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TV’s Batman to come to Lincoln
to autograph his book, help zoo
ly Josl traucti
Senior Reporter
Holy Barracuda! Batman is com
ing to town!
Adam West, who was television’s
Batman from 1966 to 1968, is com
ing to Lincoln this weekend to sup
port the Folsom’s Children’s Zoo and
to autograph his new bode at the Ne
braska Bookstore.
Entitled “Back to the Batcave,”
West’s book takes a lode behind the
scenes of the “Batman” series.
“It’s everything you ever wanted
to know about ’Batman,’” West said.
“And a voujprobablv
“It answers a lot of the questions
that I’ve been asked over the years.”
West said writing this autobio
graphical book had been a good ex
perience.
“I’ve written a lot of screenplays,
but this is my first book,” he said. “It’s
tough to write about yourself, but as
the wine ages, it’s more drinkable.”
“Batman,” the most popular TV
series of the 1960s, remains syndi
cated worldwide today.
“’Batman’ is in its third genera
tion,” West said. “Half a billion
people watch us every day.”
West grew up admiring the DC
Comics character that he eventually
would portray.
“My main heroes were cowboys
and jazz musicians, but I always en
joyed Batman,” he said. “He was the
best of the comic book characters.”
"They are two completely different views. Ours is
lighthearted, family-friendly and hopefully funny.
Theirs is sinister, dark and violent. ”
m
ADAM WEST
actor who played TV’s Batman
West contrasted the differences
between his series and the recent
“Batman” movies.
“They are iw>fomklStluMfr
ent views, he said, ‘xtors is iight
hcarted, family-friendly and hope
fully funny. Theirs is sinister, dark
and violent.
“Batman kills more innocent by
standers driving to the rescue in the
Batmobile than the criminals do.
That’s just one way to look at it.”
West said he approved of the cast
ing of Val Kilmer as the new Batman
in next summer’s third installment
in the “Batman” movie series,
“Batman Forever.”
“He’s probably as good a choice
as anyone for a new, young Batman,”
he said.
West continues to pursue an ac
tive acting career. He has a new TV
series called “The Clinic” and will
star in an episode of’Tales From the
Crypt.” He also will be in three up
coming movies, including the new
Oliver Stone-Michael Tolkin movie
“The New Age.”
West even appeared on “The
Simpsons.' Look at who they’ve ani
mated.
“I plan to just keep plugging on.
I’ve got 30 years of this. I ’ll just keep
reading stuff and do what seems
best.”
Tonight from 6 to 9 p.m.. West will
be at the Masters of the Night bat
exhibit at the zoo for “Kids Night Out
with Batman.” Admission is $4 for
adults and $3 for kids, and kids who
dress up in a Batman costume get a
50-cent discount.
Tomorrow, West will be
autographing his new book from 10
a m. to 1 p.m. at the Nebraska Book
store.
Tomorrow night will be the “Bat
Bash” at the Masters of the Night bat
exhibit from 8 to 11 p.m. There will
be a cash bar, and West will speak
about his experiences as Batman.
Contemporary artist Pratt
not your normal pianist
From Staff Report*
With a full head of dreadlocks and
a style all his own, pianist Awadagin
Pratt admits he is “A Long Way From
Normal.”
Pratt grew up in Normal, 111., and
released his first recital album: “A
Long Way From Normal,” last
spring. The virtuoso pianist will per
form this weekend in Lincoln.
Pratt, who physically resembles
reggae king Bob Marley, plays from
a much older side of the musical spec
trum. His specialty lies in using clas
sical piano music from Beethoven,
Brahms, Stravinsky, Bach and oth
ers and adding his own contemporary
flare.
Pratt started his piano studies at
age 6. And at the age of 16, he
brought his talent to the University
of Illinois. He moved on in 1986 to
receive three diplomas in piano, vio
lin and conducting from the Peabody
Conservatory.
He won the 1992 Naumburg In
ternational Piano Competition, and
has appeared on the “Today Show”
and “CBS Sunday Morning.”
Fanfare Magazine referred to Pratt
as “a rarity among the steely pianists
of his generation: a truly tender vir
tuoso. ... Yet for all its gentle beauty,
the playing never declines into the
merely pretty; because of Pratt’s su
perb control of inner voices ... the
surface of the music is always shim
mering ...”
Pratt performs tonight at 8 in
Kimball Hall. General admission
tickets are SI4, and $7 for students.
_ PeopleWatch _
Aerosmith glad Kennedy won
NEW YORK (AP) — Aero
smith sympathized with Ted
Kennedy s re-election bid.
The rock band from Boston sent
the senator from Massachusetts a
telegram after he defeated Repub
lican Mitt Romney on Tuesday.
“Congratulations to the George
Foreman of Massachusetts poli
tics,” said the telegram released by
the band Thursday. “We always
like to see a hometown boy make
good. ... We were always behind
you. We, more than anyone, know
what it’s like to be counted out and
then to come out on top.”
Romney was given a good
chance of toppling Kennedy after
32 years in the Senate, but
Kennedy wound up taking 58 per
cent of the vote.
Aerosmith, whose current hit
album is uBig Ones,” backed
Kennedy throughout the cam
paign. Bassist Brad Whitford was
nost of a fund-raiser earlier this
year.
Ted Koppel in the slammer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Ted
Koppel is going to prison for a
night
The host of “Nightline” will do
r -&PS nextwpekat the maximum
BWVHMlin. His expe
riences under lock and key will
form part of a series of shows on
the question “Do Prisons Work?”
