Batman Star Dies At Age 88 Surrounded By His Family After Short Battle With Leukemia

The actor passed away at the age of 88 after a short battle with leukemia and was surrounded by his wife, Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

After the ABC show died out, West struggled with being typecast and had a hard time finding consistent work until he got a job on the cartoon Family Guy in 2000.

Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans' lives. He was and always will be our hero,' his family said in a statement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

His family also posted to Facebook after his passing.

It's with great sadness that we are sharing this news... Adam West passed away peacefully last night after a short but brave battle with leukemia,' his family wrote.

He was a beloved father, husband, grandfather, and great-grandfather. There are no words to describe how much we'll miss him.

We know you'll miss him too and we want you to know how much your love and support meant to him throughout the years. Hug your loved ones today.'

Burt Ward, the Robin to West's Batman, said he was devastated by the loss of his close friend and co-star from the show.

Adam and I had a special friendship for more than 50 years,' he said in a statement reported by Variety.

We shared some of the most fun times of our lives together. Our families have deep love and respect for each other.

This is a terribly unexpected loss of my lifelong friend. I will forever miss him.

There are several fine actors who have portrayed Batman in films. In my eyes, there was only one real Batman that is and always will be Adam West. He was truly the Bright Night.'

Stellar, exemplar, a king to the end,' Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman, said in a statement.

He was bright, witty and fun to work with. I will miss him in the physical world and savor him always in the world of imagination and creativity.

He meant so much to people. A friend said: "The father that we wanted." That is a great gift, no matter how you live it.'

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy posted a statement to Twitter about West's passing.

Family Guy has lost its mayor, and I have lost a friend,' he wrote. 'Adam West was a joy to work with, and the kind of guy you always wanted to be around.

His positivity, good nature and sense of fun were undeniable, and it was always a big jolt of the best kind of energy when he walked in to record the show. He knew comedy, and he knew humanity.

I am beyond fortunate to have had the privilege of working with him and he will be profoundly missed by all of us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have given, Mr Mayor. You're irreplaceable.'

Comedian Seth Green who also worked with West on Family Guy said: 'He was a true hero of mine — grew up watching him as Batman, and got the privilege of both working with and directing him.'

He’s generous and always classy. Very sad to think of the world without our beloved Mayor. How lucky we are he left so much behind.'

West was born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington. He was the second of two sons.

His father Otto was a wheat farmer and his mother Audrey was a pianist and opera singer. After his parents divorced, West, who was 15, moved to Seattle with his mother.

He graduated from Whitman College, a private liberal arts school, in Walla Walla.

After serving in the Army, he went to Hollywood and took the stage name of Adam West.

He began appearing on a number of television series, including 'Bonanza,' 'Perry Mason' and 'Bewitched.'

He caught the attention of Batman's producer after he played a James Bond-type character in a commercial for Nestle.

After reading the pilot script of the show, he said in a 2006 interview he 'knew after 20 pages that it was the kind of comedy I wanted to do'.

You can’t play Batman in a serious, square-jawed, straight-ahead way without giving the audience the sense that there’s something behind that mask waiting to get out, that he’s a little crazed, he’s strange,' he said.

After debuting on January 12, 1966, Batman was an immediate hit and was nominated for the Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series in its first year, though it lost to The Dick Van Dyke Show.

A movie for the series was hurried into production and played in theaters ahead of the second season, which aired starting in September 1966.

But after the show's third season, it lost popularity and Batman was canceled in March 1968.

West's portrayal of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne made it difficult for him to find consistent work after the show because of his association with the superhero.

He initially chaffed at being typecast after Batman went off the air, but in later years he admitted he was pleased to have had a role in kicking off a big-budget film franchise by showing the character's wide appeal.

You get terribly typecast playing a character like that,' he told The Associated Press in a 2014 interview.

But in the overall, I'm delighted because my character became iconic and has opened a lot of doors in other ways, too.'

West starred in a pilot episode of Lookwell, a show written by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel, but the show, about a former television detective who tried to solve crimes in real life, was never picked up.

O'Brien posted to Twitter: 'Adam West gave probably the most inspired and ingenious performances in the history of television.

He is revered by my generation of comic minds. He was also a sweet and lovely man, and it was a rare honor to know him.'

West eventually landed a job in 2000, voicing a character on the cartoon Family Guy, as the mayor of Quahong, also named Adam West.

But Batman was the role he would remain associated with throughout his life.

The TV show was among the most popular in 1966, the year of its debut, and some of the era's top actors signed on to play villains.

Burgess Meredith squawked as the Penguin. Eartha Kitt purred as Catwoman. And Cesar Romero cackled as the Joker.

Years later, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck would don Bruce Wayne's camouflaging cape and cowl.

West was married three times, and had six children. He had homes in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, but he and his wife, Marcelle, spent most of their time at their ranch near Sun Valley, Idaho.

In April 2012, West received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The comedian was active on social media, writing witty messages and posting pictures for his 'Batfans' even as recently as April.

 Source: Daily Mail