Welcome to the Weekend Binge. Every Friday, we’ll suggest a binge-able title designed to keep you from getting too stir crazy. Check back throughout the weekend for even more gloriously queer entertainment.
The Iconic: Batman
Are they or aren’t they? Bat-fans have asked that question for more than 50 candy-colored, ultra-mod years. The camp and homoeroticism of Batman has earned a reputation that the character and his subsequent movie versions have tried so hard to get over. Yet, even now, when we look at the iconic 1960s TV series, we’re not sure.
Batman of course became a sensation when it debuted back in 1966, only to meet an ignoble cancellation a few years later. At its peak though, the Adam West-Burt Ward action series attracted some of the biggest names in showbiz, all eager to get in on the comedy and don a ridiculous villain costume. It should come as no surprise that some of the biggest closet cases of the time also showed up to get in on the fun, including Cesar Romero (as the manic Joker), Vincent Price, Liberace, Victor Buono, Roddy McDowell, Tallulah Bankhead and Lesley Gore. Ditto to a litany of gay icons who amplify the camp factor, such as Eartha Kitt & Julie Newmar (both as Catwoman), Ethel Merman, Shelley Winters and Joan Collins. Oh, and the men love wearing tights. Just saying.
Batman may well have been the RuPaul’s Drag Race of its day: trendy, star-studded, ridiculous and unapologetically campy. We recommend it this weekend as a colorful and goofy binge perfect for a holiday reprieve.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
PS: They totally are.
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Harley
Robin was definitely my first celebrity crush.
shannestad
Mine too
garyinla
My crush was Sandy (Luke Halpin) on Flipper
blackhook
Please! My lover Liberace was NOT gay! He just never found the right woman…
ricdardc1
Oh Please it was the Original DRAG RACE. . Every Queen in Hollywood Out or Not was There in a CAMP Version. Showing off the Goods.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
I find it tacky that Zsa Zsa (Minerva) wasn’t on the list. In later years Ethel Merman’s agent even got her a slot on Hee Haw (I kid you not).
JessPH
This TV show will always have a special place in my heart. It was my favorite as a kid and never missed an episode during its reruns in the 90s.
stanhope
Robby Douglas. My Three Sons
Sandy..Luke Halpin.. on Flipper
Apollo. Richard Hatch…Battlestar Galactica
Johnny Crawford. Rifleman
George Maharris. Route 66
Billy Mumy. Lost In Space
Peter Tork. Monkees
Al Corley. Dynasty
This is THE list ?
UncleFloppy
Batman may have been campy but in real life its stars were straight. In interviews Burt Ward has stated that he and Adam West were bedding countless numbers of women during the years they were working on the show.
radiooutmike
Good gosh.
I remember being 4 or 5 in the early 70s and watching Batman. I never understood the tingle I got from Batman talking to Robin about their Bat Thermal Underwear that would protect them from Mr. Freeze’s freeze chambers…
God, that, and watching Mark Goddard as Major West in the freezing/suspended animation chambers wearing that silver-suit on Lost In Space.
No wonder I have a freezing/sleeping/immobile/hypnotism fetish. Also being turned into a robot. I just had to watch sci-fi!