Adam West: Boozing Batman Was Saved By Love

Adam West died as one of America's most beloved TV stars — but he was a mess when his hit show "Batman" was suddenly canceled in 1968!

"I was bitter and unhappy," he recalled, and was soon going on drinking binges that nearly ruined his career. The once-hot star — who confessed, "I was considered a joke in Hollywood" — spent one wild weekend that ended with him barred from a ritzy ski resort in Aspen, Colo. The former Caped Crusader couldn't even keep his act together to properly meet Pope Paul VI at the Vatican!

“I woke up with the worst hangover of my life,” Adam said. “I made it to the Vatican, and I was at the back of this line of people who each knelt down to kiss his ring. Then it was my turn. He put out his hand. I realized that, if I knelt down, I wouldn’t be able to get up again.” Instead, Adam bowed his head, just as the Pope said: “Oh, Signor West. I have seen all of your shows!”

  Fortunately, Adam got lucky when he met his future wife Marcelle in 1970. The devoted couple would stay together until Adam's death on June 9, 2017. "I drifted from woman to woman before I met Marcelle," he said. "She's helped turn me into the kind of man that I was always meant to be!"