“He said the producers had chosen Adam West. ‘Gosh,’ I said. ‘That’s who I screen tested with.’ ‘Yes, I know,’ he laughed. ‘With your bubbling personality and his natural stiffness, you make a great couple.’ I didn’t know quite how to take that.” – Burt Ward, Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights
In the popular 1960s television series Batman, Burt Ward portrayed Robin, the Boy Wonder, a role that cemented his status as a lasting cult figure known worldwide. Even now, over 50 years later, the show continues to air on countless TV screens. I own the entire series! My favourite season is 3 because what’s better than two superheroes? Three superheroes! (Welcome aboard, Batgirl!)
In his revealing autobiography, Ward takes readers on a journey through his unexpected transformation from a 21-year-old part-time real estate agent to an overnight sensation, grappling with the challenges of becoming a male sex symbol recognized by fans worldwide. His candid reflections illuminate the complexities of fame and self-identity in an ever-watchful public eye. One thing to note: this book does not include any pictures of Burt Ward as Robin the Boy Wonder due to copyright, which is unfortunate.
In this eye-opening tell-all, Ward unveils the secrets his partner in the “dynamic duo,” Adam West, chose to omit from his, quite tame, memoir. Ward understood the assignment when he wrote this book, unlike West. Its pages overflow with melodrama, salaciousness, and “camp” elements, but that’s what makes this a fun, soapy read. Despite the tights, this isn’t the spiritual sibling of the life of Sir Laurance Olivier here; this book is filled with sensational gossip, exuding a superficial charm that’s more self-indulgent than a substantive historical record of an actor’s life. It’s exactly what I expected—not dry at all.
But is it all true? Well, that’s something any reader of an autobiography has to
constantly question. It’s definitely more entertaining to believe everything at face value. One particularly scandalous tale recounts the night the “dynamic duo” entertained a pair of enthusiastic (female) fans in their hotel suite during a comic convention. Following the excitement, Ward playfully locked a naked Adam West outside their room. Housekeeping!
But the revelations don’t stop there; the author paints a vivid picture of their thrilling escapades, which included hair-raising moments where they narrowly dodged explosions and evaded gunfire while engaging in their campy brand of crime-fighting. Throughout the book, Ward weaves his tale of carnal escapades and Hollywood experiences as a young actor through the unique mix of innocence and decadence that marked the mid-1960s—a time characterized by vibrant creativity and a rebellious spirit as it attempted to move away from the Leave it To Beaver and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet landscape of the 1950s and early 1960s.
The narrative gets progressively ostentatious and often seems overly embellished, even somewhat trashy at times. Was this intentional? An editorial directive? Maybe. This book rides on the heals of such eye-opening tell-alls as Barry Williams’ Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg and David Cassady’s C’mon, Get Happy . . . Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus. Ward’s autobiography is more prurient than these predecessors, but did he (or his publishers) feel the need to push the envelope on disclosure as far as possible to impact a contemporary (at the time) reader audience?
There have been rumours for years that Ward apparently made up a lot of stuff to
make the book more interesting. In the novel, when he describes all the problems his (purportedly) massive whale of a dong caused on the set of Batman with the Robin costume, was he just telling a whale of a story? I mean, there does seem to be documented proof that he was well-endowed—just ask LOOK magazine!
There’s a brief chapter titled “Are Batman and Robin Gay?“ in which Ward discusses how the ignorant and homophobic have, over the decades, misconstrued the relationship between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Dick Grayson/Robin as being “unnatural.” Modern homophobes would describe their relationship by the term they love to throw around: a “grooming situation.”
Ward describes in detail how Bruce and Dick live and the perceived power dynamics between the two characters of different ages, stating that the scenario “creates the stereotype of a strange and unnatural relationship fraught with closeted desires. HOLY HOMOPHOBIA!“
He and West followed what Batman co-creator Bob Kane envisioned for the dynamic duo’s relationship as being “above reproach,” viewing Robin as the sidekick who gets to do what every kid in the world wishes they could do: ride in the Batmobile, climb up buildings, and fight for justice as a superhero—a thrilling fantasy adventure.
Though Ward admits that on the surface, the social paradigm of Batman and Robin can raise eyebrows, it was his and West’s choice not to engage too deeply in the psychology of their characters. They were friends and superheroes who fought crime together, period.
Ward discloses that he uses humour and sarcasm (then and now) to answer
questions about the “questionable” relationship of the two fictional characters he and West portrayed and when these “truth inquisitors,” as Ward calls them, interrogate him about his and West’s close relationship off-set.
Yes, the two men had sexual escapades with women in the same room, even in front of each other, but none of that meant they had a torrid love affair, despite the rumour mill that loves to spread salacious gossip and untruths. Ward reveals that a tabloid reporter had recently mentioned to him (at the time of this book going to press) that he’d heard another rumour about Ward and West being lovers.
I feel that had these two been intimate, Ward, if not West, would have spilled the beans. Even after West died in 2017, when Ward wouldn’t have to worry any longer about his friend’s response to any revelation, he still denies any sexual relationship.
In the book, Ward states that he is secure in his sexuality while being respectful of the sexuality of others. It’s great to read someone, an actor, a celebrity, of an earlier generation who never felt or feels the need to clutch his pearls and scream, “THEY’RE NOT GAY! WE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING GAY!” He discusses the hoopla and ignorance surrounding this topic with logic, humour, and empathy.
This book is outrageous, even ridiculous, yet—Holy Hole in a Doughnut, Batman!—I was entertained. And though some might find the frequency of seeing HOLY [WHATEVER]! throughout the book annoyingly repetitive, it gave me life!
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