Burt Ward (born Bert John Gervis Jr. /ˈdÊ'ÉœË rvɪs/, July 6, 1945)
is an American actor and activist. He is best known for his portrayal
of Robin, the sidekick of Batman (played by Adam West), in the
television series Batman (1966â€"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). Ward is one of the last surviving
original actors of the 1960s TV series Batman.Ward was born Bert John
Gervis Jr., on July 6, 1945, in Los Angeles, California. His father,
Bert Sr., was the owner of a traveling ice show called "Rhapsody On
Ice". At age 2, Ward was listed in the magazine Strange as It Seems as
a professional ice skater. Growing up, he was an avid reader of comic
books such as Superman and Superboy, and enjoyed the action-adventure
show Adventures of Superman. He acquired the nickname "Sparky" in his
youth, possibly from the sparks his skates kicked up during his
routines or his energetic nature. 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. After
graduation, he enrolled in college, while working part-time for his
father's real estate company.At the age of 19, 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. He
would see the emergency room dozens of times during his time as Robin.
is an American actor and activist. He is best known for his portrayal
of Robin, the sidekick of Batman (played by Adam West), in the
television series Batman (1966â€"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). Ward is one of the last surviving
original actors of the 1960s TV series Batman.Ward was born Bert John
Gervis Jr., on July 6, 1945, in Los Angeles, California. His father,
Bert Sr., was the owner of a traveling ice show called "Rhapsody On
Ice". At age 2, Ward was listed in the magazine Strange as It Seems as
a professional ice skater. Growing up, he was an avid reader of comic
books such as Superman and Superboy, and enjoyed the action-adventure
show Adventures of Superman. He acquired the nickname "Sparky" in his
youth, possibly from the sparks his skates kicked up during his
routines or his energetic nature. 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. After
graduation, he enrolled in college, while working part-time for his
father's real estate company.At the age of 19, 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. He
would see the emergency room dozens of times during his time as Robin.
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