Before he was Batman, Adam West guest-starred on Petticoat Junction and Perry Mason

There was no need for him to hide his face and throw on a cape in these roles.

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When you hear the name Adam West, you think of Batman. That's common because the 1966 series was popular; many will always see him as the superhero. Although it only lasted three seasons, the impact it had on comic shows to follow was huge.

Adam West was a man of many talents who saw success early in his career. We may always know him for his cape and half mask, but did you know he guest-starred on many classic shows?

Two of those shows were Petticoat Junction and Perry Mason. They're two completely different genres which was a great way for West to show how versatile he could be. The roles on the shows ranged from a journalist to a folk singer and a young physician.

From 1961 to 1962, West made two separate appearances on Perry Mason. The first part was "The Case of the Barefaced Witness," where the actor played a small-town journalist named Dan Southern.

The episode is about a man, Fred Swan, who was released from prison after embezzling money from his bank. He ends up dead, and the person found standing over his body is West's character.

One of the most-known lines from the episodes was said by West, "legally, you may be free, but morally you're still a thief." He was also in the episode "The Case of the Bogus Books," where he played a folk singer.

Two years later, in 1964, West took a trip to the rural side of television production and appeared on Paul Henning's Petticoat Junction as a young physician. One of the episodes was "My Daughter The Doctor."

Although the roles were in two different genres, there were some similarities. When West was young, he played youthful, attractive and stylish characters.

He also appeared in a few movies before getting the role of Batman, which the actor mentioned was both a blessing and a curse. The part might've been career-defining, but it also caused him and other castmates to be typecast.

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34 Comments

PDCougar 18 months ago
Fun fact: Since 2017, Adam West's hometown of Walla Walla, Washington, has held a day-long "Adam West Day" celebration during September, around the time of his birthday. Members of his family show up every year.
cperrynaples PDCougar 18 months ago
True, and I believe Daffy's salesman came from that city! You have to admit that's a funny name for a town...LOL!
Mblack cperrynaples 18 months ago
At least there's alliteration.
cperrynaples Mblack 18 months ago
Well, I call it redundancy...LOL!
kb7rky 18 months ago
He was, without a doubt, "The Best Batman".
WilliamHogan 18 months ago
West also guest starred on an early Bewitched episode "Love is Blind".
Runeshaper 18 months ago
Adam West was a GREAT Batman and I've always enjoyed seeing him in other roles as well!
justjeff 18 months ago
A sidebar... I just wanted to show off a milestone in my type design work... I've now completed my 2000th commercial font design since starting in this field way back in January, 2006!
Runeshaper justjeff 18 months ago
Looks cool!
LoveMETV22 justjeff 18 months ago
Congratulations. Happy 2000th!
justjeff LoveMETV22 18 months ago
Much obliged!
justjeff Runeshaper 18 months ago
Thank you!
justjeff 18 months ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqeuvdumHg4

The Detectives (Robert Taylor, Adam West) Strangers in the House

Future Batman Adam West, future Lost in Space star Mark Goddard and future head of the Mod Squad Tige Andrews join Robert Taylor in separating the students from the lethal punks at Wellington School.
justjeff 18 months ago
This link will show you just how prolific Adam West's acting work was... https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0001842/fullcredits

Spoiler alert: The list is LONG!
cperrynaples justjeff 18 months ago
It certainly is! His Once A Hero was never seen and his last one on the DC sitcom [forgot the title] was only viral! And let's not forget Young Lady Chatterly 2 and the superhero school sketch on Howard Stern that introduced F_rtman [cleaned it up]!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 18 months ago
Update: The show I refered to was Powerless and you can see it on the CW app! Also, there's a 77SS marathon on Decades today! Sadly, it seems to omit all 3 West episodes! However, it does include the rarely seen Season 6 episode with Clock King, Joker & Penguin! Even Tony Bennett's in it...LOL!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 18 months ago
PS also Telly Savalas [Talky Tina's victim] and a young Erik Braden!
BrittReid 18 months ago
Black Scorpion EMERGENCY Police Woman.
Mblack 18 months ago
He was in the ever popular Robinson Crusoe on Mars, from 1964.
cperrynaples 18 months ago
So many guest shots! Limiting myself to current MeTV shows, they include The Love Boat, Mannix, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Bonanza & Maverick! My personal favorite among non-Batmans is Mr. Hyde on Night Gallery! Bonus Question: What was Adam's last line in that bit?
cperrynaples cperrynaples 18 months ago
"If I've told you once I told you a thousand times: go easy on the vermouth!" Fun Fact: At the start of the original episode, Serling called himself the malnourished Hitchcock! Actually, he's more like Alfred on Weight Watchers...LOL!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 18 months ago
And that line is funnier if you do in the Batman voice...LOL!
Mark 18 months ago
For you sci-fi/bad movie fanatics, he also appeared on The Outer Limits ("The Invisible Enemy") and in the movie Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

West was also in the final season of The Detectives, as one of the cops in Robert Taylor's unit. The other two cops were guys who would also become familiar faces a few years later...Mark Goddard of Lost In Space and Tige Andrews of Mod Squad.
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Bricat2001 18 months ago
Svengoolie would be a good fit for it to the films to be on
cperrynaples 18 months ago
Apology: The movie I meant to say was "...In Orbit" NOT "Around The World In A Daze"! I must have been dazed myself...LOL! And I believe the alternative title was "Have Rocket, Will Travel"!
18 months ago
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