Life of Adam West

 William West Anderson (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017), professionally known as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in various media until 2017. West began acting in films in the 1950s. He played opposite Chuck Connors in Geronimo (1962) and The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965). He also appeared in the science fiction film Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) and performed voice work on The Fairly OddParents (2003–2008), The Simpsons (1992, 2002), and Family Guy (2000–2019), playing fictionalized versions of himself in all three.

Early life

Adam West was born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928, in Walla Walla, Washington. His father, Otto Anderson (1903–1984) was a farmer descending from Scania in southern Sweden; and his mother, Audrey Volenne (née Speer; 1906–1969) was an opera singer and concert pianist who left her Hollywood dreams to care for her family. Following her example, as a young man West told his father that he intended to go to Hollywood after completing school. He moved to Seattle with his mother when he was 15, following his parents' divorce.

West attended Walla Walla High School during his freshman and sophomore years and later enrolled in Lakeside School in Seattle. He attended Whitman College but studied at the University of Puget Sound during the fall semester of 1949. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in literature and a minor in psychology from Whitman College, where he was a member of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He also participated on the speech and debate team.

Drafted into the United States Army, he served as an announcer on American Forces Network television. After his discharge, he worked as a milkman before moving to Hawaii to pursue a career in television.

Career

Early roles

While in Hawaii, West was picked for a role as the sidekick on a local TV program, The Kini Popo Show, which also featured a chimp named Peaches. West later took over as host of the show. In 1959, West moved with his wife and two children to Hollywood, where he took the stage name Adam West.

He appeared in the film The Young Philadelphians which starred Paul Newman.] He had guest-star roles in a number of television Westerns. On three Warner Bros. Television westerns which aired on ABC—Sugarfoot, Colt .45, and Lawman—West played the role of Doc Holliday, the frontier dentist and gunfighter. West also appeared playing different characters in two episodes of Maverick opposite James Garner: "Two Tickets to Ten Strike" and "A Fellow's Brother" in 1958. He guest starred in Warner Bros. detective series Hawaiian Eye and Bourbon Street Beat.

1960s–1980s

On January 10, 1961, West appeared as a young, ambitious deputy who foolishly confronts a gunfighter named Clay Jackson, portrayed by Jock Mahoney, in the episode "The Man from Kansas" of the NBC Western series Laramie. He played Christopher Rolf in the episode "Stopover" of ABC's The Rifleman, which aired on April 25, 1961.

West made two guest appearances on Perry Mason in 1961 and 1962. His first role was as small-town journalist Dan Southern in "The Case of the Barefaced Witness". His other role was as folk singer Pete Norland in "The Case of the Bogus Books".

In 1959-1962 he became a regular on the American television series Robert Taylor's Detectives in its third season.

He made a brief appearance in the 1963 film Soldier in the Rain starring Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen,[ and starred as Colonel Dan McCready, the ill-fated mission commander of Mars Gravity Probe 1 in the 1964 film Robinson Crusoe on Mars. That same year he was cast alongside William Shatner in the pilot for the proposed series Alexander the Great, playing Cleander to Shatner's Alexander. The series was not picked up and the pilot wasn't broadcast until 1968 when it was repackaged as a TV movie to capitalize on West and Shatner's later fame. West was apparently unsurprised by the rejection, later noting that "It turned out to be one of the worst scripts I have ever read and it was one of the worst things I've ever done."

In 1964, West played Dr. Clayton Harris, a handsome, young physician in two episodes of the sitcom Petticoat Junction. In the same year West starred in an episode of the ABC Outer Limits series titled "The Invisible Enemy". December 10, 1964, an episode of Bewitched titled “Love is Blind” was released, in which West played Kermit, an artist who marries Gertrude.

In 1965, he was cast in the comedy Western The Outlaws Is Coming, the last feature film starring The Three Stooges. In the same year, he starred in Mara of the Wilderness and traveled to Europe to star in the Spaghetti Western The Relentless Four.

Batman

Producer William Dozier cast West as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, in the television series Batman, in part after seeing West perform as the James Bond-like spy Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik commercial. He was in competition with Lyle Waggoner for the Batman role.

