Adam West was a literate but modest man before he was a brooding and charismatic actor. He grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, to a Swedish father and American mother, the first a farmer and the latter a former opera singer and concert pianist. She had dreams of pursuing Hollywood, but stayed at home to raise West. After his parents’ divorce, he lived with his mother, who left an impression on him. At the age of fifteen, he made a goal of going to Hollywood after graduating from university.
West majored in literature with a minor in psychology and was an active member of his speech and debate team. He served in the United States Army as the announcer on American Forces Network before working as a milkman and TV host in Hawaii. He later moved back to Hollywood to begin his career on television in 1959, starring in westerns, science fiction, and legal dramas. His work has been in over sixty years of entertainment. Today, Adam West is still celebrated as one of the greatest character actors to grace the screen.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Mara of the Wilderness (1965)
Allied Artists
Disney’s alum and producer Brice Mack, a background painter and director for Disney, alongside popular western director Frank McDonald, made a story about Mara Wade (Lori Saunders), a feral child raised by wolves after a fatal bear attack took the lives of her parents. West is anthropologist Ken Williams, who runs into the mute wild woman while finishing the work Mara’s father started with his study of wolves. A rogue hunter and trapper threatens them and the wolves as Ken tries to rehabilitate and save Mara in the wilderness. The movie was made for general audiences, no doubt. West has his moments, but they end up getting lost in the woods.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 One Dark Night (1983)
Comworld Pictures
In this one-hit wonder horror from the director of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, West plays Allan McKenna. He is the husband of Olivia McKenna, whose father is Russian occultist Karl Raymarseivich Raymar, the abductor and killer of six girls. They learn of his telekinesis and psychic vampire abilities that steal the bio-energy from the living. Despite putting the ESP talk to rest and going to bed himself, West is believable as a skeptic and takes on a fatherly role for his mourning wife.
6 Doin’ Time on Planet Earth (1988)
Cannon Film Distributors
An alien family lives in and runs a Holiday Inn in Arizona. When their son starts to suspect that he is different, the parents reveal their purpose to him: to propagate their alien kind. A strange outing into science fiction comedy here, about as strange as West’s melodic way with words. You have to give him credit, he does make for a convincing otherworldly species.
5 The Specialist (1975)
Crown International Pictures
Adam West was considered for the role of James Bond, but he settled for Jerry Bounds, an attorney who replaces corrupt attorney Pike Smith (John Anderson). Pike hires a PI and seductress Londa Wyeth (Ahna Capri) to force Jerry into an entrapment scheme that will disbar him. The film is an adaptation of the novel Come Now the Lawyers by Ralph Bushnell Potts, where Jerry has to take the law into his own hands. It’s a nice thriller and a good chance to see Bruce Wayne with a gun.
4 The Outlaws Is Coming (1965)
Columbia Pictures
Buffalos are dying, and Boston’s finest editor Kenneth Cabot is covering the story. Alongside West’s character are his clumsy photojournalists, Moe, Larry, and Curly, The Three Stooges. They discover a band of outlaws has been slaughtering the animal, causing Native Americans to war with each other for the natural resource, while planning to take over the West. The western-comedy saw a resurgence in popularity for the witty trio with parodies of 1960s pop culture. Watching West in the wild west be an inept gunslinger is a refreshingly funny sight to see as well. In an episode of A&E’s Biography, West was regaled by The Three Stooges on set and called them “three restless knights.”
3 Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
Paramount Pictures
A science fiction retelling of the 1719 Daniel Defoe novel, Robinson Crusoe, this adaptation led to Star Trek: The Original Series getting the green light in 1966, first pitched as “Columbus of the Stars.” West portrays Colonel Dan McReady of the United States Air Force. His delivery and diction is pointed and professional like a true astronaut. Unfortunately, West is bested by his crew, even Barney the Wooly Monkey, who plays the female monkey astronaut Mona, just by wearing a fur-covered diaper.
2 The Relentless Four (1965)
Produzioni Europee Associati
Not the Magnificent Seven, and not the Hateful Eight; just The Relentless Four. West plays Texas Ranger Sam Garrett in this Spaghetti Western. He chases after four outlaws that frame him for a crime he did not commit. The ranger holds his own, facing close calls and ending bar brawls as soon as they’re started.
1 Batman (1966)
20th Century Fox
When the rubber hits the road, you get a peeling Batmobile with Batman behind the wheel. The man speaks meticulously, measures every word as if it were his last, before an onomatopoeia takes its place. He became a sensational classic character, representing the golden age of Batman while launching the franchise into pop culture fame. By donning the cape and cowl, Adam West gave his most legendary performance as the Bright Knight.
