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Burt Ward (born Bert John Gervis Jr. ; July 6, 1945) is an American actor, animal welfare activist and businessman. He played Dick Grayson's Robin, the sidekick of Batman (played by Adam West), in the television series Batman (1966–1968), its theatrical feature film, the Saturday morning animated series The New Adventures of Batman (1977), the two-episode pilot Legends of the Superheroes (1979), the animated reunion films (2016) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017), and the live-action television event Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019).
Unlike the series' lead, Adam West, Ward was required to perform some dangerous stunt work. He was told this was because his costume revealed more of his face, making it impractical for all of his stunt scenes to be performed by a stunt double. Later, he also discovered that he was being paid the minimum wage allowed by the Screen Actors Guild, and his stunt double was paid per stunt, so having Ward perform his own stunts was a cost-saving strategy. Ward says that he was sent to the emergency room dozens of times during his time as Robin.
At the height of the series' popularity, Ward recorded several musical tracks during sessions produced by Tom Wilson and arranged by Frank Zappa. The first two, "Boy Wonder, I Love You" (which Zappa wrote) and "Orange Colored Sky", were released as a single on November 14, 1966. Two other tracks from these sessions, "Teenage Bill of Rights" and "Autumn Love", remain unreleased. The Zappa Patio: Unreleased Records by Burt Ward.
During the first months of shooting, Ward was paid $350 per week. The series lasted only three seasons, for a total of 120 episodes; according to Ward in an interview, this was because of the high cost of production. It was still high in the ratings, but ABC was losing money. Later, NBC offered to pick it up for a fourth season, but the offer was withdrawn after learning that the sets had been destroyed. West and Ward also played Batman and Robin in the 20th Century Fox film released on July 30, 1966.
In 1969, a year after Batman's cancellation, West's mother died, bringing the two men closer together. They were reunited many times at conventions and TV reunion specials. In turn, Ward also made three guest appearances with West on separate cartoons: one was a 2002 episode of The Simpsons, later in 2010 on an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, and in 2013 for one of the final episodes of Futurama. West and Ward remained friends until West's death on June 9, 2017, at age 88.
In 1985, DC Comics named Ward as one of the honorees in the company's 50th-anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for his work on the Batman series.
In June 1995, Ward wrote a tell-all autobiography called Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights, which described his time playing Robin.
Ward appeared in numerous reunions with co-star Adam West. The most memorable included reprising their roles as the Dynamic Duo on a short-lived animated series called The New Adventures of Batman, as well as The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour and Tarzan and the Super 7. In addition, they reappeared as the Dynamic Duo for Legends of the Superheroes. West and Ward finally reunited in the 2003 television movie, .
During a Pro Wrestling Unplugged angle with wrestler Johnny Kashmere, Ward "knighted" Kashmere as the "New Batman". Ward has appeared on the show several times, walking out to the theme music from the 1960s Batman.
In 2001, Ward established the now-closed Boy Wonder Visual Effects, Inc.
In 2012, Bluewater Comics was planning to issue a four-issue comic miniseries in homage to Burt Ward playing Robin, called Burt Ward, Boy Wonder, but it was apparently canceled. It starred Burt Ward and his crimefighting rescue dogs Gentle and Giant fighting crime. Part of the first issue was released on Free Comic Book Day 2012.
Beginning in late 2017, Ward is seen promoting the Batman television series and other classic television series on the MeTV television network.
In 2016 and 2017 respectively, West and Ward reunited a final time, to reprise the Dynamic Duo in the animated movies and Batman vs. Two-Face, the latter being released after West's death.
On January 9, 2020, Ward received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
| 1966 | Batman | Dick Grayson / Robin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | Scream, Evelyn, Scream! | Dune Buggy Driver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Fire in the Night | Paul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | The Underachievers | Bowmont | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989 | Robot Ninja | Stanley Kane | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batman and Robin and the Other Super Heroes | Himself (Presenter) | Video documentary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Holy Batmania | Himself / Robin | Video documentary short | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | Smoothtalker | Lab Technician | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kill Crazy | Michael | Video | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Girl I Want | Dad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cyber-C.H.I.C. | Harry Truman Hodgkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | Virgin High | Dick Murphy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Hot Under the Collar | The Pope | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | Beach Babes from Beyond | Mr. Bun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Dwelling | Crasmire | Video | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | Reverse Heaven | Doctor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Karate Raider | Dr. Gan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assault of the Party Nerds 2: The Heavy Petting Detective | Randolph | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Alien Force | Omnipresent Praxima | Video | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Desperation Boulevard | Himself | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Moving Targets | O'Malley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Batman Featurette | Himself | Video documentary short | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Pacino Is Missing | Guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Himself | TV movie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Starring Adam West | Documentary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Na Na Batman | Featurette | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batmania Born | Featurette | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Star Quest | Wayne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 |
Television
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Categories: 1945 Births, Living People, American Animal Welfare Workers, American Male Taekwondo Practitioners, American Male Film Actors, American Male Television Actors, American Male Voice Actors, American Stunt Performers, Male Actors From Los Angeles, Inkpot Award Winners, 20th-century American Male Actors, 20th-century American Sportsmen, Dc Comics People
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