The popular campy show ran on ABC from 1966 to 1968; a feature-length film version directed by Leslie H. Martinson was released in 1966.

In 1966, West released a novelty song Miranda as his Batman character.

Also in character, West appeared in a public service announcement in which he encouraged schoolchildren to heed then-President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for them to buy U.S. savings stamps, a children's version of U.S. savings bonds, to support the Vietnam War.

In 1970, West was considered for the role of James Bond by producer Albert Broccoli for the film Diamonds Are Forever.

Post-Batman career

After his high-profile role, West, along with Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig (who played crime-fighting sidekicks Robin and Batgirl), was typecast; all three found it difficult to find other roles. West's first post-Caped Crusader role was in the film The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969). His lead performance against the type of cynical tough guy Johnny Cain did not erode his Batman image; the movie was a box office disappointment.

For a time, West made a living from personal appearances as Batman. In 1974, when Ward and Craig reprised their Batman roles for a TV public-service announcement about equal pay for women, West did not participate; instead, Dick Gautier appeared as Batman. One of West's most memorable Batman appearances, after the series had ended, was with the Memphis-based United States Wrestling Association, where he engaged in a war of words with Jerry "The King" Lawler while wearing the cowl and a tracksuit, and even name-dropping Spider-Man.

West subsequently appeared in the theatrical films The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971), The Specialist (1975), Hooper (as himself; 1978), The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980), One Dark Night (1983) and Young Lady Chatterley II (1985). West also appeared in such television films as The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972), Poor Devil (1973), Nevada Smith (1975), For the Love of It (1980) and I Take These Men (1983).

West split his time between residences in Palm Springs, California, and Ketchum, Idaho.

He did guest shots on the television series Maverick; Diagnosis: Murder; Love, American Style; Bonanza; The Big Valley; Night Gallery; Alias Smith and Jones; Mannix, Emergency!; Alice; Police Woman; Operation Petticoat; The American Girls; Vega$; Big Shamus, Little Shamus; Laverne & Shirley; Bewitched; Fantasy Island; The Love Boat; Hart to Hart; Zorro; The King of Queens; and George Lopez. West was also in an episode of Bonanza that supposedly never aired until reruns were shown and he made several guest appearances as himself on Family Feud. In 1986, he starred in the comedy police series titled The Last Precinct.

Return to Batman

West often reprised his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, first in the short-lived animated series The New Adventures of Batman, and in other shows such as The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, Tarzan and the Super 7, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (succeeding original Super Friends Batman voice Olan Soule in the role). In 1979, West once again donned the Batsuit for the live-action TV special Legends of the Superheroes. In 1985, DC Comics named West as one of the honorees in the company's 50th-anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for his work on the Batman series.

West was considered to play Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father, in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. Originally, he wanted to play Batman. He was also a voice actor in various Batman-related animated series and films in addition to other projects connected to the TV series. West also guest starred in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Beware the Gray Ghost" as Simon Trent, a washed-up actor who used to play a superhero in a TV series called The Gray Ghost and who now has difficulty finding work. He reprised his role of Batman in the Animaniacs episode "Boo Wonder" Season 5, Episode 3 of Animaniacs.

West even suited up one final time in the full Batman outfit in 1997 for a photo session for TV Treasures magazine #1 titled "Adam West Remembers 30 Years of Batman". He had a recurring role as the voice of Mayor Grange in the 2004-2008 WB animated series The Batman. West was the voice of Batman in the 2005 CGI-animated short film Batman: New Times. He co-starred with Mark Hamill, who vocally portrayed The Joker and had originally played the role on Batman: The Animated Series. West also voiced Thomas Wayne in a 2010 episode, "Chill of the Night!", of the cartoon series Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

In 2015, Adam West and Burt Ward announced that they would be reprising their roles as Batman and Robin (along with Julie Newmar as Catwoman) for two animated features to celebrate the oncoming 50th anniversary of the TV series. The first, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders was actually released in theaters for one day on October 10, 2016, prior to being released on DVD and Blu-ray. The second, Batman vs. Two-Face co-starring William Shatner as Two-Face was released on October 10, 2017, four months after West's death.

