Holy Pizza Batman! There Was More Cheese To Robin Than My Takeout From Tomacelli’s!

OK, OK, I liked the Batman TV series from the 1960's.  In fact, I still watch it on Saturday night's on METV.  So sue me.

If you're only familiar with Batman from the trilogy that hit movie theater's over the past several years, well, you would be in for a surprise with the 'Batman' TV series that ran from 1966-1968.  For those of us of a, ah, certain age...well, Heath Ledger might be the Joker, but Caesar Romero was the Joker!  And while you folks that wear a younger person's skin might only know Batman as dark, brooding, complicated...he wasn't quite that way in the 1960's.

And then there was Robin.  He must have fallen off the planet in recent years.  While I loved 'The Dark Knight', there were several people in the dark theater that kept looking around for the guy that kept whispering (louder and louder) 'So where's Robin'??

Back in the 'good old days', Batman couldn't fight the Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, Penguin and The Archer (The Archer?  What or who is The Archer? Check the rerun's, it's Art Carney!) alone.  He had Robin alongside, with his 'Holy This' and 'Holy That'!  Yep, Robin did 'Holy' a lot...just check it out.

So whatever happened to Robin?

Well, Robin was portrayed by actor Burt Ward.  A native of Los Angeles, Burt excelled in High School in football, track and wrestling, and in fact earned a Black Belt in Taekwondo.

At the age of 19 Burt auditioned for the role he would become world famous for.  And unknown to many people, Burt did a lot of the stunt work in the series himself.  I guess all that athleticism paid off!

Perhaps, like many actors, following the Batman series Burt found it hard to find work, but appeared in dozens of Made-For-TV movies and other projects.  Unlike many other actor's, Burt never shied away from his role as 'The Boy Wonder' and in fact appeared often with co-satr Adam West at various Batman reunion's and other functions.

I'm happy to tell you that Robin....oops, I mean Burt...is alive and well and 68 years old, living in Los Angeles.

Oh, and do yourself a favor.  If you want some just flat out crime fighter fun, watch Batman, the TV series, with a cold beer and a slice of pizza.  And don't worry, you won't need cheese...the series will provide it deliciously!