{"id":36701,"date":"2017-06-12T09:30:17","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T13:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=36701"},"modified":"2017-06-12T02:09:42","modified_gmt":"2017-06-12T06:09:42","slug":"notable-passages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/notable-passages\/","title":{"rendered":"Notable Passages"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/adam-west-dead-batman-star-832264\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Actor Adam West died on Friday in Los Angeles of leukemia<\/a>, aged 88. He was, of course, best known as television&#8217;s Batman. That campy series only ran from 1966 to 1968, but it was so influential that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LFHY0NBsoNU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Batman&#8217;s special dance<\/a> &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Batusi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Batusi<\/a> &#8212; was referenced in the movie <em>Pulp Fiction<\/em> nearly 30 years later.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"giphy-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/jIzXYqaQ0nLkA\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/fox-batman-gotham-jIzXYqaQ0nLkA\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"giphy-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/112zsGNCKs1NpS\" width=\"480\" height=\"274\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/pulp-fiction-dancing-112zsGNCKs1NpS\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n<p>The short-lived original <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0060028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Star Trek<\/a><\/em> series also started airing in 1966 and outlasted <em>Batman<\/em> by just one year. I&#8217;m fascinated by the fact that both these shows had such staying power after their original runs. I grew up watching both of them in reruns, and I&#8217;m not sure I understood that new episodes weren&#8217;t being made. I definitely preferred <em>Batman<\/em> to <em>Star Trek<\/em> though. First of all, there was <a href=\"http:\/\/batman.wikia.com\/wiki\/Catwoman_(Eartha_Kitt)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eartha Kitt<\/a> as the second Catwoman in the series (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.popsugar.com\/beauty\/Catwoman-Actresses-Order-Pictures-24031780\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Julie Newmar played the role first<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nbPo6zekYxw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Then there were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/spenceralthouse\/the-definitive-ranking-of-robins-exclamations-from-batma?utm_term=.swY0eZonB#.ojv2XQyLA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Robin&#8217;s exclamations<\/a> (&#8220;Holy Diversionary Tactics!&#8221;), followed by general zaniness, like the time Batman couldn&#8217;t get rid of a bomb.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Favorite Batman GIF of all time. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RIPAdamWest?src=hash\">#RIPAdamWest<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IWJgljexdu\">pic.twitter.com\/IWJgljexdu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Meredith Frost (@MeredithFrost) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MeredithFrost\/status\/873569795467300865\">June 10, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center><\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t even remember this shark attack, the antecedent of both <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jumping_the_shark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fonzie&#8217;s jumping the shark<\/a> and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sharknado\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sharknado<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"giphy-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/qZXgSczj9rFSM\" width=\"340\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I mean, don&#8217;t you hate it when this happens?<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"giphy-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/yEw39v3wKDwzu\" width=\"480\" height=\"304\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>But, because I&#8217;m a <em>Family Guy<\/em> fan, Adam West wasn&#8217;t just Batman to me. He was <a href=\"http:\/\/familyguy.wikia.com\/wiki\/Quahog,_Rhode_Island\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Quahog<\/a>&#8216;s Mayor Adam West. Entertainment Weekly has a list of top 10 Adam West <em>Family Guy<\/em> moments. I&#8217;ve always loved the &#8220;cat launcher&#8221; scene, especially because Mayor West thinks it&#8217;s hilarious that one cat is named Paul, but my favorite is &#8220;My name isn&#8217;t Adam We &#8230; or is it?