Adam West, who became more than a bit typecast after starring as Batman on television in the '60s, is still battling that image today.
He is back on television, at least for the moment. He's one of the stars of Fox's "Danger Theatre."But he still looks on Batman as a mixed blessing.
"I've thought about that over the years - occasionally at 4 in the morning - and become quite anxiety-ridden," West said. "It was very difficult after `Batman.' I went into some really lousy film projects, and I decided that either I just retire and lick my wounds . . . or I will go out and continue to work as an actor in whatever material presented itself.
"So, I did that. I mean, I've been shot out of cannons in circuses and anything I could do to get work . . . "
But, even then, he didn't find it easy to step out from behind the cape and cowl.
"It still took me at least 20 years to get away from it. I'm getting offers now. I was delighted when these people asked me to do `Danger Theatre,' ' West said. "It's been very difficult, yes. But I've always worked, somehow."
With the benefit of more than a quarter of a century of hindsight, would he take on the part of Batman again?
"I'm really torn with that because Batman has opened so many doors for me," West said. "In other words, the rapport, the warmth that people have for Batman all over the world has given me something that very few people, I think, have presented to them . . . in a lifetime."
SUPPORT FOR CONNIE: Although the pairing of Connie Chung with Dan Rather on "The CBS Evening News" has met with some criticism - particularly from some at NBC News and ABC News - the president of Fox News has nothing bad to say about CBS' move.
"Oh, I thought that was a very wise decision," said Van Gordon Sauter, who was himself president of CBS News - twice - in the '70s and '80s. "I think that represents a very effective step by CBS News.
"I think one could conceivably make the case it was overdue, but I'm not going to make that case. Under any circumstances, it's going to be a more effective broadcast.
"I think it's going to broaden the audience appeal. And I think it will, over a period of time, make the show more competitively effective."
To this point, the addition of Chung hasn't done much if anything for the newscast's national ratings.
QUOTABLE: Fox News President Van Gordon Sauter, on the critical reaction to his news magazine "Front Page":
"The reviews were almost unanimously negative. I would have been appalled if they were positive. A news magazine on Fox that got positive reviews would be doomed."
Take that, critics.
DID YOU KNOW? Ron Reagan, a correspondent on the Fox news magazine "Front Page," is, of course, the son of former president Ronald Reagan.
But did you know that his fellow "Front Page" correspondent, Josh Makiewicz, is the grandson of Herman Mankiewicz, who wrote "Citizen Kane?"
NOT WORRIED: NBC executives have been very vocal about their intention to keep David Letterman from taking features of his "Late Night" show - features like the Top 10 List and Stupid Pet Tricks - to CBS with him.
So when Chevy Chase announced that he would be doing "Weekend Update"-like reports on his Fox talk show every night, the obvious question is whether NBC will try to prevent him from using what he originated on that network's "Saturday Night Live" almost 18 years ago.
But Chase isn't worried about that possibility.
"I've heard nothing about `News Update' being somebody else's," Chase said. "Perhaps it's because I invented the thing at the time.
"They've been doing my jokes for 17 years, so what the heck?"
QUOTABLE: Bruce Campbell, who's starring in the upcoming Fox action/Western "The Adventures of Briso County, Jr." starred in and produced such horror films as "Army of Darkness," "The Evil Dead" - parts 1 and 2 - and "Maniac Cop," found facing a group of television critics relatively easy.
"Usually I go to horror conventions and they ask, `What was it like have 50 gallons of blood dropped on your head?' " he said.
And Campbell said that even after his horror career was going strong, he resisted moving from Michigan to California for several years.
"The concept of moving to California and becoming an actor was the ultimate horror," he said.
QUOTABLE: Don Rickles, star of the upcoming Fox sitcom "Daddy Dearest," will also be opening for Frank Sinatra in an upcoming tour.
And the comedian left no doubt where his first loyalties lie.
"As far as Mr. Sinatra's concerned, if the tour started now and I had to leave the show, I would leave the show," Rickles said. "You understand, I have a family. In fact, I have an aunt in the Bronx I can't find.
EARLY AUTUMN: As usual, Fox is getting a jump on the fall season. And quite a jump it will be, with several new series premiering in August.
As a matter of fact, the first "fall" premiere is less than a month off - "Cops" returns on Aug. 7.
Other early arrivals include:
- "Martin," which returns Aug. 22.
- "My Girls," a new sitcom, which debuts that same day.
- "The Sinbad Show," another sitcom, debuts Aug. 26.
- "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.," an hourlong Western/adventure show, debuts as a two-hour movie on Aug. 27.
- And "Roc" and "America's Most Wanted" both return on Aug. 31.
That's half a dozen shows before the first of September.
And, with the exception of "The Simpsons" (Sept. 30), every new and returning Fox series will be on by Sept. 16.
Fox is hoping that it can get the jump on the competition by getting on the air first.
Just one problem. You have to have good shows to keep the audience coming back - and Fox doesn't have many of those.
DOUBLETALK: Fox Entertainment President Sandy Grushow strongly criticized CBS for its practice of ordering only six episodes of a number of new series.
"From my standpoint, I frankly think it's a mistake," he said. "I think in today's television environment, with the proliferation of choices, things just take a longer time to build. I think it takes a longer time for audiences to get invested in a show, to embrace characters, for storylines to click. I think it takes a longer time for writers and executive producers to find a show, to find the characters in a show."
Fox, of course, is going to stick with its new shows much, much longer. Grushow proudly proclaimed that that each had received the enormous commitment of 13 whole weeks.
It gets better. What about the critically acclaimed anthology "Tribeca," which was canceled after the only six episodes Fox ordered were aired?
"I think, as a network, you sit back and you try to analyze all the information that's before you," Grushow said. "You do focus groups. You look at the ratings. You look at what a show does in the first half hour compared to the second half hour. You look at the competition week in and week out.
"And the truth of the matter is there was nothing that indicated to us that `Tribeca' was a show that could suceed on the Fox Broadcasting Company. And rather than being in that business, we decided to take another shot at something else."
Hmmm. But CBS is bad when it does the same thing?
QUOTABLE: Grushow, on his network's aggressive programming strategy:
"We could have just lain down and allowed `Roseanne' to roll all over us. Not literally, of course."
QUOTABLE: David Duchovny, who's starring in Fox's "The X Files" as an FBI agent who investigates things like alien abuctions and paranormal activity:
"Paranormal activity seems to be all around us. I grew up on the lower East side of Manhattan."