Burt Ward

Infobox actor
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name = Burt Ward


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birthname = Bert John Gervis, Jr.
birthdate = Birth date and age|1945|07|06|mf=y
location = Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
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occupation = Film, television actor
yearsactive = 1964-
spouse = (?)
Tracy Posner
homepage = http://www.robintheboywonder.com/
notable role = Robin
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Burt Ward (born Bert John Gervis, Jr., on July 6, 1945) is an American television actor and activist. He is best known for his work as Robin, the "Boy Wonder", in the 1960s television series, "Batman". The show, which aired on ABC from 1966 to 1968, starred Ward as Robin and Adam West as the title character.

Early life

Ward was born in Los Angeles, California. At the age of two, he was listed in the prolific magazine, "Strange as it Seems", as the world's youngest professional ice skater.Fact|date=May 2007 Growing up, he was an avid reader of comic books like Superman and Superboy, and enjoyed the action-adventure show "Adventures of Superman".Fact|date=May 2007 He excelled in high school athletic activities such as football, track, and wrestling, and he was also a member of the chess club and earned a black belt in karate.Fact|date=May 2007 After graduation, he enrolled in college, while working part-time for his father's real estate company.Fact|date=May 2007

Robin begins

At the age of 19, he decided to audition for the part of Robin, without having ever read a Batman comic book.Fact|date=May 2007 Upon meeting with executive producer William Dozier for the role, Dozier was impressed, saying "Robin just walked into my office."Fact|date=May 2007 Ward and Adam West were up against Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell for the roles of Batman and Robin., 2003] During this time, the show was being planned as a campy style action-adventure show, and their screen tests consisted of staged fight scenes and, at one point, Ward chopping a set of boards with his hand. Eventually, he was selected for the role of Robin at age twenty, stepping onto the screen in 1966 with the debut of "Batman".

Burt Ward (a.k.a. Bert John Gervis, Jr.) decided upon his professional surname by using his mother's maiden name. He substituted the "e" with the "u" in his first name to add more of a "punch." Ward's reasoning behind the name change was that he was afraid that people would have a hard time pronouncing "Gervis" (which is pronounced with a soft-"G").

Unlike his series' lead, Adam West, Ward was required to do some dangerous stunt work, because his costume revealed more of his face than a stuntman could compensate for.Fact|date=May 2007 According to a 2000 A&E Biography interview of his series' star, both Ward & West often feuded together, because of the costumes they were told to wear, and tempers flared off the set, though they are still good friends, after "Batman"'s run.

At the height of "Batman's" popularity, Ward recorded a series of tracks under the production of 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", remained unreleased. [ [http://www.lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/weirdo/unreleased.html#burtward The Zappa Patio: Unreleased Records by Burt Ward] ]

During the first months of shooting, Ward was paid $350 per week. By the series' end, he was earning up to $600 a week.Fact|date=May 2007 According to Ward in an interview, he stated that the series only lasted three seasons, for a total of 120 episodes, due to the high cost of production. The show was still high in the ratings, but ABC was losing thousands of dollars on filming (this can be seen in the decline of the sets and constant re-use of stock footage).Fact|date=May 2007 Later, NBC offered to pick it up for a fourth season, but the offer was withdrawn upon realization that the sets had been bulldozed.Fact|date=May 2007

Post-Batman career

After the end of "Batman", Ward found himself hard-pressed to find other acting jobs. Ward only re-emerged on the movie scene to act in more than 30 made for television films such as "Virgin High".

Although wanted by the producer, Ward did not get the Dustin Hoffman part in "The Graduate", because he chose to renew his contract with the "Batman" TV show and the studio (20th Century Fox) did not want to dilute his popularity and identification as Robin.

Ward did, however, appear in numerous reunions with co-star Adam West. The most memorable reunions included Ward and West reprising their roles as Batman and Robin on a short-lived animated television series called "The New Adventures of Batman", the theater show Legends of the Superheroes, and 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 multiple times, and walks out to the theme music from the 1960s "Batman".

Ward has stated in the [http://www.robintheboywonder.com/news.html news section] on his website that he will no longer be doing personal appearances in order to concentrate his time on family and his canine rescue organization.

He now runs Logical Figments, a special effects contractor that provides graphics and animation for commercials and occasional feature films.

Autobiography

Ward also wrote a tell-all autobiography called "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights" (ISBN 0-9647048-0-3), which described his life at the time that he played Robin. In 2001, Ward began Boy Wonder Visual Effects, Inc. which has provided visual effects for 25 studio features, 10 independent films, and several television series.

Animal work

In 1994, Ward and his wife, Tracy Posner Ward, founded a charitable organization called Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions, Inc. [ [http://www.gentlegiantsrescue.com Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions ] ] , which rescues giant breed dogs like Great Danes and some smaller breed dogs. Their work with the organization has been featured in such outlets as "People" magazine, ASPCA Animal Watch, [ [http://www.gentlegiantsrescue.com/press-animal_watchers.htm Canine Crusader] ] , "Hard Copy", "Inside Edition", and "Entertainment Tonight". [ [http://www.gentlegiantsrescue.com/press-tv.htm Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoption: We're on TV!] ]

Burt Ward was also seen in an episode of Animal Planet's "Adoption Tales".

Family

Ward has two daughters: Lisa Ann Ward, his daughter from a previous marriage, who had a baby in 1991, and Melody Lane Ward, born on February 16, 1991 with his current wife.

Ward's first wife was Bonney Lindsey, daughter of conductor Mort Lindsey, the man behind the music on 1950s and '60s TV including The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom and The Merv Griffin Show. His second wife, erstwhile actress Kathy Kersh, delivered sexy sales pitches for Rheingold beer in the 1960s and had previously been married to TV's Ben Casey, Vince Edwards. His third wife was model Mariana Torchia, and in 1990, Ward married his fourth wife, Tracy Posner, daughter and heir of multi-millionaire Victor Posner.

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0911431|name=Burt Ward
*amg name|2:74605
*tvtome person|6546
* [http://www.robintheboywonder.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.gentlegiantsrescue.com/ Gentle Giants site]
* [http://www.stephaniemiller.com/bits/2006_0710_ward.mp3 July 10, 2006 audio interview] of Burt Ward by Stephanie Miller on "The Stephanie Miller Show" about his dog adoption services