Burt Ward

Burt Ward (born Bert John Gervis Jr. ; July 6, 1945) is an American actor, animal welfare activist and businessman. He played Dick Grayson's Robin, the sidekick of Batman (played by Adam West), in the television series Batman (1966–1968), its theatrical feature film, the Saturday morning animated series The New Adventures of Batman (1977), the two-episode pilot Legends of the Superheroes (1979), the animated reunion films Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017), and the live-action television event Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019).

Early life

Ward was born Bert John Gervis Jr., on July 6, 1945, in Los Angeles. His father, Bert Gervis Sr., was the owner of a traveling ice show called "Rhapsody On Ice".[2] At age two, Ward was listed in the magazine Strange as It Seems as a professional ice skater.[3] Growing up, he was an avid reader of comic books such as Superman and Superboy, and enjoyed the action-adventure show Adventures of Superman.[4] He acquired the nickname "Sparky" in his youth, possibly from the sparks his skates kicked up during his routines[5] or his energetic nature.[6] He excelled in high school sport activities such as football, track, and wrestling; he was also a member of the chess club and is a practitioner of Taekwondo.[7] After graduation, he enrolled in college while working part-time for his father's real-estate company.[4]

Career

In October 1965, Ward auditioned for the role of Robin. West and Ward were up against Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell for the roles of Batman and Robin, respectively. Selected for the role of Robin, Ward thought people would find Gervis (the "G" is soft, as in "gentleman") hard to pronounce and adopted his mother's maiden name, Ward. He also changed the spelling of Bert to "Burt" to add "punch".

Unlike the series' lead, Adam West, Ward was required to perform some dangerous stunt work. He was told this was because his costume revealed more of his face, making it impractical for all of his stunt scenes to be performed by a stunt double. Later, he also discovered that he was being paid the minimum wage allowed by the Screen Actors Guild, and his stunt double was paid per stunt, so having Ward perform his own stunts was a cost-saving strategy. Ward says that he was sent to the emergency room dozens of times during his time as Robin.[8]

At the height of the series' popularity, Ward recorded several musical tracks during sessions produced by Tom Wilson and arranged by Frank Zappa. The first two, "Boy Wonder, I Love You" (which Zappa wrote) and "Orange Colored Sky", were released as a single on November 14, 1966. Two other tracks from these sessions, "Teenage Bill of Rights" and "Autumn Love", remain unreleased.[9]

In 1969, a year after Batman's cancellation, West's mother died, bringing the two men closer together. They were reunited many times at conventions and TV reunion specials. In turn, Ward also made three guest appearances with West on separate cartoons: one was a 2002 episode of The Simpsons, later in 2010 on an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, and in 2013 for one of the final episodes of Futurama. West and Ward remained friends until West's death on June 9, 2017, at age 88.[10]

In 1985, DC Comics named Ward as one of the honorees in the company's 50th-anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for his work on the Batman series.[11] He made a cameo in the 2019 Arrowverse television special "Crisis on Infinite Earths".[12] On January 9, 2020, Ward received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[13] Ward also makes frequent appearances at comic book conventions.[14][15]

Charity work

In 1994, Ward and his wife, Tracy Posner Ward, founded a charitable organization called Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions, Inc.,[16] which rescues giant-breed dogs such as Great Danes and some smaller-breed dogs. All of the dogs are socialized, behaviorally trained, and live communally together in the couples home.[17] In a 2018 interview Ward stated the couple has a special permit from the city and have a minimum of 50 dogs in their home at all times.[18] Their work with the organization has been featured in such outlets as People magazine, ASPCA Animal Watch,[19] Hard Copy, Inside Edition, and Entertainment Tonight.[20] Ward was also seen in an episode of Animal Planet's Adoption Tales. In 2024 Ward received the President's Lifetime Achievement Award and the United Nations Association of the United States of America Humanitarian Award, for rescuing over 15,500 dogs.[21][22]

Ward has also created a company, Gentle Giants, which sells dog and cat food, Ward has claimed the food has doubled the average lifespan of their rescued giant breed dogs, with two of them living to 24 and 27 respectively. All the profits from the food go back to his dog rescue organization.[18]

Personal life

Ward's first wife was Bonney Lindsey, daughter of conductor Mort Lindsey. Ward and Lindsey married on July 19, 1965, and divorced in 1967.[23] They had one daughter in 1966.[23] From 1967 to 1969, he was married to actress Kathy Kersh, whom he met when she appeared as a guest villainess on the Batman television series. He was married to model Mariana Torchia from 1985 to 1989. Since 1990, Ward has been married to Tracy Posner.[24][25] Their daughter was born on February 16, 1991.[25]

From an early age Ward practiced in martial arts. He trained under All Korean champion Young Ik Suh and later earned his black belt in karate. This training would benefit him later on the set of Batman, where he performed many of his own stunts due to his combat skills. Ward was also good friends with Bruce Lee and the two would spar each other regularly. He was later inducted into International Karate and Kickboxing Hall of Fame in 2015.[26][27][28]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

• Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights. With Stanley Ralph Ross. ISBN 978-0964704800 (1995)

External links

• Burt Ward at Turner Classic Movies
• Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions site
• Interview with Burt Ward – The Spectrum, September, 2016