Julie Newmar as Catwoman
This week (13-19 August) may well be termed as another “Feline Week,” as we celebrate a number of birthdays and anniversaries. They are:
- The entire month of August: The 30th anniversary of the purple-clad Catwoman, created by artist Jim Balent, whom we will discuss soon. That comic cast a most interesting shadow, and really established the Feline Fatale as a force to really be reckoned with in the comic book world.
- 14 August: Nineteen years ago, Catfan’s Feline Fatale Follies began its experience. Initially on a free web site host, the site got its own domain in January 2006. Since the web site began, we have witnessed so many changes, both with the site and with the world of Gotham City.
- 15 August: Jim Balent, who created the purple-clad Catwoman, has a birthday himself. He began his career with DC Comics in the early 198os, and worked there when he began work on the second series of the Catwoman comic book, which began in August 1993. He remained for 77 issues until the February 2000 issue. He left DC Comics in 1999 to start his own comic book company, BroadSword Comics.
And we have a most important birthday!!!
Julie Newmar, the first performer to actually play the Feline Fatale in any sort of media (in this case, the 1966 Batman series), turns 90 on Wednesday. Born 16 August 1933 in Los Angeles, her career began in the 1950s, so she was a seasoned performer by 1966.
Julie’s character made a huge impact on the viewing public. We like to think that she helped to revive the character, since Catwoman was banished from the comics in 1954 to late 1966. Julie would play the character in Seasons One and Two of the 1966 series, and is really considered to be her signature role. A presence on Facebook, she remains an active performer even today. We wish Julie the very best!!!
We miss her!!!
Thursday, 17 August, marks a sad anniversary: In 2015, Yvonne Craig, the 1967 Batgirl, passed away from cancer at age 78. A veteran performer who had worked with Raymond Burr (and Neil Hamilton in a 1958 episode of Perry Mason), as well as Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby, her time as Batgirl, though short, was a memorable one. We saw her twice, and we proved to be a totally wonderful person!!!
And another birthday for the first moll of the 1966 Batman series …
Jill St. John, who played the femme fatale Molly in the 1966 Batman series, and who went on to play the leading lady in a James Bond film (Diamonds Are Forever, 1971) turns 83 on Saturday, 19 August. Born in 1940 in Los Angeles, she started her show business career at an early age. One of these programs, a 1949 telefilm of A Christmas Carol, had her cast as Miss Cratchit. Future Batman villain Vincent Price narrated.
Jill’s career really took off in 1957, and she remained active through the years, until her career started fading away in the 1990s. Her last appearance was as Mrs. Claus in the 2014 special Northpole. Of late, she has been out of the public spotlight, and videos have emerged online stating that her health is failing. We won’t corroborate these accounts, because they cannot be verified. Whatever the case, we wish her the best!!!