1990s–2000s

During the 1990s, West's status as a pop culture icon led to appearances as himself in the film Drop Dead Gorgeous and in several TV series, including NewsRadio, Murphy Brown, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ben Stiller Show, and The Drew Carey Show. He notably appeared as "Dr. Wayne" in the 1990 Zorro episode "The Wizard", even being shown Zorro's "secret cave" headquarters. In 1991, he starred in the pilot episode of Lookwell, in which he portrayed a has-been TV action hero who falsely believes he can solve mysteries in real life. The pilot, written by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel in their pre-Late Night period, aired on NBC that summer, but was not picked up as a series. It was later broadcast on the Trio channel, under the "Brilliant But Canceled" block. In 1994, West played a non-comedic role as the father of Peter Weller's character in the Michael Tolkin film The New Age.

He played a washed-up superhero in the Goosebumps television series episode "Attack of the Mutant". The boy hero is a comic book geek whose favorite superhero, Galloping Gazelle (West's character), is portrayed as fading and on the verge of retirement. Towards the end, the boy is shocked to learn that the Gazelle is real, though he (the boy) must save the day by himself.

In 1994, West, with Jeff Rovin, wrote his autobiography, Back to the Batcave published by Berkeley Books. In 1997, Virgin Interactive released the gambling simulation game Golden Nugget. West acted in the video cut scenes of the "Chaos Mystery" storyline subgame. In 2001, he played the super-villain Breathtaker on the short-lived television series Black Scorpion.

In 2003, West and Burt Ward starred in the television movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, alongside Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar, and Lee Meriwether. Jack Brewer portrayed West in flashbacks to the production of Batman. In 2005, West appeared in the CBS show The King of Queens. In the episode, Spence first asks Lou Ferrigno to go to a sci-fi convention, but when Spence meets West (playing himself), he leaves Ferrigno and asks West to come with him. He appears prominently in the 2006 video for California band STEFY's song "Chelsea" as "Judge Adam West", presiding over the courtroom scene.

In 2007, West appeared in a recurring role on George Lopez, as an attorney for George's mother, and he starred as "The Boss" in the movie comedy Sexina: Popstar PI. Following the release of a Batman game, a host of the show X-Play visited West on the show. In 2009, West played himself in the episode "Apollo, Apollo" of 30 Rock.

2010s

In 2010, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. West received the 2,468th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 5, 2012. His star is located at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Guinness Museum in Hollywood, California.

West appeared in a number of videos for Funnyordie.com.

He was interviewed in 2013 on the PBS series called Pioneers of Television in the season-three episode called "Superheroes". Also in 2013, he was the subject of the documentary Starring Adam West.

West is among the interview subjects in Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, a three-hour documentary narrated by Liev Schreiber that premiered on PBS in October 2013.

In February 2016, West guest-starred as himself on the 200th episode of The Big Bang Theory.

In January 2017, West appeared on the British comedy panel show "Through the Keyhole" in which viewers and panelists looked around West's Los Angeles home by video.

Walla Walla, Washington, Adam West's hometown, officially celebrates its annual "Adam West Day" on September 19, with the first one celebrated in 2017.

Voice-over work and advertising

Having a distinctive voice, West built a career doing voice-over work on a number of animated series (often as himself), including appearances on The Simpsons, Futurama, Rugrats, Histeria!, Kim Possible, and Johnny Bravo.

He also appeared in many episodes of Nickelodeon's cartoon The Fairly OddParents as a cat-obsessed version of himself, who is famous for playing a superhero called Catman, and who actually believes he is Catman. His later appearance in The Fairly OddParents was a parody of himself, hired to play the role of the Crimson Chin in the movie of the same name. Yet another appearance on the show had him as himself in a fairy-sponsored video about how to cope with losing one's fairy godparents. In later seasons, West was replaced by Jeff Bennett after his death in 2017.

In 1997, West appeared in a national television advertising campaign for Ziebart.

