and Frank Gorshin all appeared in episodes of both this TV series and Wonder Woman (1975). Jones took on two "Queen" roles: Queen of the Diamonds Marsha in this TV series and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons of Paradise Island, in "Wonder Woman"; McDowall played the Bookworm in this TV series and Henry Roberts in "Wonder Woman"; and Gorshin played the Riddler in this TV series and Olich Hoffman, a scientist, in "Wonder Woman." Apart from Jones's character Hippolyta, all of these roles were essentially villains. This makes sense, since both series were produced by both the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Douglas S. Cramer.
- #153
In some early episodes of the TV series, just before the Batmobile arrives, a brown 1964 Pontiac Tempest is seen driving past the Gotham City Police Headquarters.
- #154
Shonen Gahosha's magazine "Shonen Gaho" prominently featured the TV series in its pages in 1966. Jiro Kuwata, who produced the artwork for the Batman manga in Shonen Gahosha's "Shonen King," created artwork adapting characters from the TV series. Young model Hiroshi Ishii was respectfully dressed as Batman and then Robin on the June and July covers. Artists such as Minamimura Takashino, Noboru Inoue and Masami Watanabe also contributed artwork.
- #155
Volkswagen Beetle fans will notice a black 1965 Volkswagen Beetle parked or driving along the street in every episode's street scenes. The owner of the vehicle is unknown.
- #156
Eugene Kilmer, then a well-known real estate developer in California, brought the future Batman Val Kilmer to visit the set. His Batman would share some notable parallels with Adam West's. Before playing Batman, both actors had portrayed Doc Holliday. West's first villain faced as Batman was The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and his last, counting the animated continuation, was Two-Face (William Shatner). On his only visit to the role, Kilmer met both villains.
- #157
The cartoon version of the Batgirl Cycle and the Batgirl costume shown in the third season's opening title sequence are based on an early concept film shot to pitch the character, not on the bike design and costume shown in the main series. The concept film's cycle had an oval rather than round windshield, no lace frill around the hood, a single seat instead of an extended one, and a wider "fully extended bat" for the rearview mirror rather than a smaller, more circular one. The concept Batgirl costume had a mask with dots on the lower part on both sides, instead of the round lower section used in the series.
- #158
Two companies involved in making the series (20. Century Fox Television and American Broadcasting Company (ABC)) would eventually become part of The Walt Disney Company; first Capital Cities/ABC in 1996 and finally 20. Century Fox in March 2019.
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