User blog:ARTaylor/RIP Adam West

Adam West, the actor best known as the campy version of Batman from the 1960s, has passed away at the age of eighty-eight. He was born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington. He was drafted into the United States Army and worked as a television announcer. West had a long and illustrious acting career spanning all the way back to the 1950s. He rose to national fame with his campy portrayal of DC Comics' Dark Knight in the 1966 live action series. The series came at a time when the character was failing and is credited with saving the character to now become the flagship character for the company. The series lasted three seasons and spread into a theatrical film. He reprised the role for various shorts, animated series, and most recently two direct-to-video features. Unfortunately, afterwards he was typecast in similar roles and found it hard to stretch out into other roles. He eventually got cast in various DC based series including every subsequent Batman animated series. In recent years he embraced his iconography as a camp figure by parodying himself in various films and series, most notably as Mayor West on Family Guy.

He died in Los Angeles after battling leukemia surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. His family in a statement, "Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans' lives. He was and always will be our hero."