The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Adam West’s Batman Series

Adam West’s classic 1960s series wasn’t the first live-action “Batman” adaptation (that one is much stranger, believe me), but it is the one most people think of when remembering the old days of the character on the screen. In the decades since, shows like “Batman: The Animated Series” and the many critically acclaimed Batman films have built the Caped Crusader into arguably the most popular superhero in the U.S., if not worldwide. But when it comes to camp and silly charm, nothing beats the ’60s series.

Sadly, most of the folks who made that show what it was are no longer with us, including Adam West himself, who passed away in 2017. Other prominent co-stars like Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Alan Napier (Alfred), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) have also all passed on.

Only three major stars from the series are still with us today, carrying on the legacy of a comic book show that helped pave the way for the modern era of Batman on the screen. Let’s catch up with them.

It makes sense that the Boy Wonder, ostensibly the youngest main character on the show, would still be alive today. Burt Ward was actually in his early 20s when he worked on the series, but that slight age-up for the character lent itself to the comedic rapport between him and West’s Bruce Wayne.

For as great as West was on the show, a lot of the absurd, campy dialogue and storylines only work because of Ward’s fantastic timing and commitment to the bit. He’s a fantastic Robin, and while he’s certainly known best these days for his role on the series, he had a long career afterward as well, appearing in a whole lot of smaller films and B-movies in the late 1980s and throughout the ’90s.

Ward has also returned to the larger DC universe many times, voicing Robin in the late 1970s animated series “The New Adventures of Batman” and appearing in later projects ranging from the Arrowverse to a pair of original animated features based on the ’60s “Batman” TV show that came out in 2016 and 2017 (“Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders” and “Batman vs. Two-Face,” respectively), reuniting him with West in the process.

Born in 1945, Ward is 80 years old today.

A few different actors played Catwoman over the course of the 1960s “Batman” series, including the late, great Eartha Kitt. But for the majority of the show, the character was portrayed by Julie Newmar.

Now approaching 92 years old, Newmar is an acting legend, having also made a name for herself on the live stage (and winning a Tony Award in 1959). She remained a TV regular for many years after “Batman,” though the show was certainly her most high-profile part on the small screen.

Like many of the other actors who appeared on the show, Newmar continued to make voice cameos in various animated “Batman” projects for decades. Her last credit was in 2017 for the aforementioned “Batman vs. Two-Face,” which brought the world of the ’60s TV show back to life with Ward and West leading the way once more. Since then, it seems she’s settled into a quiet retirement, but she’ll always be a legend in Gotham.

1966’s “Batman: The Movie” (one of the many, many “Batman” films out there) opened in theaters between the release of the show’s first two seasons, at which point Julie Newmar had already made her debut as Catwoman. However, due to scheduling conflicts, she was replaced in the movie by Lee Meriwether. After that, Newmar came back for season 2 and Meriwether never played the character on the actual show, though she did make a couple of appearances in a different role.

At 90 years old today, Meriwether had a long and successful career in Hollywood, with major roles in shows like “Barnaby Jones,” “The Time Tunnel,” “Mission: Impossible,” “All My Children,” and “The Munsters Today.” She even dipped her toes into voice acting and video game roles later in her career, with credits in games like “Vanquish” and “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.”

While Meriwether’s real acting work died down around 2018, she amassed well over 100 credits in that time.