Bat-Signal Lighting Tribute for Adam West

Adam West to many Geeks born before 1988 was the first Batman. For some he was the only Batman and the bar to which all other Batmen were forced to fall into a category all their own. A lot of us in the 80s hadn’t seen many Batman episodes until Tim Burton started production on his first Batman film. Bat-Fever swept the country, or at least that’s how it seemed to the 10-year old boy version of me. Like most kids in the day, I needed to have everything Batman and I hadn’t even seen the movie yet. Capitalizing on the marketing success, based on the anticipation of the movie, Nickelodeon started to run the old Batman episodes. From the campy super villains like King Tut and his ridiculous henchmen to the over exaggerated fight scenes and “Bonk!” “POW!” Graphics, I wasn’t sold at first! I remember asking my mom “What’s this?” She simply explained that’s it’s just Batman and how the show was. After a few episodes I was hooked! The Batman movie (66) was everything the TV show offered and more with an entire cast of super villains to boot. After Adam Wests Batman all others couldn’t be what he was. He did it first and he did it best.

At conventions I can remember seeing him always smiling and he loved his fans more then anything, confirmed at the lighting ceremony by his long time partner and the other half of the dynamic duo, Burt Ward. For some of you Adam West was only known as the Mayor of Quahog Adam West, from his long time role on Seth MacFarlane’s “Family Guy”. He brought the same straight faced deadpan humor to that role as he had in Batman. His hearty laugh was a punchline all of its own. “What?!”

The amount of lives that Adam West touched was evident in the 1000’s of Batman lovers of all ages who stood in front of City Hall along with the Mayor of Los Angeles, and our own Police Chief who commented on what a lifelong dream come true it was to light the Bat-Signal in his own city. Also in attendance were Burt Ward, former CatWoman Lee Meriweather, Ralph Garman, and the West family to light the Bat-signal in tribute to the Actor who passed away at 88 after a battle with Leukemia. The Bat-Signal shines on City Hall honoring Mr. Wests contributions to entertainment and enriching the lives of those who knew him both through laughter and Batman.