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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.
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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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.
Spoiler alert: The list is LONG!
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.