{"id":6475,"date":"2017-06-14T17:49:18","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T17:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/news\/?page_id=986"},"modified":"2019-05-20T22:08:30","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T22:08:30","slug":"adam-west-tribute","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/adam-west-tribute\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam West Tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nI remember the ad in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader like it was yesterday.  The World of Wheels was hosting Adam West in costume as Batman, and the ad featured a picture of Adam in costume from the TV series! This was not an opportunity I could pass up!  At the age of 18, I was a popular radio DJ at KELO-AM and I used to do all sorts of fun features on my radio show. I figured an interview with Adam West would be a huge boon to the station\u2019s ratings.  So I phoned the promoter of the show and requested an interview with Adam to promote the World of Wheels.  It was granted. Adam would come to the station at noon on Saturday March 1, 1980!<\/p>\n

Leap Day 1980, the night before the big interview, I figured I\u2019d run down to the opening night of World of Wheels to introduce myself to Adam and go over a few details of the interview.  I boldly walked into the Sioux Falls Coliseum and introduced myself to the producers of the event.  I said, \u201cI\u2019m from KELO radio and I\u2019ll be interviewing Adam West tomorrow on my show.\u201d  The producer pointed to the corner and said, \u201cHe\u2019s right there.\u201d  Imagine a Hitchcock zoom into my face, as I realized the guy sitting at a desk with his feet up\u2026was HIM!  I still remember the sheepskin jacket and cowboy boots he was wearing.  He was talking on the phone.<\/p>\n

He hung up and I introduced myself.  Adam could tell I was star struck.  In a basso profundo voice that rang through the office he shook my hand and said, \u201cIt\u2019s alright. Just tell me I\u2019m your hero.\u201d  I stammered and said, \u201cI\u2019m your hero.  I mean\u2026you\u2019re my hero!\u201d  He explained that his Batman costume (and the rest of his checked luggage) had been lost by the airline and he was trying to run it down.  Luckily he always carried on the famous cowl, so at least he still had that.<\/p>\n

I told him that when I was 5 years old I pretended to be him by running around the neighborhood with a bath towel safety-pinned around my neck.  He said, \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ll be using this weekend.\u201d  What a quick wit. He was contracted to appear that night, but without a costume all he could do was pop on the cowl and appear in the clothes he was wearing.  It was a zany first night!<\/p>\n

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\nWe made arrangements for him to come to the station at noon on Saturday for the interview.  I worked all night at the radio station and got off the air around 6am that morning. I went out for breakfast, came back to the station and napped on the couch for about an hour, and then got ready for Adam\u2019s arrival at noon.<\/p>\n

Oddly enough the DJ on the air over the noon hour was named Adam North. When Adam WEST arrived, Adam North, Adam West and I sat down for a fun 20 minute interview. The Program Director of the station called up later and told me that the interview was \u201celectric.\u201d  That it was.  After the interview I went over to the World of Wheels to see Adam in full Batman costume, which had arrived and had been delivered to his room that morning.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/adam_west_kelo_interview.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

The KELO Interview<\/p>\n

Though I was in total \u201cworship\u201d mode, I didn\u2019t understand some of the snickering and rude comments that were being made at Adam\u2019s expense behind his back. What were they laughing at? This was Adam West\u2026the STAR!  At the time Adam was 52, close to the age I am now, and he looked darn good in the costume.  Unfortunately the quality of the costume wasn\u2019t very good, and I vowed to someday costume my hero in the way he deserved. So I paid close attention to the details of his costume as we chatted, making mental notes to create my own version someday.<\/p>\n

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\nThat evening Adam and I had dinner with some of the other guys at the radio station.  Our waiter at the restaurant was so nervous in Adam\u2019s presence he spilled hot butter sauce all over his sheepskin coat.  I was amazed at how cool Adam remained as he whispered to me, \u201cIt happens all the time.\u201d  While we were eating, I asked Adam what I needed to do to be an actor in Hollywood.  This single comment caused much snickering and derision amongst my radio peers at the table.   But fast forward 18 years and Adam and I would be working on a top rated network animated show together. So who got the last snicker after all?<\/p>\n

Back to the coliseum I went on Sunday March 2, 1980; the final day of that year\u2019s World of Wheels extravaganza. I brought along a reel to reel recorder and microphone to interview Adam backstage during one of his breaks.  This interview would focus on his future projects and ideas for a new Batman movie. He entered the backstage area, removed his cape, and unsnapped his cowl. Then (and I\u2019ll NEVER forget this) he bent forward and removed the cowl from his head!  I had never EVER seen that before, and I was shocked!  After the interview we said our goodbyes, and he gave me his number and encouraged me to keep in touch, and to keep working on my career. I took his advice on both counts.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/adam_backstage.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

