Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Riddle Me This, Frank Gorshin

The late Frank Gorshin was a multi-talented performer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the Riddler on tv's Batman.
When I met Gorshin at the Hollywood Collectors Show (now the Hollywood Celebrities Show), he was very happy to discuss any part of his lengthy career. He also gladly posed for pictures with anyone who asked.
This was in contrast to his former castmate Adam West, who sat at the next table. West would not pose with Gorshin and he begrudgingly posed for photos with his own fans (although usually not even smiling). There did not appear to be any problems between Gorshin and West, as they did engage in friendly talks during the course of the event.
Gorshin was a class act all the way. He even tried to apologize for West. I commented on his Pirates hat, knowing Gorshin was a native of Pittsburgh (PA). He said he was a baseball fan and we joked about our teams. We also joked about his portrayal of boxer Mushy Nebuchadnezzar (love that name) on Batman.
A little Gorshin trivia:His first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was also the U.S. tv debut of the Beatles.
Frank Gorshin and me in Rosemont, IL-late 1990's.

4 comments:

Hackenbush said...

The Riddler was always my favorite villain on Batman. Gorshin was also a great impressionist.

Steve Gierman said...

His debut was left intact on the Beatles Ed Sullivan DVD. I came for the Beatles, stayed for Gorshin and was oddly mesmerized by Davy Jones in Oliver.

Appearances by Soupy Sales & Cab Calloway sealed the deal!

Johngy said...

I liked the tv version of the Joker. Loved the suit, too!
A young Davy Jones, with no thoughts of the Monkees in his future. Interesting.

J\/\/ said...

Awesome that you got to meet Frank!