50 Fun Facts About Batman (1966 TV Series)

Who played Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1966 series?

West won the role after producer William Dozier saw him play a Bond-like spy in a Nestle Quik commercial.

Who played Dick Grayson, Batman's teenage sidekick?

Ward later voiced the character again on the 1977 animated series The New Adventures of Batman.

On which US network did the series air?

It ran twice weekly for the first two seasons and once a week for the third.

How many episodes were made in total?

That was the record for a superhero series until Smallville passed it in 2007.

Which later series overtook it as the longest-running superhero TV show?

Smallville's tenth season took it past the 120-episode mark.

Which actor played the Joker?

Romero famously refused to shave his moustache, so it was painted over with white makeup.

Who played the umbrella-wielding Penguin?

Meredith's trademark quack began as a way to avoid coughing from the cigarette his role required.

Why did the Penguin's actor improvise his trademark quack?

The cigarette holder was part of the costume, and the smoke kept catching in his throat.

Which actress played Catwoman in the first two seasons?

Newmar missed season three because she was filming Mackenna's Gold.

Who took over as Catwoman for the third season?

Her casting was the second mainstream TV success for a Black woman, after Nichelle Nichols on Star Trek.

Which film kept the original Catwoman actress from returning in season three?

The 1969 Western starred Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif.

Who was the original Riddler, later replaced for two episodes?

Producers said Gorshin was picked because he had been a Batman fan since childhood.

Which Addams Family star briefly played the Riddler in season two?

Gorshin's new agents at William Morris demanded more money, so Astin stepped in for one story.

Who played Batgirl, introduced in the third season?

She was the first superheroine to appear in an ongoing role on television.

What was Barbara Gordon's day job in the series?

Her crime-fighting trio with Batman and Robin was occasionally nicknamed the Terrific Trio.

Which villain did Tim Herbert play in the unaired Batgirl promotional short?

The seven-minute pilot was made to convince ABC to add Batgirl as a regular.

Who played Alfred the butler?

Alfred was the only character who knew the identities of Bruce, Dick and Barbara.

Which character was invented for the series so Commissioner Gordon had someone to talk to?

DC only gave this version a first name, Miles, in the Batman '66 comics in 2013.

Who was the series' uncredited narrator?

Dozier was also the executive producer who decided to play the show as pop-art camp.

In what commercial did Dozier first spot his future Batman?

West played a James Bond-style spy called Captain Q in the ad.

Which future Wonder Woman actor lost the Batman screen test to West?

Waggoner later played Steve Trevor opposite Lynda Carter.

Which head scriptwriter wrote the pilot and laid down the 'Bat Rules'?

Semple wrote four episodes himself and supervised the freelance writers.

Which spy novelist quit the project when he learned it would be camp?

Ambler was originally to script a TV movie that would launch the series.

Which studio produced the series for ABC?

Fox handed the project to Dozier's Greenway Productions.

Whose 1964 screening of the 1943 Batman serial helped spark the show?

The Playboy Mansion marathon drew so much press that Columbia re-released the serial to theaters.

Who composed the famous Batman theme?

Nelson Riddle scored the episodes, but the twelve-bar blues theme was Hefti's.

How many times is 'Batman!' cried in the theme?

The voices are a chorus of four tenors and four sopranos, not the horn section many people remember.

Which studio bassist played on the theme with the Wrecking Crew?

Tommy Tedesco played the surf-flavored guitar hook.

Which phrase did the narrator use to close cliffhanger episodes?

The twice-a-week format meant 'tomorrow' was literally the next night.

What camera trick gave villains' lairs their off-kilter look?

The tilted frame was a visual pun: the crooks were crooked.

Why did NBC abandon its plan to pick the show up after ABC cancelled it?

Hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of sets were gone, and NBC would not pay to rebuild them.

How much did the original Batmobile fetch at auction in January 2013?

The George Barris car sold at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Which horror icon played the egg-obsessed villain Egghead?

Egghead was often paired with Anne Baxter's Olga, Queen of the Cossacks.

Which pharaoh did Victor Buono's professor believe himself to be?

A blow to the head flipped him between mild academic and reincarnated king.

Which Western-themed villain was played by Cliff Robertson?

His sidekicks Okie Annie and Calamity Jan spoofed Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane.

Who played the flower-loving gangster Louie the Lilac?

Berle also hosted a 1966 variety sketch pairing Batman with the Green Hornet and Kato.

Which villain had scripts developed but was never filmed, with Clint Eastwood reportedly considered?

The character finally met the West Batman in the 2017 animated film Batman vs. Two-Face, voiced by William Shatner.

Which martial arts star appeared as Kato in a window cameo and later crossover?

The Green Hornet and Kato first popped out of a window in 'The Spell of Tut' in September 1966.

What was Colonel Gumm's racket in the Green Hornet crossover episodes?

Roger C. Carmel played Gumm in 'A Piece of the Action' and 'Batman's Satisfaction'.

Who wrote Robin's tie-in single 'Boy Wonder, I Love You'?

Mel Torme wrote Frank Gorshin's single 'The Riddler' the same year.

What was the title of the show's Batman actor's country-tinged single?

The B-side was a non-Batman song called 'You Only See Her'.

Which Animaniacs character stood in for Robin when West voiced 'Spruce Wayne'?

The 1997 short Boo Wonder was West's first return to the role in 12 years.

Which Simpsons episode had West and Ward reprise their roles against Krusty as 'ClownFace'?

West had already voiced himself driving the Batmobile in 'Mr. Plow' in the 1990s.

In which 2019 Arrowverse crossover did Robin's actor cameo as an older Dick Grayson?

The event revealed the 1966 series took place on Earth-66, which the Anti-Monitor destroyed.

Which Star Trek actor voiced Two-Face in the 2017 animated sequel with West and Ward?

West finished his voice work before his death from leukemia in June 2017.

Who replaced the TV Catwoman in the 1966 feature film?

Newmar was reportedly sidelined by a back injury and returned for season two.

In the 1966 film, what spray does Batman use on the fish biting his leg?

The shark then explodes, courtesy of the Penguin's taste for booby-trapped animals.

In which Texas city did the 1966 film premiere?

The Batboat was built by local company Glastron, which was paid with a hometown premiere.

In how many days did the head writer finish the 1966 film's screenplay?

Principal photography then wrapped in 28 days.

Who wrote the ongoing Batman '66 comic that DC launched in 2013?

Mike Allred drew the covers; the series later crossed over with the Green Hornet, Wonder Woman '77 and Archie.