What you're about to watch is a TV ad from the early 1970s, featuring YVONNE CRAIG, BURT WARD, and DICK GAUTIER - doing a pretty fair impression of ADAM WEST. The original ad was a little longer, with an intro shot of BATGIRL on her Batcycle, and the exterior of the building in which the Dynamic Duo are held captive. The ad ends in the style of the '60s TV show.
However, the full ad's quality on YouTube isn't great, whereas the above one is better. (I've included the original ad below, so that you can see the full thing, Bat-fans.) Dick Gautier died recently, but he was a well-known, well-respected actor and artist, who played HYMIE the robot in the GET SMART TV show, and STANLEY BEAMISH's boss HAL in MISTER TERRIFIC in the 1960s. Believe me, though - that hardly does justice to his long career.
I remember the ad, and, at the time, I would have remembered Dick Gautier from Get Smart and Mister Terrific, although I did not recognize him as Batman. I was pretty sure that it was not Adam West. And I thought at the time that Batgirl either must have really been played by Yvonne Craig, or by an actress doing a very accurate imitation of her.
ReplyDeleteIn the 1970's, Gautier played Robin Hood in a TV comedy series created by Mel Brooks. He was also a cartoonist, and authored a couple of books on how to draw caricatures.
I used to watch Get Smart in the '60s, but I don't remember Hymie the robot. I DO remember a robot in '70s TV show Holmes & Yoyo (or Yo-Yo), played by John Schuck, the second actor to play Herman Munster (in a later revival of the show). Schuck was the robot called Yoyo, and I wonder if the character was based on Hymie. Yup, knew about Gautier's books, which is why I referred to him as an artist as well as an actor. I believe he could sing a bit too.
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