#197 Adam and Frank’s… semi-big show

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

In early 1966, Batmania was everywhere. This caused a certain (convicted tax evader) concert promoter to ask the question: Can Batman fill Shea Stadium? Adam West and Frank Gorshin were recruited to play their characters as part of a show that also included such musical luminaries as the Young Rascals and the Temptations. However, on June 25, 1966, the answer to the concert promoter's question turned out to be a resounding "No!"

The Shea Stadium show has lingered as an oddity on the edges of our podcast's consciousness for some time, and now it's time to do a deep dive on it. Armed with the script for West and Gorshin's borscht-belt skit, and accounts of the show from several different sources, we look at what the show was meant to be, what it ended up being, and whether anyone who attended would have been particularly pleased with the result.

Theme version from KLABEC Drummer

Read the Script

The New York Times looks back on the show

Holy Shea Stadium! The Batman, Beatles, and Bob Dylan Connection, by Frank Bals (Medium.com)

Batman 66 Shea Stadium, NYC Concert Poster auction (66batman.com message board)

Batmania issue 12 (review of the show starts on page 2)

Adam West sings "Orange Colored Sky" on Hollywood Palace

Mrs. Miller on The Merv Griffin Show

Adam West & Frank Gorshin - Interview with the Vampire