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In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

Kromm

By Kromm
in Everything Else TV

Mr. Sparkle
Message added by Mr. Sparkle,

Reminder:

This thread is for deaths of celebrities in the entertainment business only. No notices about politicians, please. 

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

(edited)

Damn.

Adam West, Straight-Faced Star of TV's 'Batman,' Dies at 88

Adam West was the first Batman I knew. I saw the 1966 movie on TV and then the series as a kid before 1989's Batman with Michael Keaton. I think like all Batman fans I've grown from loving Batman '66 as a kid, deriding it as a teenager and young adult("Batman should be dark and serious!"), and later realizing it's satirical brilliance as an older adult. I've grown to appreciate how truly hilarious his performance is while being totally sincere and straight faced.

Edited by VCRTracking
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Bastet
Bastet

Piss up a rope, Val Kilmer.  If your physical illness got so bad that your life utterly sucked and no end to that suffering was in sight, so that suicide was or seemed to be the best of the available

wilsie
wilsie
BetterButter
BetterButter

Olivia Newton-John Has Died At 73

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Rosiejuliemom

Rosiejuliemom

18 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

Damn.

Adam West, Straight-Faced Star of TV's 'Batman,' Dies at 88

Adam West was the first Batman I saw the 1966 movie on TV and then the series as a kid before 1989's Batman with Michael Keaton. I think like all Batman fans I've grown from loving Batman '66 as a kid, deriding it as a teenager and young adult("Batman should be dark and serious!"), and later realizing it's satirical brilliance as an older adult. I've grown to appreciate how truly hilarious his performance while being totally sincere and straight faced.

 

Quahog is gonna need a new mayor. May you rest well, Mr. West.

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MaryMitch

MaryMitch

My little sister's first word was "Batman". 

We would come home from school and watch the reruns. She was in the playpen and bounced along to the theme song.

As an adult, I still enjoy watching the series - they must have had so much fun making that show!  And the guest stars!

R.I.P Adam West.

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Blergh

Blergh

Yes, Mr. West played the iconic Original Caped Crusader perfectly  but I once knew someone who worked with him later and he said that Mr. West was far more complicated offscreen than one would have thought via the performance. In any case, he brought great entertainment to at least three generations of viewers via that two-season show so, RIP Mr. West.

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AgentRXS

AgentRXS

I'm so sad. Adam West is the reason I fell in love with Batman as a kid. His Batman was probably one of my earliest crushes too. I know he felt typecast in the role, and eventually resigned himself to his fate as always being associated with it. I'm sorry he didn't get the career he wanted, but I am thankful that he brought Batty to life all those years ago. Rest peacefully, sir.

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)

He spoke at my college a couple years ago. While I got to see him speak in person -- and he was spectacular -- I didn't get the chance to get his autograph. ????

As he stated on his Big Bang Theory cameo, "I didn't have to say I was Batman. When I walked into a room, they KNEW I was Batman!" Annd he not only was a wonderful Batman, he remained the one constant hilarious character on Family Guy.

RIP Adam West.

RIH leukemia and all kinds of cancer.

Edited by Spartan Girl
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

47 minutes ago, AgentRXS said:

I'm so sad. Adam West is the reason I fell in love with Batman as a kid. His Batman was probably one of my earliest crushes too. I know he felt typecast in the role, and eventually resigned himself to his fate as always being associated with it. I'm sorry he didn't get the career he wanted, but I am thankful that he brought Batty to life all those years ago. Rest peacefully, sir.

Same.

He will forever hold a special place in my heart because he was the first real life Batman for me. RIP, Adam West.???

I loved when he was asked and he provided his voice for Simon Trent/The Gray Ghost in Batman: The animated series' "Gray Ghost."

FUCK CANCER!!!?

I remember seeing him twice on another favorite show of mine-Perry Mason in recent years. I think both were before he was cast as Batman. And he played two different characters.

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merylinkid

merylinkid

Holy Pop Culture reference, I just used the term "Same bat time, same bat channel" the other day.

I never liked the darker grttier Batmen.   I liked the campy version.   It was silly escapist entertainment that made me laugh.   Although Alfred was the real star.   He always managed to show up with just what Batman needed.   He knew Batgirl's real identity and didn't tell Batman.   Goodness, none of them would have been able to function without Alfred.

RIP Adam West.

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

(edited)

The best thing he did besides Batman was the pilot for a comedy show called Lookwell written and produced by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel in 1991. West played a washed up actor who was the star of a police show and after he is made an honorary detective by the city thinks he can solve real crimes. O'Brien wrote it just after he was a staff writer on SNL and before he became one on The Simpsons. Unfortunately even though NBC head Brandon Tartikoff loved it, it was never picked up as a series. It's online and everyone should check it out because it's still hilarious.   Robert Smigel later recalled:

Quote

I remember one day he ran into our office, and he was wearing shorts and a straw hat—but not as a gag. [...] And he announced, "I've got it!" He was dancing on air. He told us that he had been walking on the beach and he'd thought about everything and he finally understood the part. He had cracked the code, kind of like Batman would. He knew exactly what we wanted to do and he was exuberant. He was like a kid.

