Adam West

Pundits of a less-than-kind nature summed up actor Adam West's career in one simple sentence: he played Batman on TV. Thought he was a prolific actor, none of his credits prior to or after the iconic 1960s television series eclipsed it in popularity or cultural influence, and for many years, West relied on public appearances in his Batman costume to make ends meet. But like many actors who found themselves typecast by a single role, he handled the public myopia and critical brickbats with exceptional good humor; that self-deprecating attitude eventually helping to make him an in-demand guest star and voice-over artist for numerous cartoons, including a fictional (and deeply deluded) version of himself on "Family Guy" (Fox, 1999-2002; 2005- ). When Adam West died of leukemia on June 9, 2017 at the age of 88, generations of fans and peers mourned the loss of one of pop culture's most endearing figures.