# Bob Denver as the joker **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 2, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139 "2019-10-02T07:41:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/21 "2019-10-02T16:15:09Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I guess Maryann could be Harley Quinn. Not in the 60s. The character didn’t exist. But Jim Backus as the Penguin and paul Lynde as the Joker are good. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/22 "2019-10-02T16:25:53Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The authoritative list of actors who would be totally miscast as the Joker: > > 1. Bob Newhart I can’t believe how much I’d like to see this. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/23 "2019-10-02T16:37:09Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Cesar Romero was already a bad Joker… I thought Cesar Romero was a FABULOUS joker! He played the role with just a perfect amount of lunacy that was exactly what that series required. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/24 "2019-10-02T17:02:24Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I can’t believe how much I’d like to see this. Done entirely via Bob Newhart’s telephone call bits. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/25 "2019-10-02T17:14:22Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Not in the 60s. The character didn’t exist. > But Jim Backus as the Penguin and paul Lynde as the Joker are good. But she was retconned into the animated feature _Batman vs. Two-Face_, which was based upon the 1966 TV show. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LIfRKVlN-Ko/maxresdefault.jpg "Batman vs. Two-Face | Experiment Goes Awry | Warner Bros. Entertainment") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIfRKVlN-Ko) Here she can be seen as Dr. Strange’s assistant. But a blonde actress has to play the part. Dawn Wells wouldn’t have worked out in that case. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/26 "2019-10-02T17:15:18Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I thought Cesar Romero was a FABULOUS joker! > > He played the role with just a perfect amount of lunacy that was exactly what that series required. Seconded. He and Gorshin could play psychopaths better than anyone else. I can’t imagine anyone else being as good a Joker as Romero was. As for “not being menacing,” he literally scared the piss out of my three-year-old brother. Poor kid had nightmares about him and wet the bed for years afterward. All of the actors who played villains loved being able to ham it up on _ **Batman** _. The competition for the role of next week’s guest villain was fierce. From January to September 1966, \*\*\*Batman \*\*\*was the hottest series on TV. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/27 "2019-10-02T17:16:07Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Done entirely via Bob Newhart’s telephone call bits. Lordy, how I would love to have seen this. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/28 "2019-10-02T17:19:32Z")
And with all due respect to Miss Kitt, Julie Newmar was the ultimate dominatrix. No woman could wield a cat-o-nine tails better than she. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/29 "2019-10-02T17:24:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Even if they did get John Astin (Gomez Addams) to play The Riddler. (Thankfully, that didn’t last long.) If you think about it, John Astin wouldn’t have been a bad choice to be the Joker. The TV series Joker wasn’t as physically active as the Riddler, so what they would need was an actor who was high-energy and could do a maniacal laugh, but not necessarily one who could do the physical stunts Frank Gorshin did. You know who might have been great as a 1960’s Joker? Desi Arnaz. [Check him out in this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbi_TyBzQkU) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/30 "2019-10-02T17:34:50Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > For some reason I was just thinking about this show this morning. It seems surprising that a show that was so popular only lasted 3 seasons - they should have had 6 seasons and a movie as well as a Batgirl spinoff (OK, they did have a movie…). I am glad that it survived in reruns during my childhood though. Actually, it lasted barely two: It was a midseason replacement in January 1966, and the last episode aired in March 1968. It was the hottest show on TV for 6–8 months, but the novelty wore off. After we all came back from summer vacation, the campiness wasn’t near as exciting. (Oddly enough, 11-year-old me took the show dead seriously. I always thought it showed true-to-life scientific crimefighting, and I was offended when _ **TV Guide** _ listed it as a “Comedy.”) The movie came out in July 1966, so it was really a rush job to cash in on the show’s popularity at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/31 "2019-10-02T17:38:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > (Oddly enough, 11-year-old me took the show dead seriously. I always thought it showed true-to-life scientific crimefighting, and I was offended when _ **TV Guide** _ listed it as a “Comedy.”) Me, too. When I saw some episodes at the age of 20, I was floored to realize that my favorite gritty crime drama was a laugh riot. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/32 "2019-10-02T17:41:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Just about any ham actor could play a villain in the Batman TV series. Denver was a clown, but not much of a ham, it’s just not his kind of role. He was always more of a Maynard G Krebs type. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/33 "2019-10-02T17:42:28Z")
I completely read this as the other Denver (John) for the role, and trying to figure out how that would have worked. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/34 "2019-10-02T18:11:10Z")
Denver “Uncle Jesse Duke” Pyle, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/35 "2019-10-02T19:45:52Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Now I’m wondering who would be a good Joker if they revived the 60’s-style Batman TV series today. And, more generally, who-all could/would play the villains on the show. One data point: Jeff Bergman voiced the Joker in _Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders_ (the first of two animated features based on the 60s series). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/36 "2019-10-02T20:15:51Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Now I’m wondering who would be a good Joker if they revived the 60’s-style Batman TV series today. And, more generally, who-all could/would play the villains on the show. Well I’m picturing Patrick Warburton as Batman. He may be a bit old, but he’s got the dry delivery down pat. With Ian Armitage as Robin. Jim Parsons as the Riddler Rami Malek as the joker ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/37 "2019-10-02T21:07:09Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > One data point: Jeff Bergman voiced the Joker in _Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders_ (the first of two animated features based on the 60s series). Also in the sequel, _Batman vs. Two-Face_. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/38 "2019-10-02T23:11:34Z")
Romero’s Joker may not have worked in Christopher Nolan’s, Tim Burton’s, or even Joel Schumacher’s Batman universes. But he was absolutely pitch perfect in the 60’s camp version. I’ll fight anyone who claims otherwise, hitting them so hard that words describing the impact will appear in mid-air. [Here’s an interesting little interview from the era](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPEKbKMod3Y). Seems like he totally “got it.” ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/39 "2019-10-03T00:33:20Z")
It is worth noting that Astin is the sole surviving (male) villain from Batman '66. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139/40 "2019-10-03T00:35:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Lordy, how I would love to have seen this. “So you were in the middle of painting a smiley face on the police headquarters, and these guys showed up and started punching you. What did they look like?” “A cape and cowl?” “And the kid was in tights. Right.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-denver-as-the-joker/841139.md?page=3)