William West Anderson was born on 19 September 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington. Under the stage name Adam West he became, in the 1960s, the face of a television version of Batman. 19 September 2026 marks 98 years since his birth. It is not an anniversary of later cinema series and should not be confused with the darker adaptations after 1989.

Before the role that defined his public image, West worked in television and film. ABC launched the series “Batman” in 1966. The production combined comic-book adventures with colourful sets, on-screen sound effects and humour performed with deliberate seriousness. West played Bruce Wayne and his alter ego for three seasons.

The press called the rapid popularity “Batmania”. The series and the 1966 feature film shaped the character’s image for a generation. Later, darker adaptations do not erase the place of that version in American pop culture.

After the series ended, the close association with Batman temporarily limited other parts. West gradually turned that situation into self-aware comedy, appearing in productions that referred to his own fame. A new audience discovered him as the voice of Mayor Adam West in the animated series “Family Guy”.

The actor died in 2017. His home city marks 19 September with events honouring his memory. The commemoration concerns an actor and a television series, not the rights to a costume or protected stills of the character.

The 2026 anniversary recalls how a television production can fix a face in collective memory more firmly than a later filmography. West remains tied to the 1966 Batman, but his biography begins in Walla Walla, 38 years before the first episode.

Image: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Adam West at a public appearance. Editorial portrait, not a protected still from the 1966 ABC series. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Remembering Adam West | DC; Remembering Adam West | Television Academy; Adam West | Encyclopaedia Britannica.