West Statue Design Revealed

A miniature version of  a statue of Adam West was unveiled on the second annual Adam West Day in Walla Walla, according to Jonathan Grant one of a group of  local residents who have worked on honoring the memory of the late actor who achieved TV fame playing Batman.

Ruben Procopio is the designer of the statue.  The location of the proposed statue has not been determined according to Grant. 

West, whose real name was Bill Anderson, was a native of Walla Walla.

Walla Walla Adam West Celebration This Week

Walla Walla's celebration of hometown hero Adam West will be tomorrow (Tuesday, September 19th).  A whole days events are planned and can be seen by clicking here.  West, who died from Leukemia earlier this year, grew up in Walla Walla, and is revered in the town where he was known by his real name, Bill Anderson.  West became a pop culture icon by playing Batman in the mid 60s TV series.

Move To Honor Adam West In Walla Walla

Adam West could join Marcus Whitman as a statue in Walla Walla.    There is a petition online to place a statue in the hometown of West, whose birth name is Bill Anderson.  A statue of the late actor, who in recent years has become something of a cult hero, could significantly boost tourism for the town.  West died on June 9th after a short bout with Leukemia.

Adam West From Decades Ago

Walla Walla Historian Joe Drazan paid tribute to the late Adam West with this picture from the early '50s of then Bill Anderson (West's real name) and his wife visiting Whitman College, his alma mater.  West, of course, was a native of Walla Walla and there is talk of a movement to get a statue built in his honor.
You can find memorable Walla Walla pictures at the Bygone Walla Walla blog.

Walla Walla And The World Mourn West

This weekend, the world stopped to mourn a Walla Walla guy.  Like the iconic character he played, Adam West had an alter ego, a true identity, if you will.  When Bill Anderson landed in Hollywood, there was a well known singer that also had that name,  according to his dad, Otto Anderson.  In the early 70s, I accompanied my parents to a Little Theatre cast party at the senior Mr. Anderson's house and he was more than happy to explain the name change.  Mr. Anderson said Adam took the "West" from his own middle name. 
As I was growing up in Walla Walla, West was well loved.  He was a seemingly isolated town's connection to Hollywood.  I have heard that he visited his home town often.   As I have said, the only time that I met him in person was at a cocktail party in San Diego.
 You can probably say that he was the most famous person to hail from Walla Walla.  Drew Bledsoe, is the other famous Walla Wallan. Bledsoe achieved national fame as quarterback for the Walla Walla High School Blue Devils and the WSU Cougars.  As a first draft choice in the NFL in 1993. he enjoyed a stellar career with the New England Patriots.
After the Batman series,  West would suffer from typecasting, being denied roles because viewers would only see him as Batman.  However, West found a way to make a comeback leveraging his fame playing the character, along with America's appetite for nostalgia.  He was also able to use social networking to his advantage. 
West did a voiceover for himself in The Simpson's and did a guest appearance on The Big Bang Theory.  He eventually was casted as the voice for Mayor Adam West in the Family Guy cartoon series.
Adam West's passing started a love fest on Twitter, Facebook, and traditional media.
 Probably, very few of his fans knew he was from Walla Walla.  Probably even fewer knew his real name was William West Anderson, but West touched  the heart of his hometown where he will be remembered forever as Bill Anderson, a Walla Wallan