January 12, 1966: "Batman" Premieres On TV

Burt Ward (left) as Robin, and Adam West as Batman

January 12, 1966, 60 years ago: Batman premieres on ABC. The villain in the 1st 2-part episode is the Riddler, played by noted impressionist Frank Gorshin, and the episodes are titled "Hi Diddle Riddle" and, the next night, "Smack in the Middle." Most of the halves of the 2-part episodes had rhyming titles.

Batman had appeared in live-action before, in a 1943 film serial, titled simply Batman, starring Lewis Wilson, and Douglas Croft as Robin; and a 1949 serial, Batman and Robin, starring Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan. But this was Batman's, and Robin's, 1st TV appearance.

The show ran for 120 episodes, 3 seasons, over the next 2 years, and became the only successful live-action TV series featuring a superhero between The Adventures of Superman's last airing in 1958 and The New Original Wonder Woman's premiere in 1975.

The standard format:

* The 1st part of a 2-part episode would air on a Wednesday night. William Dozier, the series' creator and executive producer, would narrate.

* The opening shot would usually be of Manhattan in New York City, standing in for Gotham City, the fictional home of the Batman character since his debut in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Location shots later in the show make it look like there are beaches and mountains nearby, suggesting that Gotham looks more like Los Angeles, where the show really was filmed.

But while most versions of Gotham -- in comic books, on TV and in films -- have it looking like a crime-ridden mess, practically a lost cause, Batman '66 (what some fans of the character like to call the show, to differentiate it from other versions of the Bat-Story) makes Gotham look like a nice place, because Batman and his sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder, have done such a great job in cleaning it up.

Likewise, unlike most versions, where Police Commissioner James Gordon willingly works with Batman, but the rest of the city doesn't quite trust him, and fears him, and some people believe he's an urban legend created to scare criminals, on this show, Batman and Robin are well-known celebrities, and beloved. Not just by Gothamites: Their fame and admiration extends around the world.

But that idyllic urban opening shot is always interrupted by Dozier saying something like, "But, wait! What's this?" And we see the villain and his (or her) henchmen (and/or henchwomen) striking, usually a robbery. This is, after all, the 1960s: Network censors wouldn't take kindly to murders right off the bat, especially for a show based on a comic book aimed at children. The villain and his crew get away with this crime -- for the moment.

* The scene then shifts to Police Headquarters, where Commissioner Gordon and the Chief of Police, Miles O'Hara, realize who is behind the crime, often because the villain is arrogant enough to leave behind a clue admitting it, and realize that this is someone who has them in over their heads.

Gordon was played by Neil Hamilton, and this is one of the few times that he is depicted without a mustache. O'Hara was created specifically for the series, and was played by Stafford Repp, usually with an exaggerated Irish accent, as so many policemen who started when he would have were of Irish descent.

So Gordon says there's only one man who can help them now. He walks over to a red telephone, and uses it to call Batman.

* Dozier says, "Meanwhile, at stately Wayne Manor... " The Manor is owned by a man nearly always referred to as "millionaire Bruce Wayne." In most versions since, Bruce is referred to as a billionaire and one of the richest men in the world. 

The TV version never explains how his family got its money, only that they were one of Gotham's founding families. This is also true in the comics, which suggested armaments, during the American Civil War, and then even more so during the World Wars. This has suggested that Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne, became a doctor and a charity runner out of liberal guilt.

In the very first episode, and only once thereafter, does Bruce (Adam West) mention that his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, were murdered by criminals. On no episode is the killer identified, as he was in the comics: Joe Chill, as a result of a robbery gone wrong -- or, depending on which writer is telling the story, it was a hit, hired by a gangster named Lew Moxon, who had a grudge against Dr. Wayne. Only in the 1989 Batman film is the murder committed by Jack Napier, the man who went on to become the Joker.

West was 37 years old when the pilot episode first aired, and, clearly, he's already a veteran crimefighter. Bruce has never been married, so, under the laws of the time, he couldn't adopt a child, but he could be the legal guardian for one. So it is with Dick Grayson -- played by Burt Ward, 20 at the time -- who gets his driver's license in the 2nd season, suggesting that he then turned 16.

In the comics, Dick was a gymnast, who with his parents performed as The Flying Graysons in a circus. The circus was sabotaged by a gangster, and Dick's parents were killed. Batman taught him to deal with his anger by fighting crime with his brain as well as with his fists, and the gangster was brought to justice.

Robin's origin was never touched upon on the show, but Bruce, both in costume and out, is constantly pushing Dick's education, both at his private school and in the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor. He wants Dick to be as smart as he is, and, at times, he seems so, but still has a lot to learn.

