He breathed life into Batman. Adam West was born Billy (William) West Anderson in Walla Walla, Washington, to parents Otto West Anderson and his wife Audrey. At age 10, Adam had a cache of comic books, and Batman made a big impression on him -- the comic hero was part bat-man (ala Count Dracula) and part world's greatest detective (ala Charlie Chan and Sherlock Holmes). When his mom remarried to a Dr. Paul Flothow, she took Adam and his younger brother, John, to Seattle. At 14, Adam attended Lakeside School, then went to Whitman College, where he got a degree in literature and psychology. During his last year of college he also married 17-year-old Billie Lou Yeager.

Adam got a job as a DJ at a local radio station, then enrolled at Stanford for post-grad courses. Drafted into the Army, he spent the next 2 years starting military TV stations, first at San Luis Obispo, CA, then at Fort Monmouth, NJ. Afterwards, Adam and his wife toured Europe, visiting Germany, Switzerland and Italy's Isle of Capri. When the money ran out, he joined a childhood and college buddy, Carl Hebenstreit, who was starring in the kiddie program "The Kini Popo Show" in Hawaii. Adam would eventually replace Carl but not the other star, Peaches the Chimp. In 1956, he got a divorce, and married a beautiful girl, originally from Tahiti, named Ngatokoruaimatauaia Frisbie Dawson (he called her "Nga" for short). They had a daughter, Jonelle, in 1957 and a son, Hunter, in 1958. In 1959, Adam came to Hollywood. He adopted the stage name "Adam West." which fit his roles, as he was in some Westerns.

After 7 years in tinseltown, he achieved fame in 1966, in his signature role as Batman, in the wildly popular ABC TV series. (Though he has over 60 movie and over 80 TV guest appearance credits, Batman is what the fans remember him for.) The _"Batman" (1966/II)_ TV series, which lasted three seasons, made him not just nationally but internationally famous. The movie version earned Adam the "Most Promising New Star" award in 1967. The downside was the Batman fame was partly responsible for ruining his marriage, and he would be typecast and almost unemployable for a while after the series ended (he did nothing but personal appearances for 2 years).

In 1972 he met, and then married Marcelle Tagand Lear, so he got two stepkids, Moya and Jill. In addition, they had two children of their own: Nina in 1976 and Perrin in 1979. You can't keep a good actor down -- Adam's career took off again, and he has been in about 50 projects since then: movies, TV-movies, and sometimes doing voices in TV series. Adam wrote his autobiography "Back to the Batcave" in 1994. One of his most prized possessions is a drawing of Batman by Bob Kane with the inscription "To my buddy, Adam, who breathed life into my pen and ink creation."
Batman (1966): $100,000
After playing the role a resourceful secret agent in a Nestle's Quik commercial in the early 60s, he caught the eye of some ABC execs. They figured that he might be right for an upcoming TV show that was about to be produced, _"Batman" (1966/II)_ . The rest is history. Adam's daughter Nina West is the host of the TV Land show "Real Estate." She is also a model and has twice appeared with her father on Howard Stern's radio show. West once appeared on the The Adventures of Batman & Robin animated series playing - of all things - an out-of-work actor who was unable to escape his identification with the role of a superhero he had played decades earlier, the Gray Ghost. Prior to this, West had supplied the voice of Batman on the SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show animated series. Enjoys fishing. Was the third actor to play Batman (though some may credit him as the first, as the old serials are much more obscure than West's _"Batman" (1966/II)_ TV series). Father of Nina West. Member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity He has his own web page where you can purchase his book, get memorabilia and even send him E-mail. According to DC Comics statistics, Batman stands 6-foot-2. Of all the actors who have played Batman, West is believed to be the only one who stood the same height. Had his creative dentist add a little black Batman logo to one of his molars.