Adam West's portrayal as the Caped Crusader on Batman may not have been the truest interpretation of the hero as written in the comics, but he definitely earned many fans. This includes a 4-year-old boy by the name of Hunter, whose father wanted to surprise him with a personalized message from the hero he's watched on his television. The dad reached out to his friend, voice actor and Batman fan Ralph Garman, who donned the role in lieu of West, who passed in 2017. Watch Hunter's adorable reaction below, as he listened in shock to a message left by Batman on his family's phone:
The look on Hunter's face is priceless as "Batman" reminded the young boy to eat his vegetables and cuts the call short to ride off in the Batmobile to stop The Riddler. Ralph Garman jazzed up the call with some Batcave sound effects from the original Batman as well as a sound of the Batmobile speeding away at the tail end of the message to really sell the effect. It was a nice touch, albeit not entirely necessary as the kid seemed plenty convinced the moment he heard Garman's impression he was listening to the real deal! Garman went on more about the experience in his YouTube description and said he had fun "traveling back in time" and that he thought Adam West would've been proud of what he did to make young Hunter's day.
Ralph Garman would definitely be a better authority than most on what Adam West would and wouldn't approve of, as the two established a nice relationship throughout the years. Among other things, Garman hosted "An Evening With Adam West" to help cover the cost of West's Hollywood Star back in 2012, and the two both were voice actors on Family Guy. in a radio interview a couple years back, Garman mentioned working with West (2:43 in the video) and said that West would ask him to do the impression of him from time to time and then jokingly give Garman a hard time afterward:
Ralph Garman certainly is using his powers for good as he gave that young kid something to remember for a long time. Hopefully, when that kid grows up and learns the truth, he takes the news of Adam West's passing a little easier than some did last year and has a great appreciation for the strings his dad pulled to make that special moment happen.
Ralph Garman is featured on Family Guy, which is in the midst of Season 16 on Fox and airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. For a look at some other television shows that are airing new episodes or premiering for the first time in 2018, be sure to visit our midseason premiere guide. Those who are looking for more Adam West can hear his final performance as Batman in the animated feature Batman vs. Two-Face, which is currently available to own on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray.