* When Gordon calls, Bruce will be doing something in line with the Wayne Foundation, or teaching Dick something, usually in the company of Dick's aunt, Harriet Cooper (Madge Blake), who does not know their secret. The longtime Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Alan Napier -- and his last name is never mentioned on the show), does know, and he walks into the room, and whispers in Bruce's ear, telling him that Gordon is calling.

* Bruce and Dick walk into Bruce's private study. Bruce picks up his extension of the red phone, a.k.a. the Batphone, and says, "Yes, Commissioner?" Gordon explains the problem. Bruce tells him they'll be right over. Bruce pulls on the head of a bust of William Shakespeare, and a bookcase moves back, to reveal two poles, similar to those of a firehouse. Bruce tells Dick, "To the Batpoles!" They slide down, still in their civilian clothes, and then the opening credits start.

* We come back from the 1st set of commercials, and Bruce and Dick reach the bottom of the poles, in their costumes. They run to the Batmobile, and the episode's title is shown. As they pull out of the cave, they reach a road, where a sign says, "Gotham City 14 miles." The credits show: "Special Guest Villain" (or "Special Guest Villainess"), the actor's name, and his (or her) character. If there's a 2nd villain, it's "Extra Special Guest Villain.") As they go down the highway, and then pull up in front of Police Headquarters, the episode's writer(s), producer(s) and director are named.

* Gordon and O'Hara brief Batman and Robin, a.k.a. the Caped Crusaders, a.k.a. the Dynamic Duo, on what they already know. Batman, often with help from Robin, makes a guess as to the villain's next move. They turn out to be right, but the villain gets away.

* Back at the Batcave, the Duo, often with Alfred's help, use their resources, including a Batcomputer, to make another deduction about the villain's moves. They figure it out.

* They get to the villain's hideout, and there's a fight! And with every impact of a fist or other object on the villain or a henchman, graphics appear on the screen: "POW!" "ZAP!" "BAM!" "SOCK!" "KAPOW!" "ZING!" and the ever-popular "OOOOFF!" Naturally, this is the Batman, the world's greatest hand-to-hand com-BAT-ant, and he's going to win the fight.

* But no! The Bat and the Boy Wonder lose the fight! And they end up trapped in some gizmo tied in with the theme of the villain's crimes! Much like in a James Bond film, the villain explains his plan, because it doesn't matter if Batman and Robin hear it, because they're not going to be alive to do anything about it! And then, the villain and his henchmen leave the Dynamic Duo to their fate!

* Dozier narrates again! Points out how they're trapped! Words on the screen! Always ending with an exclamation point! Can they get out of it? Dozier closes with, "Tune in tomorrow! Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!"

* And then the closing credits roll, showing a cartoon Bat-Signal over a cartoon city. Except, on the show, the Bat-Signal was rarely used: Nearly every time that Gordon wanted to contact Batman, it was in daylight, and so he used the Batphone.

* Then the viewer had to wait until Thursday night. The episode begins with a recap of the one before. Then the opening credits. Then, upon coming back from the commercials, Batman figures out an impossible way of getting out of the impossible situation. (While Bruce wanted Dick to learn all about science, the science of the show often didn't make sense.)

* They get back to the Batcave to talk to Alfred, or to GCPD HQ to talk to Gordon and O'Hara, to strategize.

* Finally, there is another knock-down-drag-out fight, and, this time, Batman and Robin win. Then, Gordon and/or O'Hara burst in, leading uniformed cops, and Batman tells them to take the bad boys away. Usually, Batman drops a line about how crime does not pay -- sometimes even acknowledging the villain's worthiness as an opponent, and saying something like, "If only he used his mind for good."

* The episode usually concludes either in Wayne Manor, with Aunt Harriet talking about how wonderful Batman and Robin are, not knowing that they're right there with her in the room; or in Gordon's office, with Batman summing things up and leaving, and Gordon wondering what the city would ever do without them, and sometimes wondering who they really are. And then, the closing credits.

In spite of all the fighting, it's basically just ordinary stuff. There's no lethal force, or even nearly-lethal stuff. If your experience with Batman is in any version from 1989 onward, and you've never seen this version, you may feel let down. Indeed, in the entire series, only 3 criminals ever die, all lackeys.

The most common villains were the more familiar ones from the comics: The Joker (Cesar Romero, who refused to shave his famous mustache, and so, instead of making it green like the Joker's hair, they put the same white makeup used for his face on it, but it can still clearly be seen), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin, with John Astin substituting on an occasion when Gorshin wanted more money), and Catwoman. 

In the comics, Catwoman tends to play both sides of the law, and even becomes Batman's main love interest. But on this show, while she'd love to get into Batman's tights, she's all evil. In the 1st season, she was played by Julie Newmar.

