Los Angeles salutes Adam West
Listen to this articleWASHINGTON – The city of Los Angeles honored the late Adam West, also known as Batman, by projecting the Bat Signal onto City Hall’s tower Thursday night.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, accompanied by Police Chief Charlie Breck, hit the switch for the spotlight (actually just a prop) and Batman’s yellow-and-black winged emblem appeared on the building. Hundreds of people – many of them dressed as characters or wearing paraphernalia from the iconic television show – cheered. The red Bat Phone was stationed next to the podium. Garcetti led the crowd as they sang the show’s theme song, simply titled “Batman Theme.”
Actor Burt Ward, 71, who played Batman’s crime-fighting partner Robin, and actress Lee Meriwether, 82, who portrayed Catwoman in the 1966 Batman: The Movie, which starred West, also were on hand for the tribute. In addition to her movie role, Meriwether also appeared in two episodes of the show as a love interest of Batman’s alter ego, millionaire Bruce Wayne. Members of West’s family also attended.
West died June 9 after a short battle with leukemia. He was 88.
“Batman” aired for only three seasons, from 1966-1968, but many of the characters and lines from the campy show — based on the DC Comics character — have become fixtures in American culture. In the show, the mayor and police chief of the fictional Gotham City summoned the Caped Crusader by lighting up the sky with the Bat Signal.
West’s family suggested that fans who could not attend the tribute make a donation to the Adam West Memorial Fund for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or Camp Rainbow Gold, an Idaho-based charity for children with cancer.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News.
Regina Holmes has more than two decades of experience as a journalist –editing and reporting for news dailies including the Miami Herald, Newsday and the Baltimore Examiner. She also launched an award-winning investigative news website that tackled police and political corruption in Baltimore. She has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and Baltimore County Public Schools. Regina became a journalist because even as a child she was fascinated by the power of the press: how it could force a president out of office, elect a president, expose corruption, and shine a light on discrimination. She is passionate about giving a voice to people who are disenfranchised, ignored or powerless, including people of color, senior citizens, the impoverished, people with disabilities, veterans, and children. Issues in which she is particularly interested include race relations, criminal justice, and police brutality. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Vassar College and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. In her spare time, Regina enjoys traveling,antiquing, window-shopping for carsand watching HGTV.