We Will Never Forget You!

American actor Adam West was best known for playing the crime-fighting superhero Batman in the popular 1960s television series.

Born in 1928 in Washington, actor Adam West got his start in Hollywood in the late 1950s. He soon landed what became his signature role in Batman, portraying the crime-fighting superhero during the popular TV show's run from 1966 to 1968. West's career suffered a downturn as he battled typecasting issues, but he enjoyed a resurgence alongside the revival of the Batman franchise in the 1990s, and later delivered voiceover work for the animated sitcom Family Guy and the Disney feature Chicken Little. He died on June 9, 2017, at the age of 88.

Actor Adam West was born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928, in Seattle, Washington (some sources say Walla Walla). He spent his early years on his family's ranch in Walla Walla, where his father, Otto, was a wheat farmer and his mother, Audrey, a concert pianist and opera singer. When he was a teenager, West's parents divorced, and he moved with his mother and younger brother to Seattle, where he finished high school.

West continued his education at Whitman College, where he was a member of the debate team and participated in swimming, track, skiing and water polo. He graduated with a degree in English literature in 1951 and moved on to post-graduate work at Stanford and a stint in the U.S. Army, where he helped launch a series of military television stations.

In the mid-1950s, West accepted an offer from a college friend to move to Hawaii. It was there he kicked his show business career into gear as a presenter on El Kini Popo Show, alongside a chimpanzee named Peaches. While supplementing his income as an island tour guide, he caught the attention of a vacationing Hollywood producer, eventually leading to a contract with Warner Bros. Studios.

Adopting the stage name Adam West, the actor made his feature film debut with a small but memorable part in the 1959 drama The Young Philadelphians (starring Paul Newman). He enjoyed a steady stream of supporting parts in television and film over the next several years, among them a recurring role as Sergeant Steve Nelson on the hit TV series The Detectives. On the big screen, he played the straight man to the Three Stooges in the 1965 Western spoof The Outlaws is Coming, and that year he also headlined the spaghetti Western The Relentless Four

West's big break came when he was chosen to play the crime-fighting superhero Batman in a television adaptation of the comic book. The show's producers, who sought to bring a touch of satire to the character (and his stuffier alter ego, Bruce Wayne), felt that West's flair for tongue-in-cheek comedy made him the perfect candidate for the role. Burt Ward was contracted to play Robin, completing the Dynamic Duo.