Adam West and Burt Ward Honored at the 2010 Austin Comic Con

On November 13, Austin, which houses the world's largest suburban bat colony, honored Adam West and Burt Ward, the actors who played Batman and Robin on the classic, campy television series from the 1960's.

Mayor Lee Leffingwell was on hand at the Austin Convention Center to read a proclamation and make West and Ward honorary citizens of Austin, TX.

"Two million bats live under the Congress Avenue Bridge about three blocks from here. Here in Austin, we love our bats," Leffingwell said to the crowd in Hall 4.

"And we also love Batman and Robin-in a manly way, of course. Just a few months ago, the Austin City Council voted unanimously to make the bat the official animal of Austin. So, we're all very proud of that."

After declaring November 13, 2010 to be "Batman and Robin Day" in Austin, Mayor Leffingwell also promised that the "Day of the Bat," which honors the two million winged residents of Congress Avenue, will become an annual event.

We caught up with Adam West after the ceremony to talk about his body of work, including his stint as the Mayor of Quahog on "Family Guy."

"You know, I think it is better for politicians to be animated. There are so many that are unpleasantly real. Animation ain't bad in Quahog for me," West said with a smile.

When asked about the Bat fandom that has followed him for 45 years, West, who maintains his own website, said he got so lucky to land the part. "How many actors get a chance to play a character that becomes iconic in pop culture? That's why I embrace Batman, I relive it and I love it."

On the other side of the autograph booth, Burt Ward reminded us that Austin is the city where the "Batman" movie premiered in 1966.

Ward also likes coming to events like the Austin Comic Con to meet his fans. "You've got the older fans who bring their kids, the fathers who say 'Oh, look here Johnny. Here was Daddy's favorite superhero.'"

"And Mommy says 'Oh, I was in love with him, with Robin.' The kid looks at both of them and says 'What's wrong with you two?'" Ward said with a laugh.

Playing Robin for three seasons on the small screen was not always a laughing matter, though.

"I got third-degree burns, second-degree burns from explosions. I got hurt from all kinds of penguin gas. I went to the emergency hospital four of the first five days of filming. I didn't think I was going to survive the first show," Ward said.

Ward said that "Batman" producers even took out a 3 million dollar life insurance policy on him. "Near the end of the third season, I definitely thought they were trying to collect on it," he said.

Currently, Ward and his wife are pitching a reality series about Gentle Giants Rescue, their animal rescue organization.

Displaying photos of his dogs on his iPhone, Ward said that all the dogs live in the house with them. "Here's one of my puppies. He stands 7 feet, 3 ½ inches tall on his hind legs, 2 ½ inches Taller than Shaquille O'Neil," Ward said.

Adam West also will be on hand as the commentator and voice of reason in Ward's new reality series. "They are going to say we were the Caped Crusaders, but now we are the Canine Crusaders," he said.