The Only Actors Still Alive From The Cast Of Batman (1966)

The ABC primetime comic book adaptation "Batman" premiered on January 12, 1966. Producer William Dozier and writer Lorenzo Semple Jr. crafted a pop-art superhero extravaganza, campy and self-aware enough to work as a comedy for grown-ups while also delivering enough comic book hijinks that kids could enjoy it at face value. As Batman and Robin, stars Adam West and Burt Ward fought and foiled dozens of supervillains played by a cavalcade of guest stars — everyone from regulars like Burgess Meredith and Cesar Romero (as the Penguin and the Joker, respectively) to famed director Otto Preminger and Morticia Addams herself, Carolyn Jones (as Mr. Freeze and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds).

The series ended after three seasons and a spinoff film between Season 1 and Season 2, but it aired in syndication for decades, spawning generations of Bat-fans. Between animated reunion films, comics, and toys, the 1960s "Batman" is arguably as popular now, more than half a century later, as it's ever been. Or, if nothing else, it's at least the key to many, many jokes on "The Simpsons." Sadly, a lot of the show's stars are no longer with us, but a surprising number of heroes, villains, and citizens of fair Gotham are still alive, carrying the torch for those who have passed on. Here are the actors from the classic "Batman" series who are still alive, and what they're up to.

A small role as a flower delivery boy in the "Batman" Season 2 episode "The Penguin Declines" marked just the second onscreen appearance of filmmaker Rob Reiner. Son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, he spent the late 1960s playing guest roles on "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "That Girl," as well as in several episodes of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" as a member of the countercultural comedy troupe The Committee. In 1971, he landed arguably his most famous acting role as Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law Mike "Meathead" Stivic on "All in the Family."

Reiner's interest soon turned to directing, and after a couple of TV movies, he made his feature film directorial debut with the 1984 mockumentary classic "This Is Spinal Tap." The film kicked off an impressive run of beloved films including "Stand By Me," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally...," "Misery," and "A Few Good Men." His winning streak came to an end with the 1994 family comedy "North," which inspired perhaps the most famous negative review of Roger Ebert ever wrote. Nevertheless, Reiner's filmmaking career soldiered on with later hits like 2007's "The Bucket List." In recent years, he's also continued acting, often parodying himself on shows like "30 Rock" and "The Simpsons." In the 2010s, he played father to Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and Zooey Deschanel on "New Girl." Reiner is well known for his political activism and has been prolific on Twitter since 2016.

Longtime stunt performer Tony Santoro was a utility player on all three seasons of "Batman," as well as in the 1966 spinoff film. Though rarely credited on screen for his work, he played dozens of henchmen and bit parts from the very first episode onward. The show often used its stunt performers over and over, creating a kind of repertory company of henchmen who bounce from villain to villain in Gotham City.

According to Santoro's charmingly retro website, he began his Hollywood journey as an extra in the James Dean classic "Rebel Without a Cause." Before "Batman," he worked as a horse rider and stuntman on TV westerns like "Bronco" and "Maverick." On film, his first credited role (per IMDb) was a small part in Hal Ashby's 1978 Vietnam drama "Coming Home." Santoro performed stunts in 1980's "The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood," which also featured "Batman" star Adam West, as well as in Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" and the 2004 Tom Cruise thriller "Collateral." He's also appeared as a driver in many car commercials over the years for companies like Chevrolet, Ford, and Porsche. Santoro's most recent on-camera role was as a fake priest blessing a crowd in the 2018 short "The Great American Mud Wrestle."

Actress Jill St. John is notable not just for appearing on the first two episodes of "Batman" as the Riddler's (Frank Gorshin) henchwoman Molly, but also for being one of the very few onscreen deaths in the series' history. Molly, disguised as Robin, infiltrates the Batcave, but when her plan goes awry, she climbs up the hideout's nuclear reactor to escape. Batman tries to come to her aid, but he's too late, and Molly falls to her death inside the reactor.

