 |
| Banner announcing Batman (Adam West) at the Shrine Circus in Evansville, Indiana, November 1977. |
Adam West (1928 - 2017) was the beloved actor known best for his role as the title character on the 1966-1969 television series "Batman." After acting for several years in various film and TV roles with limited success, "Batman" made him an international star and for a time the series was the hottest thing on TV. After the series was cancelled, West fell on hard times, finding it difficult to escape his past fame as the Caped Crusader. Eventually, his career would rebound, and he would again find some renewed success voicing the mayor on the popular cartoon "Family Guy." West would remain in-demand on the comics and pop-culture convention circuit until his passing in 2017.
 |
| Adam West as Batman visits a young patient at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana, 1977. |
It seems that nearly everyone loved Adam West. For many people, he was their first introduction to the Batman character. Additionally, for a great number of those people, he is the embodiment of the comic book hero and all others who took on the role before and since are merely pretenders to the crown. Even critics of the show that feel it diminished and ridiculed the source material, sullying the public's perception of the Dark Knight detective with its campy approach, still seem have a certain reverence for West. And his later role as Mayor West would garner him a wider, younger fan base that appreciated his turn as the quirky character.
Yes, it seems that nearly everyone loved Adam West... but me.
Now, before I am barraged by a chorus of boos and jeers, I must explain myself: I grew up watching the syndicated reruns of the "Batman" series, having been born after its initial run on network TV. I can't tell you with certainty if those reruns were my first exposure to the character since it's possible that was from reading the comic books, or even watching the "Super Friends" cartoon every Saturday morning. But I was a regular viewer of those "Batman" reruns as a child, and enjoyed them very much. In fact, I was excited when my family went to see Adam West at a live appearance as Batman at the annual Hadi Shrine circus in November of 1977.
 |
| Newspaper advertisement, 1977. |
Admittedly, being the relatively ripe old age of eight-years-old, I can't recall much about this appearance. However, the one thing that still sticks with me is that Adam West snubbed me. After the night's performance, my family and I went to the backstage along with a group of other families for a sort of meet and greet with West. We youngsters excitedly waited to see our hero and speak with him, as West emerged from the stage. But, instead of greeting us, West made a beeline straight for his bus. He did nothing to acknowledge us pint-sized admirers who had been waiting as patiently as a kid could on the sidelines. Not a simple greeting, nor a casual glance in our direction, though he was definitely aware of our presence.
If you think us youngsters were unhappy at being snubbed by our favorite TV superhero, my father left feeling positively incensed at how his children were ignored. Riding back home in the car with my family, I began drawing a picture of Batman on the program book from the circus. When my father realized what I was doing, he snapped, "Why are you drawing that (expletive)?" "Because," I replied, "Adam West is not Batman."
I would continue to watch the reruns. I enjoyed the series to this day for what it was, even if I had soured on the lead actor. Admittedly, whenever I thought of Adam West in the years that followed that night, it was always tainted with the memory of what happened at the circus. I would later hear tales from other kids who saw Adam West and even Burt Ward at other appearances that the two would sometimes be in costume drinking beer, and such. These alleged occurrences did nothing to help change my view of West. In fact, it cemented for me that my own experience was apparently not an aberration of some sort.
 |
| Newspaper advertisement, 1977. |
Now, I recall him writing in that book that the cannon incident was at a circus. In fact, his only appearance in Evansville during the era he described was at that Hadi Shrine circus performance. I mention this because in the years to come, whenever this tale is recounted in interviews and articles, it is most often reported as having been at a carnival. The closest thing to a carnival in Evansville, Indiana is the West Side Nut Club's Fall Festival, and he never publicly appeared at that festival. I no longer have access to the book to check again on what West and Rovin actually wrote, as it is no longer available at the libraries in my city, and on eBay and other online resellers the price to buy a copy of the book is more than I am willing to spend to verify the matter.
Over the years, the story about Adam West being fired out of a cannon was reported in a number of articles. The gist of the story is that same, but the locale and actual year is often given incorrectly. Let's take a look at some of these news stories:
By Robert Chalmers (Independent UK), August 14, 2005
"…His lowest point came when he was in his Batman suit – this, remember, is a man who could have had a career as a Stanford academic – waiting to be fired out of a cannon, at a carnival in Evansville, Indiana."
By Peter Sheridan (Express UK), November 15, 2014
"...By the early 1970s he (West) had hit rock bottom, finding himself squeezed into a giant cannon, wearing his old Batman costume, waiting to be fired across a carnival in Evansville, Indiana... "
"...'I was doing things I wasn't very comfortable doing. I was not the kind of guy that I respected very much. I'd do anything for money. There were definitely times when I regretted ever being Batman.'...."
