Adam West, TV’s most prolific Batman, passes away aged 88

It’s with great sadness that we bring you the news that Adam West has passed away. At the age of 88 West had been battling leukaemia for a short period and lost that battle yesterday. Reports state that he was surrounded by family in his final hours.

He is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In a statement his family said “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.”

Aside from starring in the 1966 Batman series alongside Burt Ward West was known for voice roles in Family Guy, The Batman and Scooby Doo! to name but a few. He also starred in over 50 films including Drop Dead Gorgeous, An American Vampire Story and Nevada Smith.

More recently West starred in an episode of The Big Bang Theory and recorded his last live action appearance for an as-yet-unaired episode of DC Comics series Powerless. Last year he re-teamed with his Robin – Burt Ward – for the animated caper Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. The animated film saw the DC Comics line of direct-to-video releases stray in to comedy territory recreating the 60s TV series perfectly.

It had been announced that a followup animated film also starring William Shatner as Two-Face was in development. No news yet on whether the release of that film has been impacted.

We send our condolences to his family and legions of fans. Rest in peace old chum.