The 1st season was so successful, a movie was made, with those 4 main villains teaming up in an attempt to extort the whole world for big bucks. But Newmar was filming another movie, and was unavailable. So Lee Meriwether played Catwoman this one time. For the 2nd season, Newmar returned. 

For the 3rd season, the character was played by Eartha Kitt, a black actress, whose stage name even suggested a cat, and she not only played up the feline puns used by Newmar and Meriwether, but added her own distinctive purring sound. Of course, since this made Batman and Catwoman an interracial relationship, and this was 1968, the hints of them getting together were dropped.

Also scaled back due to the censors: The Joker's tendency to be a homicidal maniac. Romero's version was little more than a master criminal with clown makeup and, usually, joke themes to his gadgets and crimes. The comics' Joker would have considered him little more than an amateur, and maybe even an insult.

A character created for the comics a few years earlier, Mr. Zero, was renamed Mr. Freeze for the show, and the name change was applied to the comics. Like the Joker, Mr. Freeze's persona had been accidentally created by Batman in the comics. Unlike in the comics, this was never mentioned for the Joker, but it was for Mr. Freeze, and his 3 storylines -- 1st season, played by George Sanders; 2nd, by noted Swedish director Otto Preminger; 3rd, by Eli Wallach -- tended to be a bit darker.

Indeed, one of the darkest episodes, and one of the least "campy" (an adjective all too often correctly applied to this show), was Sanders' appearance, where he appeared to have frozen Batman and Robin to death. They couldn't get out of it themselves, and were very carefully thawed out by doctors.

The Mad Hatter was also adapted from the comics, played here by David Wayne. But the Scarecrow, one of the earlier Batman villains who has been adapted a few times recently, starting with Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, does not appear.

There was a plan to feature Two-Face. Famed science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison even contributed a script for an episode. And Clint Eastwood, just becoming a big star with his "Man With No Name" Western movies, was approached to play him. But the makeup department couldn't make a mask that made former District Attorney Harvey Dent's acid-scarred left profile not look too scary for kids. (Ellison's story was later adapted for a comic book, and an animated film based on it.) Nor did Clayface appear, and the special effects for his appearance would have stretched the show's already stretched budget.

So, with Two-Face and Clayface not viable options, a new character was created: False Face, a master of disguise who could appear to be anybody, including a Bat-ally, and was listed in the opening credits of both parts, and the closing credits of the 1st part, as simply "?" The closing credits of the 2nd part revealed the actor's name: Malachi Throne.

In fact, many villains were created just for the series, including Victor Buono as King Tut (a history professor who had come to think of himself as the ancient Egyptian Pharoah, now destined to rule the modern world), Vincent Price as Egghead (with his egg-shaped bald head and his egg-asperating puns), Roddy McDowall as the Bookworm (his episode was dark, as it began by having him appear to have masterminded Gordon's assassination), Milton Berle as flower-themed gangster Louie the Lilac, Van Johnson as the singing criminal the Minstrel (one of the less campy episodes), Art Carney as the Archer (this variation on Robin Hood didn't steal from the rich and give to the poor, he just stole and kept it); and, in the series' most-watched episode, Liberace as twins: Chandell, a renowned concert pianist, and his brother Harry, who used his brother's image (figuratively and literally) to commit crimes.

The show was successful enough that Dozier was approached about a 2nd superhero show. So he created a new version of the Green Hornet, starring Van Williams as newspaper publisher Britt Reid and a not-yet-famous Bruce Lee as his Chinese valet Kato. (Kato was Japanese in the 1930s radio show; and, because Japan was seen an enemy nation by then, Korean in the early 1940s film serials.)

The kick to The Green Hornet was that he was a good guy pretending to be a bad guy, so he could muscle in on the gangsters' territory, and then defeat them, and lead the police to them. The downside is that the public had to believe that the Hornet and his sidekick (the public never seemed to know his name, and no superhero "codename" was ever created for Kato) were master criminals, and so Reid had to keep up the illusion, by having his Daily Sentinel play this image up.

Aside from Kato, the only people who knew Reid's dual identity were his secretary, Lenore Case (Wende Wagner), and the District Attorney, Frank Scanlon (Walter Brooke). On the radio show, Reid's contact in law enforcement was the Police Commissioner, possibly inspiring Batman's Jim Gordon. To avoid confusion, Scanlon became a D.A. for the TV show.