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LWXZhgj7v6k\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p><em>Family Guy<\/em> creator Seth MacFarlane issued <a href=\"http:\/\/ew.com\/tv\/2017\/06\/10\/adam-west-family-guy-seth-macfarlane\/\" target=\"_blank\">a moving statement about Adam West&#8217;s death<\/a>, and I hope the show will be able to do some kind of funny tribute. Maybe <a href=\"http:\/\/villains.wikia.com\/wiki\/The_Noid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Noid<\/a> can be brought back to life for that.<\/p>\n<p>Here are my recommendations for additional reading\/viewing about Adam West:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/arts\/la-et-st-adam-west-batman-20170610-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1966 Los Angeles Times interview<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/celebrity-news\/535786\/Adam-West-interview-Batman-The-Complete-TV-series-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">In this 2014 article<\/a>, West spoke about how he struggled with his career after the success of his <em>Batman<\/em> days.<\/li>\n<li>2014 Guardian interview about enjoying his post-<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2014\/nov\/29\/beyond-batman-how-adam-west-built-a-new-career-by-just-being-himself\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Batman<\/a><\/em> life.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mashable.com\/2017\/06\/10\/adam-west-family-guy-final-interview\/#Ein.o.qFQOqD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Talking about <em>Family Guy<\/em> this May<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/la-et-entertainment-news-updates-june-and-what-a-magnificent-cape-it-is-1497125660-htmlstory.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">West on <em>Batma<\/em>n guest stars Liberace and Tallulah Bankhead<\/a>. (Guess which one had the lines, &#8220;The Caped Crusader! And what a magnificent cape it is too!&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.peteranthonyholder.com\/Archives\/2016\/cjad15.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">An interview with Burt Ward<\/a>, who played Robin to West&#8217;s Batman, which starts off with, &#8220;When I entered <em>Batman<\/em> as a naive 20-year-old who had only dated a couple of girls, I met Adam West, who immediately introduced me to the wildest sexual debauchery that you can imagine.&#8221; Eek!<\/li>\n<li>West&#8217;s 1994 memoir, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/back-to-the-batcave-adam-west\/1000386930?ean=9780425143704\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Back to the Batcave<\/a><\/em>, was described as &#8220;BATASTIC!&#8221; by one happy Barnes &amp; Noble customer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another recent death that hit me hard was that of EMD &#8212; aka the Educated Rapper, aka Jeffrey Campbell &#8212; of the 1980s hip-hop group UTFO. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vibe.com\/2017\/06\/educated-rapper-dead-54\/\" target=\"_blank\">He died of cancer at age 54<\/a>. I wrote about UTFO&#8217;s big hit, &#8220;Roxanne, Roxanne,&#8221; in this <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/shoes-and-blues-sugar-pie-desanto-prefers-mules\/\" target=\"_blank\">2012 post<\/a>. I still listen to that song regularly when I&#8217;m at the gym!<\/p>\n<p>Finally, <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/for-doors-stans-pamela-coursons-mother-has-died\/\" target=\"_blank\">I was reading Sunday&#8217;s New York Times<\/a> when I spotted a particularly long obit in the paid notices section. I took a second look and my jaw literally dropped because it was for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.legacy.com\/obituaries\/nytimes\/obituary.aspx?n=elizabeth-johnson&amp;pid=185769475\" target=\"_blank\">Libet Johnson<\/a> &#8212; one of the Johnson &#038; Johnson company heirs &#8212; who died from Alzheimer&#8217;s at 66. She was a notable New York personality and I hadn&#8217;t heard that she was sick. Just last year, she was getting coverage for a <a href=\"https:\/\/therealdeal.com\/2016\/10\/01\/libet-johnson-lists-millbrook-mansion-for-28-5m\/\" target=\"_blank\">variety<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/johnson-johnson-heiress-lists-new-york-horse-farm-for-28-5-million-1475161134\" target=\"_blank\">real-estate<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/observer.com\/2016\/09\/heiress-libet-johnson-lists-vanderbilt-mansion-for-95000month\/\" target=\"_blank\">transactions<\/a>, which <a href=\"http:\/\/observer.com\/2012\/08\/the-many-whims-of-libet-johnson-heiress-looking-sell-the-vanderbilt-mansion-lusting-after-huguette-clark-spread\/\" target=\"_blank\">was a normal thing for