by Sue White

BAM! POW! ZOWIE!

But for Johnny Green and his Greenmen, who frequently perform at Rockie's Saloon in the Sheraton Fashion Square, it meant a job portraying the green-coiffed thugs who carried out most villain's evil commands. "Batman", the television series, first aired January 12, 1966, and it took audiences by storm. Each Wednesday episode ended with the Caped Crusader and his Boy Wonder in dire straits; Thursday's segment would find Gotham City and the Dynamic Duo once again safe and sound.

A year later, the novelty wore off and "Batman" became a weekly series. By 1968, the Dynamic Duo were gone, done in by the one "Villain" they couldn't wham-bam-pow - public apathy.

"We were in the first 27 segments," Green said. "It would take us three days to film a 22-minute segment, at a cost of $100,000. And we had to put together two a week."

Green and his band read about the planned series in the trade magazines and quickly put together a tape of themselves in a bid for casting. The producers sent the tape back, Green said, with a note telling them "at this time, we're not interested but if you're ever in the area..." "That's their way of saying they don't have the money to bring you in for a screen test, but if you're in town, we'll work something out," Green said.

"We were in Dallas, Texas, at the time, playing at the Six Flags over Texas park. We climbed into our van and station wagon and headed for Hollywood." Once there, Green and his band knocked on the doors of 20th Century Fox, put together some "zany" screen tests and got the job. The "Batman" episodes were shot in color, with three or four cameras shooting from different angles - "They knew the future of television," Green said.

"The first villain, and what was supposed to be the only one, was the Joker, played by Ceasar Romero," Green said. "They brought in all the others -the Penguin, The Riddler and all the rest - when they ran out of story lines." Romero wasn't the easiest person to get along with, Green remembered. He has kinder memories of other guest stars, people like Robert Mitchum and Harrison Ford.

"In one of the beach scenes, I stuffed Robert Mitchum in a garbage can and then stood next to the can through the scene," Green said. "He kept lifting the lid a few inches and telling me these raunchy jokes. I couldn't help to laugh, and then they would have to shoot everything over again."

Ford showed up for his beach scene without the appropriate shorts. They were purchased, Green said, for 99 cents at a nearby shopping center. Green found a pair of scissors, and with a few snips, Ford was ready to roll.

Back then, Green said, Batman wore a silk cowl and hood; today, he's into leather, alluding to the harder comic and movie personna."He was a good guy then," Green explained, "now he's good but he's mean."

The series aired at 7:30 p.m., was judged as a family viewing and so the story lines were written accordingly. Green remembers an aborted plan to use his fire-eating routine in one show - the show's producers were afraid that youngsters watching Batman would try the same trick and burn the house down.

The series did hold power over its audience that first year. When nickel packs of "Batman" bubble gum were thrown on the market, seven million sold in the first three weeks. "We went from no one to everybody watching us," Green said. We would have girls run after us with scissors trying to cut a piece of our hair. With 30 girls trying to clip out our hair at the same time, they could have killed us, not even realizing it."

After the first season, Green and his Greenmen left the show and returned to their music. "When we were shooting, the daily 6 a.m. call meant getting up by 4 or 4:30 a.m., and then we shot until 6 at night," Green said. "This was every day, six days a week." "We played for the network brass at a big party, but that was it. We were too tired to play music at night. At the end we decided we wanted to get back to our music; So we did."