Julie Newmar: An appreciation

Legendary Catwoman actress turns 89 today!!!

Julie Newmar, the actress who set the standard for playing Catwoman, turns 89. Born 16 August 1933 in Los Angeles, she burst onto the television sets on 16 March 1966, making an impression that remains to this day. Though her appearances were restricted to Seasons One and Two (the 1966 movie and Season Three performances went to Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt, respectively), Ms. Newmar brought her special quality to the series. She also was the one who reinstated Catwoman in the Batman canon after a 12-year absence.

I was 6½ in March 1966, and the 13th Dimension site was right about this being the best-ever Batman episode. While “Hi Diddle Riddle”/”Smack In The Middle” (the series pilot) remains a sentimental favorite, because it introduced the entire Batman universe with a blaze of colorful glory, “The Purr-fect Crime”/”Better Luck Next Time” has its own special qualities to it. It has everything, and her ending is something she shares with Molly the Mole in the pilot episode. Unlike Jill St. John’s character, though, Julie would resurface in Season Two, proving (I guess) that Catwoman has nine lives!!!

Speaking of the two ladies, it was Julie whom I fell for as a kid. And if I had memories of that first Batman episode, I had this image that it was Catwoman whom Batman had met at the disco. I had a favorable view of Julie long after I had stopped watching the series at the end of 1967, and always thought it was her in that first episode. My interest in Jill St. John would not develop until 1981, when I finally started liking the show again. More on that in three days.

I finally met Julie at the Motor City Comic Con in 2006, and it was a delight. It would be the only time I would actually be with her, though I saw her again in 2009 at Motor City and around 2014 or so at the Rhode Island Comic Con. She has managed her life well, and we wish her the best!!! —Timothy John Forbes