Adam West

ADAM WEST

Date of Birth: September 19, 1929

Birth name: William West Anderson

Adam West was born in Walla Walla, Washington. When he was young, he loved comic books and Batman was one of his favorite characters.

When his mother Audrey left his father (Otto West Anderson) and remarried, she moved Adam and his younger brother John to Seattle, where he attended Whitman College, graduating with a degree in literature and psychology. Before he finished his studies, on August 17, 1950, he married 17-year-old Billie Lou Yeager. The marriage lasted six years and produced no children.

He then quickly married Nga Frisbie Dawson, with whom he had a daughter, Jonelle, (born 1957) and a son, Hunter, (born 1958).

Career-wise, Adam began as a radio disc jockey before being drafted into the army. After he completed two years in the army, he settled down in Hawaii, where he was cast on the childrens' TV series The Kini Popo Show, in which his co-star was a chimpanzee. While there, he also filmed a small role in the horror film Voodoo Island (1957), starring Boris Karloff.

Moving to Los Angeles in 1959 proved to be a good career decision. Adam quickly began landing roles on hit TV series such as 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, Hawaiian Eye, Bonanza, The Rifleman, Perry Mason and Gunsmoke.

In 1966, Adam landed the role that would turn him into an icon. He was cast in the starring lead role in the TV series Batman. It was popular with both kids and adults and after its two-year run was over, it was syndicated for many more years.