Friendly Encounters: Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar and Josh Watko

Friendly Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

Joshie Watko is the genius behond JW's Wrestling Memorabilia, a fantastic site featuring a ton of awesome wrestling stuff, including many in=person encounters.  The site is a showcase of Josh's knowledge and respect for wrestling and its' history.
Josh also has met many celebrities outside of the worl d of wrestling.  At a Wizard World earlier this year, he met a legendary Batman trio consisting of Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar.
I'm not a curmudgeonly old man.  I like the new Batman movies, but I will always have a special place for the coolness of the old Batman television series.  Maybe it recalls my childhood.  Maybe it is romanticized over time.  Maybe it is just the simplicity of the series.  Whatever the case, that Batman will always be my favorite.
I have met Newmar and West, but not yet Ward.  A picture with all three is so cool.  While I have had a couple encounters with West which left me disappointed, I'd still love to be involved in such a group photo.
Josh is a great guy and I hope to meet him one day.  If this happens, I am sure it will be at a wrestling show or comic con.  Maybe it will happen in 2017.
In the meantime, I encourage everyone to check out JW's Wrestling Memorabilia.  There is just so much great stuff on his site.  He has new and old merchandise info, reviews, pictures, stories and more.  He even has his own awards, The Joshies.  I'm not going to lie.  I am dying to win a Joshie.  Dare I dream?

Burt Ward, Adam West, Josh Watko and Julie Newmar in Pittsburgh, PA-August 2015.

Batman Meets Batman

At a Hollywood Celebrities Show several years ago, I witnessed the crossing paths of two Batman past and present.  Adam West (Batman from tv and my youth) briefly chatted with Val Kilmer (the most recent big screen Batman at that time).
I have written about West's rigid stance about unauthorized picture-taking, but I couldn't let this moment pass without trying.  I managed to snap the picture below.  While it might not be the best shot, at least it did not incur the wrath of West (or perhaps he just didn't notice because of my sly photography skills.  Either way, I am glad I got the two Batmen in one shot. 
I don't know why some celebrities will pose with others and some won't.  I also don't know why some conventions organize such photo-ops.  I just know that multiple (connected) celebs together for photos is very popular with attendees

Val Kilmer and Adam West in Rosemont, IL-Late 1990's.

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly feature highlighting friends who have met celebs.

When I first covered the Motor City Comic Con for Global Traveler, Press Liaison Valerie Schendel was a huge help in my effort. Valerie was very informative, helpful and pleasant throughout the process.
I asked Valerie to share a few photos and stories about her years working with the MCCC. She had some great stories to tell. She really seemed to love the convention. After attending my first one, I understood her enthusiasm for the MCCC. She wasn't just being a great Public Relations person. It was a great event.
One of the pictures she shared was of her and Adam West. West almost appears to be smiling. I always try to give the celebrity the benefit of the doubt on unpleasant experiences, but I have not had a pleasant experience with West in at least 5 different conventions.
West is very strict about being photographed. How strict? At the Spring 2010 MCCC, my friends and I were a good 50 feet from his booth when we were testing my camera by taking pictures of things in the opposite direction. West had one of the assistants ask (tell) me to stop shooting pictures.
I witnessed a similar scene involving others at another convention. I also witnessed West refuse to take a group picture with fellow celebrity guest Frank Gorshin (who appeared on Batman with West). I have also never seen him smile in any photo with fans.
Did I just catch West on a few bad days? Maybe, but I don't think so. I think that is just him. Either way, my stance remains the same for celebrities. If you don't want to be there, stay home. People pay a lot of money for West and they should not walk away feeling cheated.
If I am being unfair to West and he (or anyone else) wants to dispute it, I will be happy to report the other side. If I ever see evidence contrary to my belief, I will happily retract my statements. Until then, I stand by my observations.

Valerie Schendel and Adam West in Novi, MI-Early 2000's.

Adam West was no Frank Gorshin

When we last explored the events of Gotham City, we saw Frank Gorshin (aka The Riddler). Today, Adam West gets his time to shine (or not). As I wrote in the Gorshin piece, West was not very sociable at the event. I am not sure about the entire time, but when I was there, West did not pose with Gorshin, although they did chat (so I don't think there was a problems between them). Even West agreed to pose with me, he barely acknowledged me or the camera. He remained stoic, which left me feeling rather unsatisfied. Still, he was the Batman and meeting him and Gorshin was pretty cool. Too bad West didn't take more lessons from Gorshin who was polite and talkative.
On a side note, while West did not pose with Gorshin, you can see Gorshin clearly in the middle background of this picture.

Adam West and me in Rosement, IL-late 1990's.