Batman Humor That Went Over My Head as a Kid, Part 4

Catwoman is about to steal Clyde and Jeremy's
voices. Notice how they could just walk right
on stage with no one to to stop them.

The Cat's Meow/The Bats Kow Tow--This second season episode was chock full of real-life celebrities and 1960s cultural references. The main plot involves delicious Julie Newmar as the Catwoman stealing the voices of pop duo Clyde and Jeremy who also appeared as essentially themselves on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Patty Duke Show. They broke up only two years later and Clyde pursued an acting career. (He appeared on Broadway in A Patriot for Me, The Importance of Being Earnest opposite Wendy Hiller, and in the Downton Abbey movie.) Also appearing are comedian/talk show host Steve Allen as Allen Stevens, Hawaiian singer Don Ho in the window cameo, and celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring as Jay Oceanbring (get it?) Catwoman and her crew are hiding out in Oceanbring's salon. The Dynamic Duo arrive and are attacked by Catwoman's henchman. Sebring delivers his only line, "Watch the antiques" as the combatants threaten to destroy his expensive furnishings. 

Sebring was a top hairstylist for Hollywood stars including Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen. He dated Sharon Tate. They remained friends after breaking up and Tate married Roman Polanski. He was murdered along with Tate by the followers of Charles Manson and was a character in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Ho appears in the window as Batman and Robin are climbing down from the British Ambassador's office. (BTW, the British Ambassador's dialogue references both My Fair Lady and Winston Churchill.) Also appearing in this episode is Joe Flynn, best known as the petty, incompetent Capt. Binghampton on McHale's Navy, as the manager of a dance instruction studio, again a front for Catwoman's nefarious operations. For some reason, Flynn and Allen were unbilled. 

Catwoman's Dressed to Kill: Speaking of real-life celebrities playing versions of themselves, in this third-season episode fashion designer Rudi Grenreich made a cameo awarding Batgirl the Batty for being Gotham City's Best Dressed Woman. Catwoman (now played by Eartha Kitt since Newmar was filming McKenna's Gold) is jealous, declares herself more deserving of the title and launches a series of dress-related crimes. The rivalry doesn't really make sense because both Batgirl and Catwoman only wore one outfit each--and it was basically the same skin-tight black suit. Who would give a prize for Best Dressed for only one outfit? Grenriech was famous for creating the topless monokini and was a character played by Michael Urie in the Off-Broadway play The Tempramentals about early gay rights advocates. He later designed costumes for Space: 1999.