Tne series, which is to begin
Tuesday, also will include a town
meeting broadcast from the prison
featuring correction officers, poli
ticians, police and crime victims
as well as inmates.
ABC News chose Raleigh be
cause Correction Department offi
cials were cooperative, and the city
has several prisons.
Hanks recognized for roles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The
Hollywood Women’s Press Club
honored Tom Hanks for taking so
cially conscious roles.
The star of “Forrest Gump” and
last year’s “Philadelphia” received
the Louelia O. Parsons Award,
given to a person who “represents
the best image of the entertainment
industry to the world,” a club state
ment said Wednesday.
“The social consciousness of his
films distinguish Mr. Hanks
among stars; his work is proof that
responsible filmmaking can also
win at the box office,” said the
club's president, Janet Tighe.
Previous winners include Bette
Davis, Cary Grant and James
Stewart.
Hanks won an Academy Award
for his portrayal of an AIDS
stricken lawyer in “Philadelphia.”
He played a mildly retarded man
who finds love and happiness in
“Forrest Gump.”
“Wildflowers"
Tbm Petty
Warner Bros.
Grade: A
The Mad Hatter has gone sane.
Tom Petty, a true American boy,
waxes nostalgic on “Wildflowers,"
his latest solo release (but with a
lot of help from a few Heartbreak
ers). Always calm, cool ami col
lected, Petty mellows out on “Wild
flowers” as he reaches into adult
hood.
With his long, ashen blond hair
and eyes hidden behind his trade
mark sunglasses. Petty lodes out
at the America he has captured in
his songs... and he smiles.
The majority of the 15 sonps are
relaxing and drowsy, illicihng a
hynotic slump into a surreal real
ity.
The title sons of the albun is a
wonderful tale of freedom and love
for someone by letting her be
“among the wildflowers.
“You belong among the wild
flowers/ You belong in a boat out
at sea/ Sail away, kill off the hours/
You belong somewhere you feel
free.”
It would take a musical genius
like Petty to capture this longing
and respect in a light, harmonious
song or perfect love.
Petty sums up all he has
learned, as many of his past songs
have, and offers them as musical
advice. He’s a rebelious soothsayer
in jeans and sneakers.
“You Don’t Know How it Feels”
sways back and forth with a dark
tinged guitar. “People come,
people go/ Some grow young, some
grow cold/1 woke up in between/
A memory and a dream.”
“Wildflowers” isn’t planted in
optimism or pessimism, it’s
planted in reality and retrospect.
The touching, heartbreaking (no
pun intended) and yielding songs
unify the album into an intricate
web of greatness.
Petty’s Bob Dylan-esque voice,
paired with acoustic guitar,
screams for honesty and bare
bones lyrics, which Petty provides
with a soft, yet intense style.
He bares a lot of pain and loss.
He shows a lot of hope and lets his
cynical wit peek out. But, most of
all, he lets his fans in on possibly
one of the last chapters in the
shrouded mystery of the Mad Hat
ter and encourages them to follow
their dreams and to be, like Petty,
a rebel.
Petty offers up a sliver of opti
mism in “Wake Up Time.”
“Well, if he gets lucky, a boy
finds a girl/ To help him shoulder
the pain in this world/ And if you
follow your feelings/ Ami you fol
low vour dreams/ You might Find
the forest there in the trees."
— Paula Lavigne
“INXS: The Greatest Hits**
INXS
Atlantic Records
Grade: B+
The band from Australia (when
INXS formed in 1977, that actu
ally meant something) is back with
a spectacular compilation album,
“INXS: The Greatest Hits ”
Part of what made the ’80s such
a great decade for music was
INXS. The band's 1988 album
“Kick" sold 9 million copies and
contained four Top 10 singles that
stick in your head like Republican
incumbents stuck to their congres
sional scats this year.
The great thing about INXS is
that you don’t have to be a crazed
fan to enjoy their music. Their
songs, especially off “Kick" and
“X, are so catchy you can’t help
but love them. And if you still
donH like INXS, you’ll still rec
ognize their music because they
helped to define late-’80s and
early-’90s rock.
And this album has it all: their
most popular songs from every al
bum they’ve put out. In chrono
logical order, no less.
Mhts are “What You
“Shine Like It Docs"
off 1985’s “Listen Like Thieves.”
The guitars on “Shine” are soulful
and hypnotic; Michael
Hutchcncc s wonderfully accented
slow swing through the chorus
isn’t half-bad, either.
Of course, all the Top 10 hits
from “Kick” are here: “Need You
Tonight," “Devil Inside," “New
Sensation" and “Never Tear Us
Apart .” If you were alive in 1988,
you heard these songs and prob
ably loved them.
“Suicide Blonde" and “Disap
pear” are here from “X," and three
more tracks from the band’s last
three albums round out this com
pilation. And lest you think that
INXS has stopped writing songs
and slipped into greatest-hits pur
gatory, the album offers two new
songs: “The Strangest Party” and
“Denver Me."
“Strangest” is not impressive.
The uninteresting chorus repeats
over and over again. The music
just doesn’t match INXS’s usual
quality, either.
“Deliver Me" has a funky pop
beat, heavy on synthesizer with a
catchy guitar pluck. But again, it
falls short or INXS’s previous
work.
So is the album worth buying?
Definitely. Just get it on CD so you
can program your player to skip
tracks 15 and 16.
—John Fuiwlebr