By Matt Zoller Seitz (Vulture), June 10, 2017
"...By the early 1970s he had hit rock bottom, finding himself squeezed into a giant cannon, wearing his old Batman costume, waiting to be fired across a carnival in Evansville, Indiana....."
Hmm... It appears that the Vulture article pretty much lifted a line from the Express UK website. Huh. No wonder the story of the appearance being at a "carnival" is so prevalent when articles are being written cut-n-paste style!
By Terence Towles Canote (A Shroud of Thoughts), June 10, 2017
"...To make ends meet he often appeared in the Batman costume at county fairs, rodeos, and store openings. Perhaps the lowest point of his career came when he was shot out of a cannon in costume at the Hadi Shrine Circus in Evansville, Indiana in November 1977...."
Here's a few more....
Adam West, Batman actor – obituary
The Telegraph (UK), June 11, 2017
"...He found himself in costume – with no stunt double – being fired out of a cannon at a county fair in Evansville, Indiana, that he realised he would have to take whatever he could get...."
By Servo Jefferson (Tattoodo), June 12, 2017
"...For many years he would work events in character as Batman, until he hit what he described as a personal low while waiting to be fired out of a cannon at a carnival in Evansville, Indiana while dressed as the caped crusader....."
By Joseph McCabe (SFX magazine #290) , July 19, 2017
"...Forced to rely on personal appearances to earn a living, he at one point suffered the indignity of being shot out of a cannon in his Batman costume at a carnival in Evansville, Indiana...."
By Kathrine Beck (History Link), April 29, 2019
"...After Batman, the typecast West had a tough time getting what work he could, including attending fan events. He later said he felt at his lowest ebb when being shot out of a cannon in his Batman costume in Evansville, Indiana...."
And here the tale is recounted on E! True Hollywood Story (1999) for the episode titled "Batman Unmasked: Adam West":
Narrator (starting around the 31:26 time mark):
"...In 1976 (sic), the 48-year-old actor reached an all-time low, when he put on his Batman costume and proceeded to climb into a cannon to be shot across the sky during a personal appearance in Indiana...."
The "True Hollywood" story gets the year wrong. As noted, the appearance was in 1977, not 1976.
And one last example, from the 2013 documentary "Starring Adam West" (Film Buff):
West's agent Fred Westbrook recounts, "It's now the mid '70's... Adam's getting shot out of a cannon at a carnival. It was a low time in his life...."
A carnival... A county fair... Regardless of the erroneous reporting, it was that appearance at the Shrine circus in 1977 that was being referenced by West in his book. And having read that West considered that period, and particularly that specific appearance, to be the very lowest point of his career I almost began to feel differently about my own experience in trying to meet him when I was a child. Almost... But, I still couldn't help but feel some degree of resentment. We were just kids he snubbed, after all. Still, I tried to find some modicum of sympathy for the actor's plight.
 |
| Photo taken at the 1977 Shrine Circus in Evansville, Indiana. |
Interestingly, when West spoke of this period, he always made it seem as if he had a great epiphany about making such appearances. Interestingly, he would continue to make such appearances for years to come in spite of his life reassessment. In fact, he even returned to Evansville in 1986, along with his one-time co-star Burt Ward for the World of Wheels car show. Ironically, West in Batman gear tells local TV news reporter Derrick Wilkerson that "Evansville is one of my favorite cities."
In fairness, while being derisive about being in a circus in Evansville, I guess West never did compare being in Evansville to living in Prague as Madonna had done when she stayed in the city to film "A League of Their Own" in 1991. She couldn't watch her MTV at the house where she stayed, you see...
Anyway, in 2010, a friend and I went to the Wizard World Chicago comic book convention where West along with Burt Ward and Julie Newmar were appearing as celebrity guests. My past near-encounter with West still strong in my mind, if somewhat tempered by what I had learned of West's plight over the years, I was not exactly interested in paying the man for an autograph. My friend, however, was really excited to get to meet West and Ward, and planned to pay extra to get a picture with both of them in front of a replica of the 1960s' Batmobile. I accompanied my friend in the line as he approached the table where West sat with his agent.
At the time we were in queue, there was hardly anyone else in line. My friend stood in front of West at the signing table, telling West about how much of a fan he was, and such. West said nothing, his head pointed downward while he doodled some odd shape on a scrap piece of paper. He only looked up once, peering at my friend through the side of his eye as my friend made some mention of West's role on "Family Guy." West remained silent and went back to his doodling as his agent explained the cost for my friend to get his photograph with West and Ward.
