While dark and brooding has been the norm for Batman since the ’80s, fans still look fondly at the campy version that kickstarted the character’s ascend in live-action, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. To this date, the 1966 adaptation of the character still bears the best version of Robin to grace the silver screen, who has been notably sidelined in live-action since the Schumacher movies.
But despite being campy and lighthearted compared to its successors, Ward’s portrayal of the Boy Wonder created a massive buzz at the studio after offending the Catholic League of Decency.
Burt Ward’s Bulge Was Not Holy for the Catholic League of Decency
The tights Burt Ward had to wear for Robin in the Batman television series were a bit too tight, especially in his, lower regions. This enraged the Catholic League of Decency at the time, a board that was dedicated to identifying objectionable content in motion pictures, which forced the ABC studios to deal with Ward’s bulge in the tights. Ward then was prescribed by a doctor to take some pills in order to shrink up his p-nis, which he reasonably dropped after three days in fear of not becoming a father.
Ward told Page Six:
“They thought that Robin had a very large bulge for television… I took them for three days and then I decided that they can probably keep me from having children. I stopped doing that and I just used my cape to cover it.”
However, his crimefighting mentor never had to deal with the rage of the Catholic League of Decency. As per Burt Ward, for Adam West, “they put Turkish towels in his undershorts”.
Burt Ward’ Struggles With Playing Robin Didn’t End There
Facing the wrath of the Catholic League of Decency for his bulge onscreen wasn’t the only problem Burt Ward faced while playing Robin. Unlike Adam West, Ward was denied having a stunt double during his initial time playing the character, as the stuntman didn’t resemble the actor. Unfortunately, having to do his own stunts backfired during the first Batmobile sequence, leaving the actor in extensive pain. He said (via The Hollywood Reporter),
“I instinctively threw my arm back and managed to catch my little finger around the gearshift knob, which pulled it right out of the joint, but it kept me in the car. Even with the glove on, my hand was twice the size. I was in incredible pain.”
But despite these problems, Burt Ward thoroughly enjoyed playing Robin, as he stressed that the actor was never in it for the money,
Batman is available to rent on Apple TV.
