[The Australian Panther]

According to Drew Friedman in his 'More Heroes of the comics' book of mini-biographies,
Sheldon Moldoff ghosted for Bob Kane on Batman for 14 years. He also created a number of Bat-characters, including Batgirl,Ace the Bathound and Poison Ivy. Are there any Bat experts out there who could tell me which comic the first Poison Ivy story is in? I would love to read that.
I presume he created the first Batgirl, Betty Kane, who was to the first Kathy Kane Batwoman as Robin is to Batman.

Cheers!

[mopee167]

Poison Ivy?s first appearance was in Batman # 181 (Jun 1966).

https://www.comics.org/issue/20087/#148053

[paw broon]

As for Batwoman and Batgirl, it seems Edmund Hamilton and Moldoff created the Betty Kane and Kathy Kane characters. Batwoman debuting in Detective 233 and Batgirl in Batman 139.  I've said this before and I'll say it again, that's a great costume they gave Batwoman.
And just to prove how daft and silly but amazingly enjoyable this period of DC was, here's a super powered Batwoman.  Doesn't she look great?

[mopee167]

Daft and silly but amazingly enjoyable? I totally agree!!!

[The Australian Panther]

thank you Gentlemen!

[profh0011]

Before I was BOOTED out of the Adam West BATMAN FB group (without any warning or explanation of any kind), there was a lot of discussion about some characters who predated the show who never got on it, and who at the time might have been good to play them.

Most members took it as a given that Ann-Margaret would have been perfect as Poison Ivy.

I thought Lee Meriweather should have played Kathy Kane. I got this idea when I noticed that Batwoman debuted the same time Lee was MISS AMERICA, and there was a bit of a resemblence.  I mean, for all I know, Kathy might have been modeled on Lee!  Considering she played 2 characters opposite Adam West-- one, the daughter of a millionaire, and the other, in TIGHTS (heh), it seems like instead of "Miss Kitka" and "Lisa Carson", she SHOULD have played Kathy Kane.

If they'd done that, there would have been no need to create a brand-new "Batgirl" (Barbara Gordon).  The only question in my mind was... who would have played Betty Kane?  For some reason, Leslie Gore came to mind...

[Andrew999]

Lesley Gore would have been good - but how about Tuesday Weld?

[Robb_K]

Before I was BOOTED out of the Adam West BATMAN FB group (without any warning or explanation of any kind), there was a lot of discussion about some characters who predated the show who never got on it, and who at the time might have been good to play them.

Most members took it as a given that Ann-Margaret would have been perfect as Poison Ivy.

I thought Lee Meriweather should have played Kathy Kane. I got this idea when I noticed that Batwoman debuted the same time Lee was MISS AMERICA, and there was a bit of a resemblence.  I mean, for all I know, Kathy might have been modeled on Lee!  Considering she played 2 characters opposite Adam West-- one, the daughter of a millionaire, and the other, in TIGHTS (heh), it seems like instead of "Miss Kitka" and "Lisa Carson", she SHOULD have played Kathy Kane.

If they'd done that, there would have been no need to create a brand-new "Batgirl" (Barbara Gordon).  The only question in my mind was... who would have played Betty Kane?  For some reason, Leslie Gore came to mind...

Did Lesley Gore do any professional acting?  I only remember her as a singer (I bought 10 of her singles and 2 LPs).

[mopee167]

Per Wikipedia: Lesley Gore performed on two consecutive episodes of the Batman television series (January 19 and 25, 1967), in which she guest-starred as Pussycat, one of Catwoman's minions. In the January 19 episode "That Darn Catwoman", she lip-synched to the Bob Crewe-produced "California Nights", and in the January 25 episode "Scat! Darn Catwoman", she lip-synched to "Maybe Now". Gore recorded "California Nights"for her 1967 album of the same name.

[narfstar]

I have two copies of Batman 181

[profh0011]

Back in the early 90s, when I taped really bad butchered copies of "BATMAN" off channel 11, I noticed that the last 2 Julie Newmar stories were clearly run in the wrong order, and that in a rare instance of actual continuity on the show, if you swapped them they suddenly made PERFECT SENSE. (Well, as much as anything did on that show... heh.)

For the next 25 years, I wondered... WHY??? What ever possessed ABC to SCREW UP such a RARE instance of continuity, in such a blatent way?

Then... while a member of that FB group... I figured it out.

"That Darn Catwoman" / "Scat! Darn Catwoman" (run on a Thursday and then the following Wednesday-- no, really) was MOVED UP in the schedule, to coincide with the release of Leslie Gore's new 45.  THAT WAS IT!!




The continuity I refer to goes like this...

In the "Sandman" story, Batman tells Catwoman he'll "put in a good word for her".  Moments later, O'Hara NABS her.

In the "College" story, Catwoman is let out on parole, BECAUSE Batman put in a good word for her.  She proposes marriage near the end, but he turns her down, and she's very upset when she goes back to prison.

In the "Pussycat" story, Catwoman gets Robin under her control, then Batman (she thinks).  the cops put out an all-points to ARREST Batman, he & Catwoman hide out in the Batcave, he gets Alfred to deliver the antidote to Robin (held by the cops), then, after an attempted robbery of the Gotham Mint, a LONG chase ensues. At the end. Catwoman is cornered on the edge of a roof overlooking the river.  She swears she will "NEVER" go back to prison.  She once again proposes marriage, but is turned down again.  And then... she appears to FALL to her death, leaving Batman in tears.



You can see how this is totally screwed when they ran the "College" story after the "Pussycat" story. Someone in the group suggested the "Pussycat" story felt like it SHOULD have been the SEASON FINALE!!!  This is especially eerie, as in the opening scene of the 1st episode of season 3, B&R are returning to the Batcave, saying, "Well, that's the last we'll see of Catwoman for awhile."


But even more... the 3-part Penguin-Marsha team-up slowly led to an attempted robbery of the Gotham Mint.  BUT... by running it IMMEDIATELY after the "Pussycat" story-- rather than a month before it-- Penguin's big scheme seems like a rerun.  So swapping those 2 CW stories actually screwed up the continuity on MULTIPLE stories at once!



In the 90s, the show was on while I was driving home every day.  So I had to "copy-edit" every episode, to get rid of the commercials.  In the process, I swapped the order so they made sense.  For 25 years, those tapes were in the "correct" order, not the ABC broadcast order.

But now that I have them all on DVD... I just have to make sure I pop in the right disc to see them in the right order.