My friend, a big, friendly, and silly sort, got his picture taken with then two "Batman" stars while he wore his own ill-fitting Batman outfit. By this point, neither West nor Ward were appearing is costumes at appearances, themselves. After getting his photo taken with he two actors, my friend came up to me and told me of how friendly West was acting. 'Yeah," I noted, "he'd better be. You paid them $200 for that photo!" Yep, you read that right. I'd smile if I got that every time I took a picture, too!
 |
| Adam West, my goofy pal, and Burt Ward pose in front of a replica of the 1966 Batmobile at Wizard World Chicago, 2010. |
So... I honestly remain mixed on how to think about the man, Adam West. I will still watch his "Batman" series, and in fact I own the Blu-Ray set. I also get a kick out of his appearances as Mayor West on "Family Guy," and I'm not opposed to watching his other work in film or TV. Still, the Wizard World appearance didn't do much to change my overall perception of the man. For many fans Adam West is their "Batman," but for me he is an actor who played the role of a character I like.
People, especially children, sometimes think too highly of celebrities. Society tends to put them on a pedestal, and deify them. I learned the lesson that day in 1977 as young fan at the circus that celebrities are all-too human.
Now, this would normally be a good spot to end my blog entry, but there is something of a mystery about what really happened concerning Adam West and his story about being fired out of a cannon at that 1977 appearance. That mystery being: Did Adam West really get fired from a cannon? This matter was raised on a message board dedicated to the 1966 Batman TV show. In fact, the message board is called the 1966 Batman Message Board!
Now, my memory is somewhat foggy, being that I was still a youngster at the time, but I don't recall Adam West actually having been fired from a cannon. I asked my mother if she remembered such a thing, and she didn't think so. On that message board, one member wrote that he lived in Evansville at the time, and says he remembered the cannon-firing:
Board member Clavier Ankh (June 26, 2017) :
"...I have no way to prove it, no photo's etc. However I was there when West was shot out of the cannon. I was 11 years old at the time and remember how bizarre I thought it was. He also did a short skit chasing a couple of bad guys... and pulled a lucky kid out of the crowd to be his sidekick, and snapped a Robin cape on him...."
Note: Contemporary articles from the Evansville Courier and Press newspapers mention that West invited a child from the audience to play the role of Robin. One, in fact, reported, "Batman will have at least eight young area fans who'll never forget his Hadi Shrine Circus visit for, as part of his routine, he selects a substitute Robin each show." Poor girls in the audience were apparently out of luck to be picked as a female Robin, or Batgirl.
Clavier Ankh (continued):
"...I have a friend that went to a different performance than did (i went to one of the first, if not the first) and he said West was not shot out of the cannon at the one he went to. I can't imagine that SOMEONE in the Evansville audience didn't snap a photo...."
According to my mother, my family did not attend the first night of the circus, which ran from November 24 - 27, 1977. Is it possible that the act was not repeated after the opening night? Could it have been stopped for safety reasons, or at the protest of West, who might have not wanted to go through the experience again?
Another message board member wrote of his recollections:
Board member EmergencyIan (September 20, 2017):
"...I'm from Evansville and was at the Friday evening show ...Adam West came out as the final act, of course. I remember him explaining that Robin wasn't there because he was off fighting the Catwoman. So he was chasing around some villains who eventually got into this rocket shaped flying ship that went around in circles. I guess it took off (was supposed to have) and in order to catch them, Batman got into the canon and blasted off. It may have ended with them being apprehended by Batman, but I just can't recall. I seem to remember Adam wearing a helmet over his cowl....."
While both Clavier Ankh and Emergencylan both recall a cannon, there is some discrepancy between their stories.
Board member Clavier Ankh (October 25, 2017):
"...I don't remember Adam putting on (or taking off) a extra helmet, but a kid lighting the cannon fuse sounds familiar. Maybe the boy who lit the fuse in the show that I was at was the kid Adam picked out of the crowd to be his 'Robin'?...."
In a Facebook group, a picture was posted of fourth grade student Anthony Sumner, dressed as a clown, with West. He reportedly is the one who lit the fuse of the cannon. Sumner had won his school's "Clown for a Day" contest, with the prize being to perform with West at the Circus.
 |
| Adam West with Anthony Sumner (dressed as a clown), Evansville, 1977 |
The Evansville Press Metro article by Roberta Helman made no mention of West being fired from the cannon. Her overall review of the circus was positive, but she gave an unflattering assessment of West's performance, noting about it, "there is no act as such." She remarks that what he did mainly consisted of repartee with the audience that she found to be over the heads of the children in the audience. However, she does mention that the final act following West was " a takeoff on the popular Star Wars movie theme, with a man and woman performing an aerial act from a rocket."