From 2000, West made regular appearances on the animated series Family Guy, on which he played the fictional character of the same name, who was the lunatic mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island. His role brought West a new wave of popularity post-Batman, and lead writer Seth MacFarlane claims to have gone out of his way to avoid typecasting West by deliberately not making any references to Batman.

Some of his last voice-over performances were playing the role of Uncle Art in the Disney Animation film Meet the Robinsons, and voicing the young Mermaid Man (along with Burt Ward, who voiced the young Barnacle Boy) in the cartoon show SpongeBob SquarePants, in the episode "Back to the Past" in 2010.

West also played the voice of General Carrington in the video game XIII, and voiced other video games such as Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, Chicken Little: Ace in Action, Scooby-Doo! Unmasked, and Goosebumps: Attack of the Mutant.

In November 2014, West voiced himself, the 1960s version of Batman, and the Gray Ghost in the video game Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.

In 2016, West was the voice of TV's Batman for the Batman '66 pinball game produced by Stern Pinball Incorporated.

West also did voice-over work for superhero-themed commercials for the investment firm LendingTree and television commercials for Hebrew National hot dogs.

Personal life

West was married three times. His first marriage was to his college girlfriend Billie Lou Yeager in 1950. The couple divorced six years later. In 1957, he married Cook Island dancer Ngatokorua Frisbie Dawson, part of the Puka Puka Otea in Hawaii. They had two children before their divorce in 1962. West then married Marcelle Tagand Lear in November 1970. They had two children and remained together for more than 46 years, until West's death.[84] West also had two step-children.

During the Batman television series, West's relationship with co-star Burt Ward was jokingly described as "problematic". He said, "Burt fell victim to making up stories to sell books. But in a way, it was flattering because he made me sound like King Kong." West also said that he played Batman "for laughs, but in order to do [that], one had to never think it was funny. You just had to pull on that cowl and believe that no one would recognize you." Also during the Batman series, he became close friends with crossover co-star Van Williams, who played The Green Hornet. The two of them were also neighbors for a while and spent much time together outdoors, including fishing and hunting.

Death

On June 9, 2017, West died from leukemia in Los Angeles at the age of 88. In a statement, his former Batman co-star and longtime friend Burt Ward said:

This is a terribly unexpected loss of my lifelong friend, I will forever miss him. There are several fine actors who have portrayed Batman in films. In my eyes, there was only one real Batman that is and always will be Adam West. He was truly the Bright Knight.

Batman: The Animated Series actor Kevin Conroy (who performed alongside West in the episode "Beware the Gray Ghost") said:

Adam West was an incredibly good, generous actor. Loved working with him as Gray Ghost. A true gentleman.

On June 15, 2017, Los Angeles projected the Bat-Signal on City Hall as a tribute to West, and in his hometown of Walla Walla, Washington, the Bat-Signal was shone upon the landmark Whitman Tower.

West had pre-recorded five more Family Guy episodes as Mayor Adam West, which was released posthumously as part of the sixteenth season. He also recorded the 11th episode of Powerless, which never aired due to the show's cancellation. NBC aired the episode online after West's death.

West's last public appearances were from March to April 2017 at the NorthEast ComicCon & Collectibles Extravaganza in Hanover, Massachusetts, where he was the guest of honor, Fan Expo Dallas, and Silicon Valley Comic Con.

Filmography

Film

1957       Voodoo Island   Weather Station #4 Radio Operator         Uncredited

1958       Ghost of the China Sea                  Uncredited

1959       The Young Philadelphians            William Lawrence III       

The FBI Story     Man on Two Way Radio                Voice, Uncredited

1962       Geronimo           Lt. John Delahay              

1963       Tammy and the Doctor  Dr. Eric Hassler 

Soldier in the Rain            Inspecting Captain          

1964       Robinson Crusoe on Mars            Colonel Dan McReady   

1965       The Outlaws Is Coming  Kenneth Cabot

Mara of the Wilderness                Ken Williams     

The Relentless Four        Ranger Sam Garrett       

1966       Batman                Bruce Wayne / Batman

1969       The Girl Who Knew Too Much    Johnny Cain       

1971       The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker     Chester               

1972       The Curse of the Moon Child                     

1974       Hell River             Kurt Kohler        

1975       The Specialist     Jerry Bounds     

1978       Hooper Himself

1980       Warp Speed       Shuttle captain 

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood        Lionel Lamely    

1982       One Dark Night Allan McKenna 

1984       Hell Riders           Doctor Dave      

1985       Yellow Pages      Henry's Father  Uncredited

Young Lady Chatterley II               Professor Arthur Bohart Jr.         

