Wham! Bam! Here comes Batman!

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Octogenerian (thwap!) former superhero Adam (kapow!) West drops in (splatt!) to the convention centre this weekend (zap!) for the (crash!) Central Canada ComicCon. ( )

He has fans in their 90s, who remember him fondly as TV's original campy-cool Batman.

He has fans younger than 10, who've snuck past parental filters to catch the fictional version of him on Family Guy.

Simply put, the business of being Adam West, actor, celebrity and pop-culture icon is booming.

"I'm a very lucky actor," West says during a telephone interview from his home in Sun Valley, Idaho. "It's very rewarding to be that big a part of pop culture; it makes all the work kind of worthwhile."

West, now a spritely 81, will be in Winnipeg this weekend as the headline attraction at 2009 Central Canada ComicCon, a three-day celebration of all things comic-book-related, sci-fi-flavoured and kitschy, cult-inclined, pop-culture-related.

The veteran actor will be appearing to sign autographs all three days, and will take part in a Q&A session with fans on Sunday from 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Also on the ComicCon roster is one of West's most memorable Batman nemeses -- actress Julie Newmar, who portrayed Catwoman in 13 episodes of the 1966-68 TV series (the role was also played by Eartha Kitt in the show's final season and Lee Meriwether in the 1966 feature-film spinoff from the series).

This year's ComicCon roster also includes Peter Mayhew (Star Wars' Chewbacca), Dirk Benedict (The A-Team, Battlestar Galactica), and a "Wresters' Alley" trio of Virgil, Honky Tonk Man and Luke, half of the tag team known as the Bushwhackers.

The event's schedule also features appearances by a who's who of the comic-art world, led by legendary Marvel/DC Comics writer Marv Wolfman and including Alex Milne (Transformers), Ivan Brandon (Viking), Tommy Castillo (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight), Gordon Purcell (Star Trek) and Marcus To (Soulfire).

But clearly, it's West who will be the biggest draw at this ComicCon, as he is at most of these increasingly popular gatherings he attends.

"Well, the dweebs and nerds and strange people are becoming prominent in society," he says with a laugh. "But it's great. I've been at this thing for a lot of years, from Batman to Family Guy and everything else, and as a result, I've picked up a really amazing fan base.

"I'm not afraid of people; I love to see the fans. And when I go into one of these (convention) things, it's always amusing and fun because people really enjoy themselves."

Unlike the dark, brooding incarnations of Batman that have filled the silver screen during the past couple of decades, with the likes of Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale donning the heavily muscled black-rubber suit, West's '60s-era tele-version of the Caped Crusader was all spandex and average physique and unapologetically tongue-in-cheek.

"We created a Batman that was fun, and could appeal to the whole family spectrum," West explains. "The kids could get excited about all the movement and splash and colour, and the adults could laugh at the silliness, the absurdity and the gags.

"We had some really great writers, and I worked with them a lot to get it right. When I first started Batman, that pilot hour with Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, there were a lot of memos flying around -- 'What is he doing? Why isn't he playing this thing straight, like we asked?' -- but I was stubborn, and I kept doing what I wanted to do, and three weeks later, they were saying, 'Oh, yeah, that's what we wanted him to do.'"

Now into the sixth decade of his acting career, West has long since outgrown any regrets or animosity he may have developed after the iconic TV character limited his post-Batman career options. He's learned to love the cape, the cowl and the endless fan adulation it has inspired; in recent years, his workload has been increased substantially by now-grown-up Hollywood types who were fans of the TV series and are eager to include West in their projects.

Most notable among them is Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who invited West to play a definitely fictional and decidedly unhinged version of himself as mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island, where Family Guy is set.

"Years ago, Seth and one of his pals (Butch Hartman) wrote a pilot for me, and I guess he never forgot that we had the same comic sensibility," West explains. "We worked well together, and we were pals. When he came up with Family Guy, he called... (and) I said yes immediately, because I knew how absurd and funny and cutting-edge Seth is. Why not have some fun with my own persona? I'm not that serious about myself -- if we can't have some fun at our own expense, something's wrong."

While making his various public appearances, the actor is also promoting his new two-DVD set, Adam West Naked!, in which the (thankfully) fully-clothed TV legend offers an episode-by-episode commentary on the '60s television series, sharing his personal memories and serving up a few never-heard-before stories about his co-stars and guest villains.

"It's very disarming; it's not what you might think it is," he laughs. "What I do is reveal everything you wanted to know, and a lot of stuff you might not be interested in, about the making of Batman, all 120 episodes. It's, like, a four-hour deal, just me and the camera, speaking directly with you."

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

BAT BITES: Adam West recalls some of his villainous co-stars

Burgess Meredith (The Penguin):

"I grew fond of Burgess Meredith -- he was a great raconteur, and he loved good foods and wines. He had a good sense of humour, and he was just fun to be around."

Frank Gorshin (The Riddler):

"Frank and I made each other laugh, which was a good thing; it made the days a little easier. Frank had this great manic energy as The Riddler, which I thought was terrific. It really worked for the show."

Julie Newmar (Catwoman):

"Julie comes out for some of these (conventions), and I do maybe six or seven a year, and it's wonderful to get together. Julie was luscious in that role; she was really spectacular, and so well cast. And above that, she's a really good person."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 29, 2009 D1