May 18, 2014

Frank Gorshin: The Bulging Nemesis of Robin the Boy Wonder




Of all the villains who befuddled the Dynamic Duo on the 1960's Batman series, Frank Gorshin's Riddler was easily the most memorable -- for his giggly, frenetic energy, for his rather clever riddles, and for his obvious crush on Robin.  He preferred capturing Robin alone, with no Batman interfering, so he could caress the Boy Wonder's chest and shoulders, touch his hand, draw his face close, and look for all the world as if he wanted to kiss rather than kill him.



And for his physique.  Most Batman villains were dumpy at best, but the Riddler was hot, lean and toned, and his green jumpsuit was even more revealing than Robin's (after a few episodes, the censors forced him to wear a silly green business suit to hide his obvious gifts beneath the belt).












Frank Gorshin was a bulging fixture in 1960s tv.  In a famous 1969 episode of Star Trek, he plays Bele, the crazed survivor of a race of black-white aliens who all died trying to kill a race of white-black aliens. Lou Antonio, right, who played his white-black nemesis, was equally bulgeworthy).

But Frank Gorshin was more than revealing tights and frenetic energy.  He began his career playing juvenile delinquents in the 1950s, and starred in dozens of movies, playing mostly villains and tough guys.  A skilled impressionist, he won a Tony for playing comedy legend George Burns in the one-man show Say Goodnight, Gracie.  And, although he was married for 50 years, he was reputedly gay in real life.  He died in 2005.

13 comments:

  1. The Lou Antonio bulge is spectacular. Any more pictures of him?

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  2. Sadly, he didn't make a lot of tv or movie appearances.

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  3. "although he was married for 50 years, he was reputedly gay in real life." Who are you to say his marriage was not real life?

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    1. Gay in real life, as opposed to playing a gay character.

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    2. You never can tell with bats. But it's more obvious in their team books, like Oracle and Black Canary, or Nightwing and...any of the other male starting Titans, just for starters. The current Robin, Tim Drake, has Superboy. And Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Clare Cain. And that's not even counting Batwoman. (I do believe Bette Kane is straight, though.)

      For the bad guys, well, the Joker is canonically in love with Batman. He wants to set Batman free from his responsibilities by teaching him the wonders of madness. You could even say the Robins represent domesticity, even if the later Robins for the most part spend more time around the original.

      Former villains are often queer: Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman are all bi. On the flip side, Grant Morrison more or less has assured Talia al-Ghul will always be a villain.

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    3. Autocorrect. Just Cassandra Cain. And hey, she and Steph are a thing in Future State.

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    4. I worked at the Sheraton-Universal hotel in the early 80's. He always insisted on taking his meals in an isolated area by the pool. He repeatedly came to me and complained that his table wasn't being bussed. After he stormed back to his table, a senior waiter explained what was going on. The young busboy refused to service him because he would try to forcefully put his hand in their front pockets and give a key to his room. This happened on a regular basis, with multiple waiters and bussers making the same complaint to me. He was gay.

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    5. Shit, wish I was his bus boy back then. I'd have let him put his key in my pocket! 😛

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  4. There's an episode where The Riddler has Robin strapped to a board and is about to saw him in two. Standing over the Boy Wonder at one point, you can clearly make out Gorshin's head in his tights. In the next part there's a building ledge scene that reveals -quite clearly - his whole package. Impressive. Perhaps the most impressive male cast member - pardon the pun - of them all.

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    1. They had a lot of genital focus in the 60s. It is kind of weird, since the Riddler is usually portrayed as relatively harmless, just wanting to prove he's smarter than Batman.

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    2. Either him or Ward. Ward is apparently uncut. (Ironically while we have seen Batman's wang in the comics, though it's unremarkable, about average size and, well, we knew he was Jewish already. Not so for the Robins, even the two who are over 18* have never shown anything.)

      *Obligatory asterisk on Jason Todd's age.

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    3. OMG what comic ever showed Bat's schlock? I'd love to see it.

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  5. I remember watching the old Batman reruns when I was 5 or 6. Frank Gorshen's Riddler was the beginning of me thinking that I liked boys. Sexy even to a first grader. lol

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