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Culture

Los Angeles honors Adam West with Bat-Signal

June 16, 2017

The Bat-Signal has been beamed in the US city of Los Angeles in tribute to actor Adam West, who died last week. West played Batman in the 1960s TV series.

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Los Angeles City Hall Adam West Tribut Bat-Signal
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Beck

The Bat-Signal shone above Los Angeles on Thursday, following the death of Adam West last week.

Hundreds of fans, some in costume, attended the event, where Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck projected the signal - a yellow oval with a bat silhouette - high up on the wall of City Hall.

"Adam West taught us each one of us had a heart of gold," Garcetti told the crowd. "There will never be another Batman like Adam West and there will never be another Adam West."

Garcetti also led the crowd in singing the TV show's well-known theme song, with its unmistakable driving rhythm.

Call for Bat-help

Adam West als Batman mit Robin Burt Ward 1970
Batman's sidekick Robin was played by Burt WardImage: Imago/ZUMA Press

West's wife and children attended the event, Garcetti said.

In the fictional city of Gotham, where playboy-turned-superhero Bruce Wayne fights crime as his alter ego Batman, the signal means people need their costumed hero.

Police call on Batman by turning a powerful spotlight on the cloudy sky, projecting the shadow of the Batman logo above the skyline.

'Bright Knight'

The legendary actor had a long career and died at the age of 88, but remained forever marked by the time he spent under the cowl.DC Comics, the company that owns the characters of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and a whole range of other superheroes, had also urged the "good citizens of Los Angeles" to join, inviting them to "don their bat-suits and trusty utility belts in honor of West's signature role as the true crime fighter."

Adam West in New York
West initially resented his Batman typecasting, but he later embraced the iconic and uplifting roleImage: Getty Images/M. Coppola

"If fans are not able to join in the tribute Thursday night, the West family encourages Adam's 'old chums' to make a donation to the Adam West Memorial Fund," set up to fight cancer in children, the company added.

West's portrayal of Batman as a friendly and campy character is distinctly different from later takes on the superhero, which show him as tortured and brooding. In contrast to the "Dark Knight" moniker, often used to describe the modern character of Batman, West preferred to be seen as the "Bright Knight" who aspired to positivity.

 

dj, tj/se (AP, dpa)