Batman Humor That Went Over My Head as a Kid, Part 5

Batman with Eric Shea as Andy

Come Back, Shame/It's the Way You Play the Game: Cliff Robertson satirizes Western cliches as Shame, instead of Shane as played by Alan Ladd. The references to that classic western proliferate including a little boy (played by Eric Shea) hero-worshipping the villain and following him around, crying "Come back, Shame." What's really concerning is this six-year-old kid is allowed to wander around Gotham City unsupervised. Even Batman and Robin don't bring him back to his parents after they escape from Shame's stampeding cattle, but just leave him to his own devices. 

This episode's window cameo is the weirdest one yet: Werner Klemperer in character as Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes, but wearing 1966 clothes. He explained he was in Gotham City to catch a spy as if he were still in WWII and the Caped Crusaders tell him to say hi to Col. Hogan. How can a character from the 1940s exist in the 1960s? Only in the Batman 66 universe.

Comedian Jack Carter plays a radio dj but is unbilled.

Catwoman Goes to College/Batman Displays His Knowledge: Bruce Wayne acts as Catwoman's parole officer as she claims to be going straight--to college, majoring in criminality. Stanley Adams (Cyrano Jones from the Trouble with Tribbles episode of Star Trek) plays Capt. Courageous (wordplay on the movie title), an out-of-town cop who arrests Batman after Catwoman frames him. He gets to call the Caped Crusader a "costumed kook." In another cultural allusion, the head of a jewelry firm is named Amber Forever (instead of Forever Amber, a popular potboiler novel). Jacques Bergerac, a popular French actor who appeared on the Dick Van Dyke Show, plays Freddie the Fence. In addition to selling stolen goods, he's an expert swordsman, but not as good as Batman, of course. (In one lame bit, he has a meal of pasta strained through his fencing mask.) TV personality Art Linkletter who hosted People Are Funny appeared in the window cameo.

Bruce Lee and Van Williams as Kato and
the Green Hornet

A Piece of the Action/Batman's Satisfaction: The Green Hornet and Kato make a guest appearance, cross-promoting their own ABC action-show which lasted only a season. They were billed as Visiting Guest Heroes. Roger C. Carmel, Kaye Ballard's husband on The Mothers-in-Law and Harry Mudd on two episodes of Star Trek, is the real villain Col. Gumm who has a penchant for disguise. Two of his henchmen were played by actors who later achieved a degree of success. Seymour Cassel would receive an Oscar nomination for John Cassavettes' Faces while Alex Rocco would win an Emmy for The Famous Teddy Z. Edward G. Robinson is dignified in his window cameo, discussing art with the Dynamic Duo. Diane McBain who played the Mad Hatter's moll in Season One, returns as Pinky Pinkston, an annoying heiress who flirts with both Bruce Wayne and Brett Reid, The Green Hornet's secret identity. 

The Funny Feline Felonies/The Joke's on Catwoman: Julie Newmar was unavailable to play Catwoman in the third season because she was filming McKenna's Gold. The producers replaced her with the feline Eartha Kitt (who my mother once waited on when Mom was a waitress and Eartha was appearing at the Valley Forge Music Fair). Casting a black actress as Catwoman forced the writers to drop the sexual tension between the Princess of Plunder and the Caped Crusader. In this two-parter, Kitt turns on the malevolence as she teams up with the Joker to find a hidden treasure trove--of gunpowder. 

Dick Kallman as Little Louie Groovy

A prominent guest star was Dick Kallman as Little Louie Groovy, a parody of record mogul Phil Spector. Kallman had starred in a short-lived sitcom called Hank (65-66) as an unregistered student trying to sneak into college classes. It was the first sitcom created by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson who later collaborated on The Odd Couple and Happy Days. Kallman also appeared in the movie Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding Me which I remember watching on the CBS Friday Night at the Movies. Like Jay Seabring, Kallman met a tragic end. After a few guest shots on shows like Medical Center, Kallman retired from acting to collect and sell antiques. He was a closeted gay man and lived with a boyfriend in NYC. In 1980, they were both murdered by three robbers who stole Kallman's valuable antiques, art and jewelry. A year later, one of the killers were convicted of second degree murder and sentenced. The Times listed Kallman's life partner as his "business associate."

Little Louie's agent is played by Joe E. Ross who utters his trademark "ooo! ooo!" from Car 54, Where Are You?

An even bigger name appears towards the end of the second episode when Catwoman and Joker are caught by the Terrific Trio (including Batgirl). Pierre Salinger, JFK's press secretary, plays Lucky Pierre, the criminals' defense lawyer. As Pierre is answering Catwoman's phone call for legal counsel, we see a picture of Richard Nixon in his office (actually a black void with some furniture, a typical low-budget season three setting.) This was before Nixon ran for president in 1968 and the picture may have been a subtle comment on his reputation as "Tricky Dick" since Lucky Pierre was a crooked mouthpiece. Nixon ran against JFK in 1960 and Salinger may have been calling Nixon a crook before we all found out he was one.

Also appearing was Roland Long as Karnaby Katz, a wealthy fashion designer and another victim of Catwoman and Joker. The very British, rotund Long is remembered as playing Santa Claus and Henry VIII on Bewitched as well as a Capt. Bligh-like character on Lost in Space. After the criminals rob him of an antique cradle which provides a clue to the treasure, Katz says they didn't rob him of anything really valuable "like my collection of comic books." How true that statement would be today. 

The Joker's Flying Saucer: Ellen Corby (later of The Waltons) and Fritz Feld (who appeared in Season Two's Pop Goes the Joker) appear as brother and sister con artists. Also Alfred gets into the act. The Joker mistakes him for a scientist whom he kidnaps to help him build the titular space craft. He doesn't seem to remember he met Alfred last season in that same episode Feld appeared in. Alfred had a similar situation with The Penguin who failed to recognize him after encountering him in a previous adventure.

Howard Duff and Ida Lupino
as married crooks Cabala and Dr. Cassandra

The Enchanting Dr. Cassandra: The penultimate episode is a weird, campy hoot. Married couple Ida Lupino and Howard Duff play married crooks Dr. Cassandra Spellcraft and Cabala who terrorize Gotham City with the Doctor's camouflage pills, rendering them invisible. She converts the Terrific Trio into two-dimensional cut-outs with her Alvino Raygun ("This is the kickiest weapon you've ever dug, Batman!"). I didn't know that there was an actual Alvino Ray, a bandleader who married one of the King Sisters and was music director for the King Family's many TV specials. (Anne Meara joked "I hope the King Family runs out of holidays.")  Cassandra and Cabal spout hippie jargon, calling everybody "dad" and "man." Everything is "groovy."

In perhaps the weirdest example of celebrity casting in the entire series, G. David Schine, who assisted Roy Cohn and Joe McCarthy in their red-baiting, Communist witch hunts in the 1950s plays a smarmy sales clerk at Spiffany's Jewelry Store. He even uses his own name as the character. Why they cast this non-actor is a mystery. His performance is wooden. Perhaps he was a friend of the producers. He got out of politics after McCarthy and Cohn were disgraced and went into show-biz as a producer. He later executive produced The French Connection. Like Dick Kallman, he met a tragic end, dying in a plane crash with his wife (a former Miss Sweden) and adult son who was piloting their craft. Schine appeared as a character in several TV movies about Cohn, McCarthy and the whole red scare period. Many suggest the closeted gay Cohn was interested in Schine romantically and that's why he tried to influence the army to give Schine special treatment when the young man was drafted. When the military would not comply, Cohn launched a smear campaign, resulting in the infamous Army-McCarthy hearings.