Adam West's TV Western Roles

Before Adam West was Batman in 1966, he was a TV western star with roles that ranged from historical figures such as Wild Bill Hickock and Doc Holliday to bad guys and in between characters on some of the biggest TV westerns of the late 1950s into the 1960s.

Adam West came really close to having his own television western series called the Frontier World of Doc Holliday. A pilot was produced but not picked up, but Warner Bros still had him appear on several of their shared western TV universe as Doc Holliday on series, Lawman, Sugarfoot, and Colt .45.

He also appeared as another historical figure from America's past, Wild Bill Hickock on a show called Westbound Stage. He appeared on lots of shows before Batman such as Bonanza, Cheyenne, Tales of Wells Fargo, the Rifleman, Maverick, and more.

Interestingly enough, even though it's not western related, it's fascinating that his first credited role was on the show, The Philco, Television Playhouse and the title of that episode was, The Joker. The Joker, of course, was the Batman's biggest villain.

Before Batman he starred on two movies, one was the last Three Stooges film produced, The Outlaws is Coming. That movie he got to show off his comedic talents along with the Stooges, Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe.

Right before Batman he starred in his own Spaghetti western called, The Relentless Four. Unfortunately, the western didn't use West''s voice as they did not record the voices of the actors on set.

Adam West wasn't completely done with old west during Batman's run or after. During the show's run, he faced a western villain named Shame a spoof on the popular western movie, Shane.

#batman #westerns #classictelevision #classictv #adamwest

0:00 Intro
0:26 Adam West's first credit
0:42 Doc Holliday television pilot
2:03 Adam West as Wild Bill Hickock
2:39 Bad guy roles on Cheyenne, Wells Fargo, and Bonanza
4:08 Maverick and Rifleman
5:02 Green Hornet connection
5:53 The Three Stooges western
7:32 The Adam West Spaghetti Western