It also appears that he ditched the opaque tights he wore on ‘Batman’ and went bare-legged.

It’s possible that the ad was placed before HB managed to land West and Ward.Īdam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin – Warner BrothersĮach hero is showcased in the opening title sequence, but bizarrely, Burt Ward is replaced by his stunt double during Robin’s introduction. This may have been an effort to better mimic the silhouette of the way the character was drawn in the comics and on ‘Super Friends’. The main difference was that West was no longer tucking the lower part of his cowl into the top of his cape. In the finished product, Adam West and Burt Ward reprised their roles as the Caped Crusaders from the 1960s ‘Batman’ series and they even appeared to be wearing the same costumes. Oddly, the ad mentions that HB was casting for Batman and Robin. This is an ad that ran in Hollywood trade publications about a year prior to the show’s release, seeking some Super “People” to bring the heroes to life. However, ‘Legends of the Superheroes’ was broadcast on NBC, which may be the reason it wasn’t called ‘Legends of the Super Friends‘. The live-action specials were produced by legendary animation house Hanna Barbera, who were responsible for the hit Saturday morning cartoon ‘Super Friends’, which had been airing on ABC starting in 1973. Almost 40 years before the ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ stormed onto The CW, another team of DC champions blasted into living rooms under the name ‘Legends of the Superheroes’ with the first chapter subtitled ‘The Challenge’ and part two called ‘The Roast’. On January 18 and 25, 1979, (consecutive Thursday nights) NBC aired two hour-long specials featuring the heroes and villains on the DC Universe. The Brady Bunch, Donny & Marie Osmond, The Muppets, and of course, the Justice League of America. (I mean ‘Hee Haw’ was a top-rated show through the entire decade!) And everybody had a variety show. However, what many may not realize is that while, yes, this special is hard to sit through, it’s actually not that different from the majority of what was on TV during the 1970s. ‘The Star Wars Holiday Special’ has an infamous reputation– as it should because it is indeed terrible.

Legends of the superheroes 1979