When he was a student at Whitman College, William West Anderson became a member of Beta Theta Pi. A 1951 initiate of the chapter, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Otto, a 1925 initiate of the Whitman chapter. When he began his acting career, he took the stage name of Adam West.
He is best known for his starring role in Batman where he played both Bruce Wayne and Batman. When it first aired in 1966 and only lasted until 1968. The episodes were shown on two consecutive nights, with the first night’s show always ending in a cliffhanger. “Same bat time, same bat channel” was the phrase of the day.
West died on June 9, 2017. His portrayal of a campy super hero for two short seasons added joy to the lives of those who grew up in the 1960s, when color televisions were replacing old black and white (and gray with snow) sets. Although Adam West is no longer with us, his Batman will always be available somewhere on the “same bat channel.” He also was the voice of the quirky Mayor (Adam) West of Quahog, Rhode Island, the setting of The Family Guy.
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Last week, “the sun did not shine, it was too wet to play” and a museum, The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, opened in Springfield, Massachusetts. It’s dedicated to hometown son and beloved children’s author and illustrator, Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. While at Dartmouth College, Geisel became a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The museum is now officially on my bucket list.
Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1925, while a student at Dartmouth.
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I missed wishing Chi Psi a Happy Founders’ Day on May 20. It was founded in 1841 by 10 Union College students. H. Fisk Johnson was initiated as a member of the Cornell University chapter. The picture below appeared in Ezra Magazine. It is a selfie Johnson took with his Chi Psi brothers at the reception ceremony honoring his gift to endow the new S.C. Johnson School of Business at Cornell. (Thanks Gabbie for passing it along!)
