Adam West as a Signature Role TV Star

This book proposes the ’signature role TV star’ as a new theoretical category of stardom by evaluating Adam West as a quintessential example of this type of figure.

West was best known for playing the titular role in the 1960s television series Batman. After Batman was cancelled, West was unable to develop a lasting career as a mainstream leading man, meaning that his signature role remained the defining aspect of his public image. In various ways, West demonstrated that the strong link with a signature televisual role can generate new inflections over time, meaning that he embodies both the advantages and disadvantages of this form of stardom. The analysis of West as an archetypal signature role TV star is accomplished within a star studies theoretical framework that focuses on his onscreen roles, his promotional and publicity appearances and criticism and commentary materials about him. The signature role TV star category proposed in this book can be utilised to illuminate the significance of other television stars who have been overlooked by scholars.

This book will have relevance for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Film Studies, Television Studies, Media and Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, Visual Studies and Comics Studies.

Carl Sweeney is a Learner Developer at Birmingham City University, UK. He completed his PhD at the University of Wolverhampton, UK in 2023.