This aerial act was known as the Quassar Rocket Act, I learned in researching this entry for my blog, and was performed by the late Bill Strong and his wife Trudy. Here is some information regarding that act: Circus Report #7 (Fifth Year):
February 16, 1976 "...Bill Strong asks me to announce that he and Trudy will POSITIVELY retire their "Pharaoh"cradle act the end of this season, and that he has personally 'retired' from all other circus activities except his new "Quassar" rocket act. The act is really different. They enter on a saucer, have a mechanical ro-bot in the ring, plus a spaceman. Bill has discovered a new system for the use of "dry ice" to create "fog" and will use a ray gun gimmick and flash pots for their 'war of the worlds' entrance. Most of the act, incidentally, is already built and being used...."
 |
| Bill and Trudy Strong perform the 'Quassar Rocket Act' at Hamid Morton Circus in 1977 |
A photo posted years ago by Bill Strong on his online blog showed West standing beside his wife Trudy and their young son, Steven. The board members of the 1966 Batman questioned whether the soles on the boots of West's Batman costume in the picture were as thick as they appeared due to the supposed cannon act. Still, nothing I have turned up supports that having happened, so who knows what the deal is with those boots?
 |
| Adam West with Trudy and Steven Strong, Evansville, 1977. |
None of the articles or advertisements leading up to the event mentioned Batman being fired from a cannon. Not the article by writer Jeanne Suhrheinrich, which is quite detailed in its mention of the acts at the circus, nor another article in the same edition of the paper by Bob Holliday, who writes about West's arrival, appearance on WNIN-TV (channel 9)'s Prime Time Nine show, where West flirted with female co-host Camille Fife. Interestingly, Holliday's article does contain an error which I am uncertain if it is the mistake of the reporter, or if he was told incorrect information: The article gives Adam West's age as 38. In November of 1977, West was in fact 49-years-old.
 |
| Article about Adam West coming to Evansville for the 1977 Shrine Circus. |
The final day of the circus, the Evansville newspaper featured one last article, with many photos taken by Randy Dieter. None of these photos contain West as Batman, and none show a cannon act with or without West, nor is there any mention of it in the accompanying text.
A fellow comic book seller in my area chimed in with his own recollection in a Facebook group discussion on this matter:
Tony Starks: "...I was at the circus for one of the shows and I interviewed Adam West back stage for the USI (then ISUE) school newspaper (The Shield)... I don't recall Adam West being shot out of a cannon. This was over 40 years ago so I can't swear he was NOT shot out of a cannon. but I don't recall that. What I remember is some skit were villains tried to sneak up on him. If Adam West said in his autobiography he was shot out of a cannon at the Shrine Circus in Evansville, Indiana it seems likely that it's true. He would remember better than anyone else. And maybe he wasn't shot out of a cannon for every performance...."
There is no mention in several contemporary articles that covered the circus and West's appearance there, no published photographs from the period, and what few photos made public online that were taken by people who attended the circus also do not show any real evidence that West was actually fired from a cannon at this event. No concrete proof seems to exist. Adam West was also not beyond 'enhancing' a tale for effect, as discussed in the "To The Batpoles" podcast that discussed some discrepancies West told in his autobiography.
After going through the microfiche files at the local library, and searching several sites online, I decided to ask my oldest brother about this matter. He was there at the circus as a youth with the rest of my family, and he told me that he doesn't remember the cannon act, either. Of some note is that my brother happens to Potentate at the Evansville Hadi Shrine Temple these days. He actually knows some Shriners who were with the Shrine back in 1977, including the man who served as the circus director that year. My brother asked him about this matter, and was told emphatically that there was "no way" that the Shrine would have allowed Adam West to have been fired from a cannon at the circus.
That settles the matter for me, personally. Maybe Adam West was adding the story of being fired from a cannonin order to make a good story about a bad time in his career? But, the man who served as circus director for the 1977 Hadi Shrine Circus would unlikely have a reason to not be truthful about the event. The insurance risk of shooting a celebrity with no circus skills from a cannon seems to outweigh any reason to do so simply for the entertainment value.
So, unless some new evidence to the contrary pops up, it appears he did not fly high during his low point, after all. The whole thing about West being fired out of a cannon has apparently been shot down.
01/15/2020