Born Jill Oppenheim, St. John started as a child actor in the 1940s, appearing in an early television production of "A Christmas Carol" and several episodes of "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show." As an adult, she was known for her comedic work, appearing in 1963's Neil Simon adaptation "Come Blow Your Horn" (alongside Barbara Rush) and "Honeymoon Hotel" with Robert Goulet. In 1971, St. John was cast as Tiffany Case, the female lead in Sean Connery's brief return to the James Bond franchise, "Diamonds Are Forever." She began to focus less on acting in the 1980s, pivoting to other pursuits like cooking. St. John made regular appearances afterward on "Good Morning America" and released her own cookbook in 1987. What few roles she has taken in the last few decades are often alongside her fourth husband, actor Robert Wagner, such as in the 2014 holiday TV movie "Northpole," where the two played Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Season 3 of "Batman" features a three-episode arc that takes place in London — sorry, Londinium, an extremely London-like European metropolis. Ireland Yard (get it?) has requested Commissioner Gordon's help in solving a spate of foggy thefts around the city, so he journeys across the pond with his daughter Barbara (Yvonne Craig), aka Batgirl, and Chief O'Hara (Stafford Repp). Wouldn't you know it, but Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Alfred (Alan Napier), and Aunt Harriet (Madge Blake) are on a European vacation at exactly the same time. The trip puts the Dynamic Duo in the larcenous crosshairs of Lord Marmaduke Ffogg (Rudy Vallee) and Lady Penelope Peasoup, played by Glynis Johns.

Johns is of Welsh descent but was born in South Africa while her parents, an actor and a classical pianist, were on tour. She got her start in show business early, appearing in the 1938 small-town drama "South Riding" at just 14. Her most famous roles would come years later in the 1950s and '60s. She received an Oscar nomination for her work in the Australian outback drama "The Sundowners" and memorably played opposite Danny Kaye in the medieval comedy "The Court Jester." In 1964, Johns played the Banks children's spirited mother in Disney's "Mary Poppins." Her most recent onscreen roles to date were in the Sandra Bullock holiday romantic comedy "While You Were Sleeping" in 1994 and the 1999 "Saturday Night Live" spinoff "Superstar," in which she played Molly Shannon's grandmother.

Perhaps the real riddle is why John Astin, the once and future Gomez Addams, replaced Frank Gorshin as the Riddler for just two episodes at the end of "Batman" Season 2. While the official explanation from Gorshin was that he had a scheduling conflict that precluded him from filming those two episodes, it has also been suggested that he and his agency were in negotiations with producer William Dozier for a larger per-episode salary. In any case, it was Astin's time to shine as the Riddler — robbing a series of banks in order to buy a disintegrating ray from a mad scientist and trapping Batman and Robin in a giant cake made of quicksand.

Astin's first major role on television is still the one he is best known for — macabre patriarch and ultimate wife guy Gomez Addams on "The Addams Family." Based on artist Charles Addams' cartoons in The New Yorker, the series only aired for two seasons, yet it lived on for decades in syndication. Astin would reprise his role in a 1977 Halloween special and voiced Gomez in the 1990s animated series inspired by the popular movie adaptations. He also had recurring roles on "Night Court" and "Murder, She Wrote" and lent his vocal talents to "Taz-Mania," "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," and many more animated series. Astin has largely stayed away from on-camera work since 2001, when he returned to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, to teach acting and directing. In 2011, a newly renovated theater space there was named in his honor.

Actress, dancer, and style icon Julie Newmar originated the role of Catwoman in Season 1 of "Batman." While "feminine wiles" were a common tool of many of Batman's distaff foes, Newmar's Catwoman was the only one whose relationship with the Caped Crusader was powered primarily by actual attraction. Newmar and Adam West had genuine chemistry together that shone through all the masks and corny dialogue, and there was always the sense that she was on the verge of changing her ways for him, though of course, that could never happen. At the end of the day, Catwoman's going to be Catwoman.

Newmar performed with the Los Angeles Opera as prima ballerina at age 15, and her first credited part was in the classic 1954 musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (under her birth name Julie Newmeyer). Small appearances on television followed, and in 1964 she played the title role in the sci-fi rom-com series "My Living Doll" opposite Robert Cummings. After "Batman," she continued to take guest roles on shows like "Love, American Style" and "Fantasy Island," while also featuring in low-budget films like 1989's "Ghosts Can't Do It." She was name-checked in the 1995 drag comedy "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" and in 2016 reprised her role as Catwoman in the animated film "Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders." In addition to her film and television work, Newmar is a real estate developer, an LGBTQ+ activist, and holds two lingerie patents.