On June 9, 2017, Adam West, one of the most iconic actors to take the role of Batman, among several other accolades and notable roles, passed away after a brief fight with leukemia. He was 88 years old.
West’s name became legend from his performance as Batman in the 1960’s TV adaptation and subsequent film. The role cemented his status as a pop-culture icon, whose subsequent roles were mostly portraying himself. His voice-over work was especially popular thanks to his distinctive voice and his self-deprecating humor. Most of us millenials remember Adam most fondly in Family Guy as Mayor West, a role he held since the series’ first season debuted in 2000. His portrayal as the soft-spoken, delusional, but often well-meaning (though not always) crackpot politician helped cement the show’s popularity, as well as his own as one of the most popular characters in the series.
To that end, the creators of Family Guy saw fit to create a tribute video to the late legend, highlighting some of Adam’s most iconic and defining moments as Mayor West. A few highlights include West’s introduction of the cat launcher, his shouting match the city of Quahog, and the underlying hints that maybe his crazy antics were actually a smokescreen for a perfectly sane murdering psychopath. No word as to whether or not anyone has buried his coffin in cement to make sure he doesn’t come back as a zombie.
At the time of his death, Adam had recorded already five episodes of dialogue for Family Guy’s upcoming 16th season. However, the fate of his character remains unconfirmed. But creator Seth MacFarlane laments, and fans of the show, and Mayor West in particular will agree, “Family Guy has lost its mayor. He is irreplaceable.”
After all, as we all know, no one replaces Adam We.
