Adam West Dead: 'Batman' Stars Val Kilmer And Ben Affleck Lead Tributes

Stars of ‘Batman’ past and present have paid tribute to Adam West, following the news of his death. 

The actor, who famously played the superhero in the 1960s TV series, died in Los Angeles on Friday (9 June), following a short battle with leukaemia. 

Val Kilmer, who took on the role of the Dark Knight in the 1995 film ‘Batman Forever’, was among the first to pay tribute, describing him as “a real gent”. 

He tweeted: “Ah dear Adam West. He was always so kind when we met. A real gent. Once when I was a kid we found ourselves in front the Batmobile. I got in.”

Current Batman Ben Affleck also wrote on the social media site: “Adam West exemplified heroism. Kind, funny and an all around great guy. Thank you for showing us all how it’s done.”

Adam’s ‘Batman’ co-star Burt Ward, who played the superhero’s sidekick Robin, also shared some words about him during an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live (via BBC News). 

“This is a wonderful man who I’ve spent 75% of the time on this earth working with, who has been a pleasure, just amazing talent, a great father, a great family man, a wonderful human being, just a lot of fun and I’m going to miss him incredibly. In fact it’s very difficult to really believe that the end has come,” he said.

“Adam and I have had the most amazing friendship, just for whatever reason we instantly got along.

“We share a similar type of humour, we had the best time on Batman and it really showed through.”

FJulie Newmar, who played Catwoman in the TV series, described Adam as being a “king to the end”.

She told BBC World Service: “He was bright, witty and fun to work with. And I’ll miss him in the physical world and savour him always in the world of imagination and creativity.

“Adam West was the best Batman of all time. I don’t think there’ll be one to compare with him. He was, of course, the original, but still all in all the best, not only for that time but for all time.”