Edited by VCRTracking
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bmasters9

bmasters9

(edited)

Some assorted screenshots of the shows he was in (captured from DVD releases of those shows):

--First, his title credit from 60s ABC Batman, for which he will always be remembered (from WB all-in-one DVD of that series)

--Second, Adam as David Stockwood (alongside Robert Wagner) in the Hart to Hart episode "Love Game" (OAD 11/8/83 on ABC; captured from Shout! final-season DVD of that ABC series)

--Finally, his closing credit for that guest role on Hart to Hart (also captured from that Shout! release)

 

adamwestbatmantitlecredit.jpg

adamwestharttohart1.jpg

adamwestharttohart2.jpg

Edited by bmasters9
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millennium

millennium

(edited)

What a way to go-go.

Adam West did more for Batman's popularity than perhaps even Bob Kane.   He was a vital part of my childhood.   If my sense of humor had a voice, it would be his.

"Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed ..."

Edited by millennium
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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

(edited)

And yet another part of my childhood dies.  RIP, Mr. West.

Thankfully, Julie Newmar (Catwoman) is still with us (and just as fabulous as ever!)  Also, Lee Meriwether is still around (she was the first celebrity to follow me back on Twitter), and I think Burt Ward is, too.  I'll bet all three of them are devastated.

Edited by legaleagle53
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millennium

millennium

I discovered this gem only a few months ago.   It's called "Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt."   Adam West and Burt Ward appear as themselves at a fan event, where the Batmobile is also on display.   Someone steals the Batmobile during the event.  Adam West and Burt Ward investigate as clues draw them deeper into their past, inspiring them to remember behind-the-scenes stories from the heyday of the 1960s Batman era (these scenes are re-created for the movie by younger actors playing Adam and Burt; other actors also play the late Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Victor Buono and Vincent Price).   The real Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Frank Gorshin and Lee Meriwether star.

True "Batman" fans will enjoy it.

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millennium

millennium

2 hours ago, ABay said:

Holy multiverse, @millennium! Is that Amy Acker as young Burt Ward's wife in Return to the Batcave?

Yes, that's our very own Fred Burkle of Angel.  I meant to mention her, forgot, and couldn't muster sufficient enthusiasm to go back and edit.   I did wonder about the sequence of events that led her to appear in a project like this.   Return to the Batcave came out in 2003; Angel ended in 2004.   Interesting that both projects involved a main character with a bat-association.

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

55 minutes ago, Robert Lynch said:

Oh, man....I was looking forward to meeting him at the comic con in Mohegan Sun. Such a huge loss and his Mayor West character on Family Guy was classic. Now, it is just Burt Ward.

And, as I mentioned, Julie Newmar, who posted a lovely tribute to Adam on her Facebook page.

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bmasters9

bmasters9

19 hours ago, Rosiejuliemom said:

This popped up on my Facebook timeline. I had to do a little research, it appears to be legit. This is from the Ketchum, Idaho phone book:

19149250_871377347621_5390365605110350217_n.jpg

That's hilarious! I never thought that a fictional character would show up in a phone book, let alone the man who was known for playing him.

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Lola16

Lola16

3 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Anita Pallenberg, actress & former paramour of The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, dead at 73

i had just read a piece on her a few days ago. Seems like she finally got clean.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/anita-pallenberg-rip/?trackback=fbshare_flat_3

9 hours ago, cpcathy said:

You mean Brad Grey?

That was a couple of weeks ago.

yes. must have missed it. been off the site for a couple of months, thought i caught up on all posts but guess not.

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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

(edited)

Gloria "Rapuela" Fajardo, mother of singer Gloria Estefan, dies at age 88 (the explanation of "Rapuela" is in the obit, though if you're a fan of Gloria Estefan or her daughter, up & coming singer/songwriter Emily Estefan, you probably already know the meaning behind the nickname).

http://www.eonline.com/news/860904/gloria-estefan-s-mother-gloria-rapuela-fajardo-dies-at-88

And...

Kent State Freshman football player Tyler Heintz, age unknown, dies after workout

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2017/06/13/kent-state-football-player-dies-after-workout/102831544/

Edited by BW Manilowe
To clarify which Gloria was meant at 1 point.
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Wings

Wings

2 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Los Angeles City Hall is going to shine the bat signal in honor of Adam West.

What a cool thing to do!  I was never a batman fan but I love this touch.  

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Bastet

Bastet

3 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Los Angeles City Hall is going to shine the bat signal in honor of Adam West.

Yep, tonight at 9:00 - and there will be "surprise Bat-guests."

I've never had any interest in Batman (any incarnation, from comic book to whatever the latest movie is), but when I hear the character mentioned, Adam West is the only person I think of.  Even I think this is pretty darn cool.

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spiderpig

spiderpig

12 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Los Angeles City Hall is going to shine the bat signal in honor of Adam West.

Awwww...this is the kind of thing that warms the cockles of my stony cynical heart.  Adam would have loved it.

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GaT

GaT

21 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

Here's a one minute video of the ceremony:

Does New York just happen to have a working bat signal lying around just in case? Where did it come from?

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Shannon L.

Shannon L.

Just now, GaT said:

Does New York just happen to have a working bat signal lying around just in case? Where did it come from?

It's Los Angeles and given the amount of movie studies we have here, it was probably thrown together rather quickly. 

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Willowsmom

Willowsmom

Just now, GaT said:

Does New York just happen to have a working bat signal lying around just in case? Where did it come from?

It's Los Angeles . It's a spot with a bat design added with gaffers tape 

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