World of Wheels Backstage Interview<\/p>\n

In fact, we kept in touch fairly frequently over the next few years, as he was one of my few lifelines to Los Angeles and showbiz. But by the time I moved to L.A. in 1987 Adam had already moved to Ketchum, ID with his family.  According to the documentary \u201cStarring Adam West\u201d it was due to career difficulties he was having at the time.<\/p>\n

In 1988 I asked him to come visit me at the Westwood One Radio Network so he could pitch his idea for a syndicated radio show.  But while all of the execs loved meeting him and getting their pictures with him, they decided not to pick up his show idea.  However they were interested in having him be a correspondent for one of the other shows, but Adam passed on that idea.<\/p>\n

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Adam with the folks at Westwood One<\/p><\/div>\n

A few months later I would accompany him to my hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a return appearance and autograph signing.  He would appear at two different stores that day, in costume as Batman, and we had secured a limo to take us from location to location.  My friends Chris Malmin and Dave Baumeister (we three were now known as \u201cThe Bat Pack\u201d) would serve as Adam\u2019s assistants and bodyguards. Oddly enough, this would end up being one of Adam\u2019s final public appearances in the Batman costume. Soon after this day, Warner challenged Adam in court over his use of their character in public appearances.<\/p>\n

That Saturday morning I went to Adam\u2019s hotel to meet him for breakfast. He met me at his hotel room door and was concerned that his cape had become very badly wrinkled during the flight.  Even though it was 7am on a Saturday morning, I placed a call to the only person who could help out in a situation like this\u2026.MOM!<\/p>\n

My mother sprang from bed, leapt from the Momcave, and brought her trusty iron to the downtown Sioux Falls Holiday Inn and pressed Adam\u2019s cape right there in his room.  Then she joined us for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  Adam got in costume and off we went to do the first appearance.<\/p>\n

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With my mother and my daughter, Lacey<\/p><\/div>\n

During the limo ride between stores, Adam blurted out, \u201cWally, I don\u2019t know if this has been a blessing or a curse.\u201d  I told him that many actors would give their left arm to have just 1\/10th<\/sup> the fame he\u2019s achieved through the Batman TV series.  He should consider it a blessing, given how much joy he\u2019s brought to generations. He thought for a second and said, \u201cI guess you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The guy driving the limo had brought his 6 year old son along for the ride.  The kid stood in the front seat and kept facing backwards; not taking his eyes off Adam for a second.  Because of the child\u2019s wide-eyed curiosity, Adam never removed his cowl in his presence.  I\u2019m sure he would have liked to, considering that he was most likely hot, sweaty and needing a break from the hot headgear.<\/p>\n

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With my daughter, Lacey<\/p><\/div>\n

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The appearances at both stores were monumentally successful. So much so, that not everybody in line got to get an autograph. Just minutes after they cut off the autograph line Adam called me over. He asked that I make an announcement that, while time had run out for autographs, he was going to stand up and shake the hands of all the remaining fans waiting in line. So while some of them wouldn\u2019t get an autograph, they would at least get to shake the hand of TV\u2019s Caped Crusader. Truly a hero to the very last.<\/p>\n

With the rumors swirling about a new Batman movie in 1989 directed by Tim Burton, it became apparent that the producers weren\u2019t interested in using Adam as Batman.  We thought it was odd, considering that the most popular incarnation of Batman at that time was Frank Miller\u2019s \u201cDark Knight\u201d who was\u2026you guessed it\u2026a senior super hero.<\/p>\n

Once the baffling casting choice of Michael Keaton was publicized, Adam\u2019s fans were livid.  I decided to lodge a protest the best way I knew\u2026through comedy.  Dr. Demento had played several of my parody songs on his syndicated radio show over the past several years, so I decided to express my displeasure through music.  The big Grammy-winning song of 1988 was \u201cWild Wild West\u201d from The Escape Club.  It had \u201cwest\u201d in the title, and the name Escape Club could easily be adapted into the Caped Club. I had my mission.<\/p>\n

The resulting song (cleverly titled \u201cAdam West\u201d) ended up being played on the TV show \u201cA Current Affair,\u201d and was mentioned in an article in The Rolling Stone.  With the licensing fee paid by \u201cA Current Affair,\u201d I could afford to visit the factory that pressed all of Westwood One\u2019s radio shows on vinyl, and have a few hundred 45 rpm records pressed that I could pass out to radio stations, friends, and colleagues. \u201cAdam West\u201d by Wally Wingert and the Caped Club was a constant #1 song on Dr. Demento\u2019s weekly Funny Five, and it came in at #2 for the year on \u201cThe Dr. Demento Show.\u201d<\/p>\n