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Who is Wally Wingert?  What is Wally Wingert?  Why Wally Wingert?


    Talking about Batfans of the 1966 Batman TV series and not mentioning Wally Wingert would be like talking about the Batman series and not mentioning Adam West.  Wally has been a card carrying flag waving Batfan from the beginning.  All the way back to 1966 when he was five years old growing up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wally would put together a makeshift Batsuit and pretend to be his hero.  Though the show went away, his fascination with it remained through the years.

    Eventually, in 1980, Wally became a  disc jockey for the local station KELO-AM and called (actually begged) “World of Wheels” for an interview with his hero, Adam West.

    From that point on, Wally’s life took an amazing trip for any Batfan that continues to amaze him to this day.  He became friends with Adam West and various members of the original cast.   He got to sit and have dinner with Batman’s creator Bob Kane.  And yet more was yet to come.

    Since those days as a young DJ in South Dakota, Wally had moved to Los Angeles in the late 80’s and has etched out a unique and multi-faceted career as an actor, voice-over genius, performer, singer and writer.  His fan book/magazine “Fifteen Years of Batastic Batfan Fun” recalls his journey through his little part in Batman history ( and luckily for us, still available through his website).


Wally as Batman with his friends, the Bat Pack, spending time with children in hospitals in 1988		     Throughout the 80's, Wally kept the spirit of the original series alive,  by making appearances  in his own Adam West style Batsuit. Whether it was to appear at a Bat Bash covered by MTV or a cast reunion on the talk show, Vicki,  Wally promoted the good will and fun of the show.  With a group of do-gooder friends that were dubbed the Bat Pack , Wally would visit children at hospitals and help raise money for MDA.

 

     When the first Burton/Keaton film was still pending to come out, Wally put out the comedy single “Adam West” which was a huge hit on the popular and widely broadcasted Dr. Demento radio show.  It was a 45 single (remember those?) that became the anthem for the “Adam West is Batman Best” movement that was prevalent during the mid to late 80’s.

    Wally’s suit itself evolved over time since creating the perfect replica  was such a major point of fascination.  After a chance meeting with the suit’s creator, Jan Kemp, Wally got together with the costumer to re-create a classic Batsuit that was built to Jan's specifications.  It was the first time that this had been achieved since the series was canceled.  This chain of events lead Wally to the opportunity to create the suit for his childhood idol , Adam West himself.  Not only would Adam have the costume displayed on a mannequin at signings, but Adam also wore it for a 1996 photo shoot.  Wally has become widely known as the Adam West Batman costume expert and his cowls are among some of the most sought after and coveted collectables for die hard fans.

 


Singing "Bat to the Future"

Wally in one of his more current costumes after learning the secrets from Jan Kemp

     When putting together this website, my wife, Vickie and I went out to Wally’s place, commonly referred to as Planet Wallywood in Studio City, for our interview.  We were greeted at the door by Wally and his companion, Sassie.  She’s a beautiful Collie that looks just like Lassie and even comes to Wally when he whistles the “Lassie” theme.  Pretty neat stuff to witness.  His place is like a museum for all of Wally’s various interests.  Whether it’s the life size Spiderman standing next to a fembot from Austin Powers or the mind boggling  glass cases of autographed stuff or his make-up room dedicated to the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney, the place he calls home would be more like a theme park for fans.  I’ve been there many times since and I still keep coming across stuff I hadn’t seen before.

    Wally, to put it quite simply, is a fun guy.  He is probably one of the most energetic, happy, funny, trusting, generous and supporting people I have ever met.  It’s like he memorized the Bat-code of good manners and fair play from the Bat-scout handbook.  But one other thing hit me.  This guy is very intelligent and seems to have a knack for not only knowing so many ultra talented people such as seamstresses, sculptors, writers, graphic artists, web designers and video editors but loves to be the first one to give full credit and heavily promote the work contributed by others.  Lastly, all this stuff that fills his condo does not come cheap.  He has been a very wise , but fair, business man through these years as well.


Wally clowning around for us at his place as "Bat-Geek" with his dos, Sassie, playing the role of Ace the Bat-hound.

    But enough of this.  Pour yourself a glass of Ovaltine, sit back and enjoy our one on one interview with one of our biggest and well known Batfans, Wally Wingert.  Continue to the interview...

Wally Wingert Links:
Wally on the Web