1986       Zombie Nightmare          Capt. Tom Churchman  

1988       Doin' Time on Planet Earth           Charles Pinsky  

Return Fire         Carruthers         

Night of the Kickfighters               Carl McMann   

1989       Mad About You                Edward Harris   

Cartoon Lost and Found                Himself Nick at Nite

1990       Omega Cop        Prescott              

1991       Maxim Xul           Professor Marduk          

1994       The New Age     Jeff Witner        

Not This Part of the World                          

The Best Movie Ever Made         Himself

1995       Run for Cover    Senator Prescott             

1996       The Size of Watermelons             Himself

1997       Redux Riding Hood          Leonard Fox       Voice, Short

Joyride Harold  

American Vampire          The Big Kahuna

1999       Drop Dead Gorgeous     Himself

2001       Seance Homeless Man, Angel    Also known as Killer in the Dark, released online in 2015

2002       From Heaven to Hell                      

2003       Baadasssss!        Bert      

Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt     Himself TV movie

2004       Tales from Beyond          Jay          (segment "The Bookstore")

2005       Aloha, Scooby-Doo!        Jared Moon        Voice, direct-to-video

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story               Mayor Adam West          Voice, direct-to-video

Buckaroo: The Movie     Judge Werner  

Chicken Little     Ace – Hollywood Chicken Little  Voice

Angels with Angles          Alfred the Butler             

2007       Meet the Robinsons       Uncle Art             Voice

Sexina: Popstar P.I.         The Boss             

2009       Ratko: The Dictator's Son              Kostka Volvic    

Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion Manbat, Cab Driver        

2011       Pizza Man            Himself

2015       Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie        Sandy Blake        Voice, direct-to-video

2016       Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders               Bruce Wayne / Batman Voice, direct-to-video

2017       Batman vs. Two-Face     Voice, direct-to-video; posthumous release; dedicated in memory

Television

1954–1955           The Philco Television Playhouse                Ham Ector           3 episodes

1958–1959           77 Sunset Strip  Jim Beck, Lonnie Drew, Ernest Detterback            3 episodes

1959       Grand Jury          Fenway                Episode: "The Big Boss"

Lawman               Doc Holliday       Episode: "The Wayfarer"

Sugarfoot            Doc Holliday, Frederick Pulaski   2 episodes

Cheyenne           Ashley Claiborn Episode: "Blind Spot"

Bronco  Major Carter      Episode: "The Burning Springs"

Colt .45 Doc Holliday, Marshal Joe Benjamin, Sgt. Ed Kallen           3 episodes

Maverick             George Henry Arnett, Rudolph St. Cloud, Vic Nolan         3 episodes

Hawaiian Eye     George Nolen   Episode: "The Quick Return"

Bourbon Street Beat      Deputy Episode: "The Black Magnolia"

1960       Johnny Midnight              Jake Hill                Episode: "The Villain of the Piece"

Overland Trail    Wild Bill Hickok  Episode: "Westbound Stage"

Goodyear Theatre           David     Episode: "All in the Family"

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse               Johnny Cinderella            Episode: "Murder Is a Private Affair"

1961–1963           Laramie                Kett Darby, Deputy         2 episodes

1961       Tales of Wells Fargo        Steve Daco         Episode: "The Has-Been"

Bonanza               Frank Milton      Episode: "The Bride"

1961–1962           Perry Mason      Pete Norland, Dan Southern       2 episodes

1961       Michael Shayne                Dave Owens      Episode: "Date with Death"

The Rifleman     Christopher Rolf               Episode: "Stopover"

Guestward, Ho!                Larry Crawford  Episode: "Bill, the Fireman"

