Adam West, who died Friday night at age 88, famously took time to come to terms with being forever identified as TV’s Batman. He eventu…
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Adam West, who died Friday night at age 88, famously took time to come to terms with being forever identified as TV’s Batman. He eventually embraced the fame he achieved as the Caped Crusader on the 1960s series, which aired for three seasons on ABC and for years after on reruns.
In this video clip released in 2014, West talked about acting with some of the famous guest stars who appeared as villains on the TV series, including Liberace and husky-voiced theater and film star Tallulah Bankhead.
In «The Devil’s Fingers, » Liberace played dual roles — a sequin-wearing pianist named Chandell who tried to seduce Robin’s Aunt Harriet in order to steal Bruce Wayne’s fortune, and Chandell’s less flamboyantly dressed evil twin brother, Harry, who blackmails his pianist sibling into a life of crime.
«Everything set up for tonight’s caper?» Harry asks.
«Of course!» Chandell responds with a typical Liberace eye roll.
«Tiny radio transmitter hooked up inside your criminal piano?» Harry asks, with one of those trademark let’s-over-explain-everything «Batman» lines.
«Naturally!» Chandell confirms.
In «Batman’s» second season, Bankhead, known for her dramatic, deep-throated line readings, was the star villain Black Widow in back-to-back episodes. As West notes in the clip, it was Bankhead’s last role before her death in 1968.
«Ah, » West’s Batman says, leaping into the frame during the characters’ first encounter, «Black Widow. We finally meet.»
In the clip, West described what Bankhead was like on the set.
«She’d sit in the shadows and she was ill, and I went over and talked to her a lot. And I think she really appreciated that, » he said. «And she was lovely. … But you see, we got all these people. Tallulah. Rudy Vallee. All these old-timers who wanted to do the show. And as a young actor, it gave me the chance to stand toe to toe with them.»
