Anyone familiar with the Batman TV series (1966-1969) can remember it in either one of two ways – one way is that it was campy and kitsch or whatever derogatory label you can put on it. But the other way is as a show that celebrated and deliberately wanted to be campy and kitsch. That is how I feel, and you have to respect the fact that everyone including Batman/Adam West embraced this fervently.
When series creator William Dozier acquired rights to Batman, he did so without having ever read the comics. When he did actually start reading them, he made a decision that was legendary. His Batman would not be serious – it would be consciously tongue in cheek. Anyone who has watched the series can attest to that, and that is what makes it even more enjoyable.
This brings me to the villains. In my previous post I focused on the main villains of the series (The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler, and Catwoman), and while they are still what I think about when I think of the villains in the series, there were also many other villains that came into the show that helped carry it through 120 episodes.
It is no secret that Batman was a pop cultural phenomenon at the time, and big Hollywood stars were chomping at the bit to get in on the looney good fun of guest starring as a villain or making a cameo (in another post I focused on the celebrity window cameos).
These guest villains were comprised of some of the biggest and well respected Hollywood stars of the time. By guest starring in a Batman episode, they were showing the world that they could be campy and laugh at themselves. Let's say they all did a spectacular job of doing this.
So, here are the first 14 guest stars that we will look at in this post. In the next post I will look at 14 more. They are in no apparent order.
Liberace (as Chandell and Harry)
Liberace basically plays two versions of himself as a bad guy. What is uniquely funny about it is that Chandell is a like bad Liberace playing the piano, while Harry is just a bad guy thug. Scenes with both of them on screen are hilarious. You have to give Liberace credit for making fun of himself.
Malachi Throne (as False-Face)
I can remember this villain giving me the creeps as a kid. When he is not playing someone else (like Commissioner Gordon in like a Mission Impossible mask), False-Face wears a plastic mask that is like a liner for masks you get in the costume shop. It is disturbing to be sure and makes him a very memorable villain.
Walter Slezak (as Clock King)
Surrounded by all kinds of clocks and wearing multiple watches as the clocks tick and tock and chime, Clock King is a rather bizarre villain. Slezak makes the King into a hilarious oddity among Batman villains, and Slezak deserves credit for making the character into someone that seems right at home in the Gotham City that Batman/Bruce Wayne calls home.
Roddy McDowell (as Bookworm)
As his name suggests, Bookworm is a lover of books who finds a way to involve books in all of his schemes. His look is one of the more outstanding with a lamp on his hat (he has to be able to read no matter the situation) and his leather outfit like a well bound book makes him stand out in terms of appearance. And I give McDowall a big thumbs up for being all in on making Bookworm very memorable.
Tallulah Bankhead (as Black Widow)
To get the cinematic legend into the ranks of villains was an accomplishment in itself. Her performance is particularly regal – as would be expected of her. And, as her character's name suggests, there are spiders. Two very large ones are employed to take out Batman and Robin. The regal lady of the cinema gives it her all, and knowing who she is and how she is all in on the joke makes her appearance all the more memorable.
Art Carney (as Archer)
As a kid I was watching reruns of The Honeymooners at that time, so I was delighted to see Carney come on board as the villain Archer. The character is played like a bad Robin Hood, and Carney in my mind plays it like Norton breaking bad, but it is all in good fun. His henchmen carry around a laugh track machine, so it is kind of like Carney knowing he is in on the joke and letting us know it too.
George Sanders (as Mr. Freeze)
For some reason, I was very frightened of this character as a kid. Sanders plays the character straight, which means he seems really bad even when he is not wearing the suit and helmet. He was one of three actors to play this character, and it was the one episode that I thought the bad guy might really kill Batman. Thankfully, I was wrong about that.
Barbara Rush (as Nora Clavicle)
Clavicle is a woman's rights activist who somehow takes Commissioner Gordon's job. When I was a kid I didn't know anything about the feminist movement, but looking at the episode again today I think it was just another way that Dozier and his team wanted to tweak the humor at a different but more topical level.
Ethel Merman (as Lola Lasagne)
Ethel "God Bless America" Merman came on board carrying a parasol and seemingly ready to bust into song. Being the big star that she was, it is odd that she is working with Penguin (Burgess Meredith) in this episode, and they are equally involved in their goal to bring down Batman. Watching it again all these years later, I feel like she should have had an episode where she was the sole villain. At least I feel she deserved that.
Michael Rennie (as Sandman)
Rennie is one of my favorite actors, and I kept thinking of him in The Day the Earth Stood Still as I watched this episode again, I thought that his Sandman should have had his own episode like Merman should have had. Instead, he is working with Catwoman (Julie Newmar) and, while I loved her in that part, Rennie deserved to be putting people to sleep in his own episode. Klaatu Barada Nikto!
Cliff Robertson (as Shame)
Yes, if you know the 1953 film Shane, Robertson's character is supposed to be a spoof of the character memorably played by Alan Ladd. Shame is a kind of goofy guy who thinks he's from the Wild West but is committing crimes in the present. Robertson appears twice as Shame in the series, and both appearances are memorable ones that I enjoyed. He brought a different feel to the show as he was not an ordinary opponent for Batman (as if any of his opponents were ordinary).
Joan Collins (as Siren)
Joan Collins plays the beautiful Siren as a femme fatale, but unlike the sirens from The Odyssey, she is not part fish. She can hit a particularly gruesome high note that instead of luring men to their deaths causes them to do whatever she wants. I don't remember seeing this one as a kid, but watching it now I found her Siren to be one of the less enjoyable villains in the series.
Maurice Evans (The Puzzler)
Evans was rather busy in the 60s, playing Samantha's warlock father on Bewitched and popping in here as what seems like another version of The Riddler. Evans appears to be in on the fun while launching puzzle balloons, I do not remember this episode either from when I was a kid, and it's kind of forgettable even now. It makes me laugh to think that shortly after this that he would be putting on an ape suit to play Dr. Zaius in the great movie Planet of the Apes.
Anne Baxter (Zelda the Great)
Baxter with tongue firmly in cheek plays a magician who is also a bank robber. She can only keep doing her magic act by stealing. Baxter shines in this episode though she is not in enough scenes, and it seems like the best part is her escape artist act. Overall, I found this to be a less than memorable Batman episode, especially considering Baxter's considerable talent.
So, there you have it, Batman fans. I hope you enjoyed reading about these 14 guest stars who appeared as villains on the show. My next post will focus on the remaining 14 guest stars who appeared as villains.
Please come back at the same Bat time, the same Bat channel!
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