1961–1962           The Detectives  Det. Sgt. Steve Nelson   30 episodes

1962       The Beachcomber           Huckabee            Episode: "Captain Huckabee's Beard"

1963       The Real McCoys              Buzz Cooper       Episode: "The Crop Duster"

Gunsmoke          Emmett                Episode: "Ash"

1964       Petticoat Junction            Dr. Clayton Harris             2 episodes

The Outer Limits               Major Charles 'Chuck' Merritt     Episode: "The Invisible Enemy"

Bewitched          Kermit  Episode: "Love Is Blind"

1965       The Virginian      Sam Loomis        Episode: "Legend for a Lawman"

1966–1968           Batman                Bruce Wayne / Batman 120 episodes

1966       The Milton Berle Show  Batman                Episode #1.2

1968       The Big Valley    Major Jonathan Eliot      Episode: "In Silent Battle"

1971       Night Gallery      Mr. Hyde             Episode: "With Apologies to Mr. Hyde"

1972       Primus  Jenson  Episode: "Sea Serpent"

Alias Smith and Jones     Brubaker             Episode: "The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg"

The Eyes of Charles Sand              Dr. Paul Scott     Television film

This Is the Life   GI Hank Mathes               Episode: "The Revenge of Cho Lin"

Mannix Jonathan Forsythe          Episode: "A Puzzle for One"

1973       Poor Devil           Dennis Crawford              Television film

1974       Emergency!        Vic Webster       Episode: "The Bash"

1975       Nevada Smith    Frank Hartlee     Television film

1976       Shazam!               Hercules              Voice, Episode: "The Delinquent"

Alice      Mr. Turner          Episode: "Sex Education"

1977       The New Adventures of Batman               Bruce Wayne / Batman Voice, 16 episodes

Police Woman   Morgan                Episode: "Guns"

1978       Operation Petticoat        Steve Fleming   Episode: "Bless You, My Sub"

Tarzan and the Super 7  Bruce Wayne / Batman Voice

The American Girls                          Episode: "The Beautiful People Jungle"

1979       Legends of the Superheroes      Bruce Wayne / Batman 2 episodes

Big Shamus, Little Shamus            Harley Morgan  Episode: "The Loser"

1980–1984           Fantasy Island   Frank McKenna, Philip Breem    2 episodes

1980       For the Love of It             Jock Higgins        Television film

1981       Warp Speed       Captain Lofton  Television film

Time Warp          Col. Ed Westin   Television film

1982       Laverne & Shirley             Edgar Garibaldi  Episode: "The Gymnast"

1983       I Take These Men            Craig Wyler         Television film

The Love Boat   Bob Williams      Episode: "Doc's Big Case/Senior Sinners/A Booming Romance"

Hart to Hart        David Stockwood             Episode: "Love Game"

1984       Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show          Bruce Wayne / Batman Voice, 8 episodes

1985       The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians       Voice, 8 episodes

1986       The Last Precinct              Captain Rick Wright         8 episodes

1987       Murder, She Wrote        Wade Talmadge               Episode: "Death Takes a Dive"

1990       Zorro     Dr. Henry Wayne             Episode: "The Wizard"

1991       Lookwell              Ty Lookwell        Pilot

1992       The Ben Stiller Show       Himself Episode: "With Colin Quinn"

Batman: The Animated Series    Simon Trent / Gray Ghost            Voice, episode: "Beware the Gray Ghost"

Rugrats Captain Blasto   Voice, episode: "Superhero Chuckie"

1775       George Washington       Pilot (and only episode)

1992; 2002           The Simpsons    Himself, Batman               Voice, 2 episodes

1993       Danger Theatre                Capt. Mike Morgan         4 episodes

Tales from the Crypt       Chapman             Episode: "As Ye Sow"

1994       The Good Life    Himself Episode: "John Hurts His Leg or Tales from the Crip"

The Critic             Voice, episode: "Eyes on the Prize"

Nurses  Mr. Greer            Episode: "All the Pretty Caseys"

Space Ghost Coast to Coast         Himself Episode: "Batmantis"

1995       The Adventures of Pete & Pete                Principal Ken Schwinger                2 episodes

Muscle Jim Atkinson      Episode #1.5

Hope and Gloria               Himself Episode: "Who's Poppa?"