her<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:396px;\">\n<div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/168883536\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:150.000000% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/168883536?et=8cBoGPLDRitvKRZuizxBDQ&#038;tld=com&#038;viewMoreLink=off&#038;sig=0gsXEF46DubAhfx-vJHYreFOheOzzLZRPOb5SCuAWSg=&#038;caption=true\" width=\"396\" height=\"594\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\" ><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p>If you ever regret that you weren&#8217;t born into an incredibly rich family &#8212; and we all have those days &#8212; read up on the Johnsons and you&#8217;ll appreciate being ordinary. The title of Jerry Oppenheimer&#8217;s 2014 book sums it all up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/crazy-rich-jerry-oppenheimer\/1113011987?ean=9781250049087\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Crazy Rich: Power, Scandal, and Tragedy Inside the Johnson Dynasty<\/em><\/a>. Pop culture experts might remember the <a href=\"http:\/\/nypost.com\/2013\/07\/30\/the-real-story-of-casey-johnsons-short-scandalous-life\/\" target=\"_blank\">tumultuous life<\/a> of Libet&#8217;s niece, Casey Johnson, who was Paris Hilton&#8217;s friend and craved Hilton&#8217;s fame.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:412px;\">\n<div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/82566180\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:144.174757% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/82566180?et=4kCXHMHTSxJyt363h6RK_A&#038;tld=com&#038;viewMoreLink=off&#038;sig=Ss8i495miLZa64dyknivoaWAa9QmDD1u6dG3oNApDXU=&#038;caption=true\" width=\"412\" height=\"594\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\" ><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/people.com\/archive\/casey-johnson-1979-2010-little-girl-lost-vol-73-no-3\/\" target=\"_blank\">Casey died<\/a> of complications from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/a-socialites-tragic-curtain-call\" target=\"_blank\">untreated diabetes<\/a> in 2010, when she was just 30. She had been cut off by her billionaire father &#8212; Libet&#8217;s brother, Jets owner Woody Johnson &#8212; because of her erratic behavior. That behavior included a 2006 public spat with her then-56-year-old Aunt Libet, whom 26-year-old Casey accused of stealing her 38-year-old boyfriend. <\/p>\n<p>Around the same time that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/culture\/2006\/09\/johnson200609\" target=\"_blank\">Casey took her boyfriend-stealing accusations to Vanity Fair<\/a>, the five-times-married Libet embarked upon a <a href=\"http:\/\/nymag.com\/news\/features\/44754\/\" target=\"_blank\">nasty court battle with a different ex-boyfriend over their adopted Cambodian son<\/a>. It lasted six years, seeming to come to an end in <a href=\"http:\/\/nypost.com\/2016\/01\/27\/johnsons-baby-shampoo-heiress-reignites-custody-battle-with-ex-boyfriend\/\" target=\"_blank\">2013<\/a>, though a new proceeding was filed against the ex-boyfriend in <a href=\"http:\/\/nypost.com\/2016\/01\/27\/johnsons-baby-shampoo-heiress-reignites-custody-battle-with-ex-boyfriend\/\" target=\"_blank\">January 2016<\/a>. That boy is still a minor, who has now lost his mother. Maybe he won&#8217;t be cursed with as much wealth as the rest of the family. According to New York Magazine&#8217;s story on the custody fight, &#8220;although [the son] was not an heir to the Johnson fortune, Libet gave him &#8216;some financial security&#8217;: a trust fund of $100,000.&#8221; That&#8217;s odd, considering Libet regularly bought and sold real-estate worth millions, but it&#8217;s good to have real motivation to work. As one of Casey&#8217;s younger sisters told the <a href=\"http:\/\/It\u2019s depressing when you\u2019re not working. You just have too much time to spend thinking about stuff that\u2019s not productive.\u201d\" target=\"_blank\">New York Times in 2011<\/a>, &#8220;It&#8217;s depressing when you\u2019re not working. You just have too much time to spend thinking about stuff that&#8217;s not productive.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Read more about the tribulations of the Johnson family <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/behind-the-johnson-and-johnson-curse\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Actor Adam West died on Friday in Los Angeles of leukemia, aged 88. He was, of course, best known as television&#8217;s Batman. That campy series only ran from 1966 to 1968, but it was so influential that Batman&#8217;s special dance &#8212; the Batusi &#8212; was referenced in the movie Pulp Fiction nearly 30 years later&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/notable-passages\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-in-the-news","category-obits","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36701"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36734,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36701\/revisions\/36734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}