How many famous actors have played the role of Batman Villains?
In the early 1960s, Ed Graham Productions optioned the TV rights to the comic strip Batman, and planned a straightforward juvenile adventure show, much like Adventures of Superman and The Lone Ranger, for CBS on Saturday mornings. Mike Henry, who would later go on to star in the Tarzan franchise, and is best known for his portrayal of Jackie Gleason’s not-too-bright son Buford T. Justice, Jr. in the Smokey and the Bandit movies, was set to star as Batman. Reportedly, DC Comics commissioned publicity photos of Henry in a Batman costume. Around this same time, the Playboy Club in Chicago was screening the Batman serials (1943’s Batman and 1949’s Batman and Robin) on Saturday nights. It became very popular, as the hip partygoers would cheer and applaud the Dynamic Duo, and boo and hiss at the villains. East coast ABC executive Yale Udoff, a Batman fan in childhood, attended one of these parties at the Playboy Club and was impressed with the reaction the serials were getting. He contacted
LOS ANGELES – Jack Nicholson’s Joker was a blast. Heath Ledger’s Joker is as dark and anarchic a figure as Randle McMurphy in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the role that brought Nicholson his first Academy Award. Ledger’s performance in the Batman tale “The Dark Knight” is so remarkable that next Jan. 22, the one-year anniversary of his death, he could become just the seventh actor in Oscar history to earn a posthumous nomination. “I do think that Heath has created an iconic villain that will stand for the ages, and of course, I would love to see him get an award,” said Christian Bale, who reprises his “Batman Begins” role as the tormented crime fighter. “But you know, to me, you can witness his talent, celebrate his talent within this movie. Anything else is gravy.” Superhero flicks usually are not the stuff Oscar dreams are made of. Yet Ledger delivered so far beyond anyone’s expectations that he could end up as the second performer to win Hollywood’s top honor after his death.
In the early 1960s, Ed Graham Productions optioned the TV rights to the comic strip Batman, and planned a straightforward juvenile adventure show, much like Adventures of Superman and The Lone Ranger, for CBS on Saturday mornings. Mike Henry, who would later go on to star in the Tarzan franchise, and is best known for his portrayal of Jackie Gleason’s not-too-bright son Buford T. Justice, Jr. in the Smokey and the Bandit movies, was set to star as Batman. Reportedly, DC Comics commissioned publicity photos of Henry in a Batman costume. Around this same time, the Playboy Club in Chicago was screening the Batman serials (1943’s Batman and 1949’s Batman and Robin) on Saturday nights. It became very popular, as the hip partygoers would cheer and applaud the Dynamic Duo, and boo and hiss at the villains. East coast ABC executive Yale Udoff, a Batman fan in childhood, attended one of these parties at the Playboy Club and was impressed with the reaction the serials were getting. He contacted
LOS ANGELES – Jack Nicholson’s Joker was a blast. Heath Ledger’s Joker is as dark and anarchic a figure as Randle McMurphy in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the role that brought Nicholson his first Academy Award. Ledger’s performance in the Batman tale “The Dark Knight” is so remarkable that next Jan. 22, the one-year anniversary of his death, he could become just the seventh actor in Oscar history to earn a posthumous nomination. “I do think that Heath has created an iconic villain that will stand for the ages, and of course, I would love to see him get an award,” said Christian Bale, who reprises his “Batman Begins” role as the tormented crime fighter. “But you know, to me, you can witness his talent, celebrate his talent within this movie. Anything else is gravy.” Superhero flicks usually are not the stuff Oscar dreams are made of. Yet Ledger delivered so far beyond anyone’s expectations that he could end up as the second performer to win Hollywood’s top honor after his death.