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman                Jerry Retchen    Episode: "Whine, Whine, Whine"

Burke's Law        Dean Winters    Episode: "Who Killed the Toy Maker?"

The Clinic             Horton Van Hoon             5 episodes

1996       Goosebumps     The Galloping Gazelle    2 episodes

Weird Science   Himself Episode: "Strangers in Paradise"

1997       Pauly     Episode: "Spies Like Us"

The Wayans Bros.            TV Host                Episode: "The Black Widower"

Murphy Brown Himself Episode: "Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow"

1997–2004           Johnny Bravo     Voice, 2 episodes

1997       Animaniacs         Spruce Wayne / Caped Crusader              Voice, episode: "Boo Wonder"

1998       Jenny    Himself Episode: "A Girl's Gotta Hang with a Celebrity"

1998–1999           The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs                Dog Zero, Leonardo da Vinci       Voice, 22 episodes

1998       Diagnosis: Murder           Bruce Blazer       Episode: "Write, She Murdered"

Histeria!               Ernest Hemingway          Voice, 2 episodes

NewsRadio         Himself Episode: "Clash of the Titans"

1999       Pacific Blue         Macon Dean      Episode: "Stargazer"

2000–2018           Family Guy          Mayor Adam West          Voice, 118 episodes

2001       Black Scorpion   Dr. Noah Goddard / Breathtaker               5 episodes

The Drew Carey Show   Mitch    Episode: "Hotel Drew"

2003       Kim Possible       Timothy North / Fearless Ferret                Voice, episode: "The Fearless Ferret"

The Mullets        Himself Episode: "Silent But Deadly"

2003–2008           The Fairly OddParents   Himself, Catman               Voice, 6 episodes

2003       The Bronx Bunny Show Himself 1 episode

2004       Monster Island Dr. Harryhausen               Television film

Channel Chasers              Himself Voice, television film

2004–2006           The Batman        Mayor Marion Grange   Voice, 7 episodes

2005       The King of Queens        Himself Episode: "Shear Torture"

The Boondocks R. Kelly's Lawyer               Voice, episode: "The Trial of Robert Kelly"

2007       George Lopez    Jonathon K. Martin         2 episodes

2008       Guiding Light      Himself 1 episode

2009       30 Rock Episode: "Apollo, Apollo"

2010       SpongeBob SquarePants              Young Mermaid Man     Voice, episode: "Back to the Past"

Batman: The Brave and the Bold               Proto-Bot, Thomas Wayne          Voice, 2 episodes

2011       The Super Hero Squad Show      Nighthawk          Voice, episode: "Whom Continuity Would Destroy!"

2011–2012           Jake and the Never Land Pirates               Wise Old Parrot                Voice, 3 episodes

2013       Futurama            Himself Episode: "Leela and the Genestalk"

2015–2017           Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero          Captain Super Captain, Professor Evil Professor Voice, 4 episodes

2015       Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship '60s Batman, Robber      Voice, television special

Moonbeam City               Razzle Novak     Voice, episode: "Stuntstravaganza"

2016       The Big Bang Theory       Himself Episode: "The Celebration Experimentation"

2017       Powerless           Narrator, Chairman Dean West  2 episodes

Video games

1997       Golden Nugget Hugh Swain       

Goosebumps: Attack of the Mutant        The Galloping Gazelle   

2003       XIII         General Carrington        

2005       Scooby-Doo! Unmasked               Winslow Stanton             

2006       Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure           Chief Hunt         

Family Guy Video Game!              Mayor Adam West         

Disney's Chicken Little: Ace in Action       Ace       

2007       Meet the Robinsons       Uncle Art            

2012       Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse          Mayor Adam West         

2013       Grand Theft Auto V        1st Guard           

2014       Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham               Himself, Classic Batman, Gray Ghost      

Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff                Mayor Adam West         

2016       Batman 66 Pinball            Batman