It occurred to me the other day that the world's problems seemed so much more simple back in the 60's when Batman was on TV fighting crime. Imagine how much easier things would be today if we still had Batman and Robin....as soon as a problem is detected, the President would simply pick up the Batphone to request help to fight the baddies. Batman and Robin were experienced and capable of foiling plots of some of the most fiendish, evil villains and criminals ever known. I'm sure they could have stopped terrorism too. Upon receipt of the call, and with a cry of "To the Bat Cave", the Dynamic Duo would slide down their pole and jump into the Batmobile to fight crime and save the country. Ah yes, I would rest so much easier at night if they were still around. This brings me to another scintillating edition of:
The Saturday Seven: Favorite Villains Foiled by Batman and Robin
The classic TV series of the 1960's had a cast of villains played by well known actors who were among the biggest names in Hollywood at that time. Here are my favorites:
#1 The Penguin- Burgess Meredith scared me as a kid. He was so evil that I would avert my eyes for a brief moment when he first appeared on the scene. And that evil cackle...
The classic TV series of the 1960's had a cast of villains played by well known actors who were among the biggest names in Hollywood at that time. Here are my favorites:
#1 The Penguin- Burgess Meredith scared me as a kid. He was so evil that I would avert my eyes for a brief moment when he first appeared on the scene. And that evil cackle...
#2 The Joker- Cesar Romero was so good in this role as a demented baddie. His laugh was maniacal and menacing.
#3 The Riddler- Frank Gorshin was nimble and seemed to creep and crawl around, leaving cleverly written mysteries for The Dynamic Duo to solve. I secretly admired him for his brains.
#4 Cat Woman- Julie Newmar (also Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriweather too). She was a skilled high-stakes burglar who could stop Batman with her whip and sex-appeal.
#5 Egghead- Vincent Price masterfully played the "world's smartest criminal". I was always fascinated by how his crimes would have an egg-motif to them. He peppered his language with ridiculous puns like "egg-zactly" and "egg-cellent." The best part was the egg-shaped weapons, such as laughing gas eggs and tear gas eggs, which were laid by chickens that he fed onions to!
#6 Mr Freeze- Otto Preminger was the frigid mad scientist doing bad things with an ice and cold theme. He couldn't help it...he had a medical condition where body temperature was always cold, requiring him to wear a refrigerated “ice suit” to survive. I was hokey but it worked.
#7 Tied: Louie the Lilac (Milton Berle) and Chandel "Fingers" (Liberace)- both were difficult to take seriously, but I liked them when they were on the show.
Above: the criminals scheme and plot...
Who were YOUR favorite Batman TV villains of the 60's? Go ahead, leave a comment, I'm running a special, its FREE ALL DAY TODAY!
-Rick Rockhill
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