The Green Hornet was considerably more serious than Batman: Williams said he wouldn't have done the show if it was silly. But the ratings never reached the heights. A crossover episode was done, explaining that Bruce Wayne and Britt Reid had been rivals since they were kids. The Hornet's city was never mentioned in his show's script, but in the Batman 2-parter, "A Piece of the Action" and "Batman's Satisfaction," airing on March 1 & 2, 1967, it's clear that Reid and Kato are "in town," meaning they don't live in Gotham. (The 2011 film The Green Hornet definitively places them in Los Angeles.) 

They compete with each other as Bruce & Dick and Britt & Kato, but also as Batman & Robin and the Green Hornet & Kato, fighting each other as well as a villain, Colonel Gumm (Roger C. Carmel, better known as Star Trek's Harry Mudd). 

They even get into a Bam! Smack! Pow! fight, in which Kato says to the Hornet, "It's a good thing those guys are on our side, even if they don't know it!" And Robin says to Batman, "It's a good thing those guys aren't in town every week!"

Lee, already a true martial arts master, told the writers and producers that he didn't mind losing a fight to Batman, since it was his show; but he refused to lose a fight to a sidekick like Robin. So the fight was rewritten as a draw, and the Hornet and Kato were the only "criminals" who ever truly got away from the Caped Crusaders.

The crossover didn't work, ratings-wise, and the show didn't get a 2nd season. Although there would be comic books featuring him thereafter, the Green Hornet didn't appear in live-action again until the horrible Seth Rogen film of 2011, and hasn't since.

After Batman's 2nd season, Madge Blake fell ill, and did not appear in most 3rd season episodes. So a new character was introduced: Yvonne Craig as Gordon's daughter, Barbara, a librarian, who, inspired by Batman, becomes Batgirl. In her 1st appearance, Alfred accidentally learns her identity, but she convinces him to tell no one -- and he doesn't even tell Batman. (In the comics, Batman and Robin know -- and she and Dick even date for a while).

Familiar Batman stories that began after 1968 are, of course, not touched upon in this show. Ra's al-Ghul and his daughter Talia, Professor Hugo Strange, Killer Croc, the Ventriloquist and his doll Scarface, Hush, Bane, and the Court of Owls do not appear.

Dick doesn't leave Batman and become the grownup hero Nightwing. There are no new Robins: No Jason Todd, no Tim Drake, no Stephanie Brown, no Damian Wayne, no Carrie Kelley. Batgirl is the only female counterpart: There's no Batwoman, no Huntress, no Lady Shiva, no Gotham Girl. And Batgirl is never shot and paralyzed by the Joker, forcing her to become the behind-the-scenes figure Oracle.

And George Reeves, who starred in The Adventures of Superman, had been dead since 1959, so there was no chance of a "World's Finest" crossover. Stanley Ralph Ross, a writer for Batman '66, created the Wonder Woman series that began with a pilot in 1975 and became a series the next year, starring Lynda Carter. And Christopher Reeve starred in the 1st of 4 Superman movies in 1978. But there was never a crossover between any two of Reeve, Carter and West.

No, we never got this. Nor did we ever get

Reeve, Carter, and Michael Keaton from the 1989 Batman film,

which could have added John Wesley Shipp from the 1990-91 Flash series.

Indeed, there was never an indication on either The Adventures of Superman, Batman ('66), or The New Original Wonder Woman that any other superheroes existed. On the Superman and Wonder Woman shows, there was no indication that there were even any non-powered costumed crimefighters. On Batman '66 (as it's sometimes known), the only other such characters were the Green Hornet and Kato. So, there were no superhero crossovers. No team-ups. No Justice League. No Earth-One or Earth-Two.

And we are all the poorer for it, old chum.

As of January 12, 2026, Burt Ward is the last survivor of the main cast. Adam West died in 2017. Of the supporting players: Madge Blake died in 1969, Stafford Repp in 1974, Neil Hamilton in 1984, Alan Napier in 1988, William Dozier in 1991, and Yvonne Craig in 2015.

Of the regular rotation of villains: George Sanders (Mr. Freeze in Season 1) died in 1972, Victor Buono (King Tut) in 1982, Otto Preminger (Mr. Freeze early in Season 2) in 1986, Vincent Price (Egghead) in 1993, Cesar Romero (the Joker) in 1994, David Wayne (the Mad Hatter) in 1995, Burgess Meredith (the Penguin) in 1997, Frank Gorshin (the Riddler in Seasons 1 & 3) in 2005, Eartha Kitt (Catwoman in Season 3) in 2008, and Eli Wallach (Mr. Freeze later in Season 2) in 2014.

There are 3 "Special Guest Villains" still alive: John Astin (the Riddler in Season 2); Joan Collins (the Siren), and Julie Newmar (Catwoman in Seasons 1 & 2 before giving way to Eartha Kitt). You could make it 4, counting Lee Meriwether (Catwoman in the movie made from the show).