Adam West has died aged 88

In a statement, Adam’s family said: “Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans' lives. He was and always will be our hero.”

Adam’s tongue-in-cheek portrayal of Bruce Wayne and his heroic alter-ego became a surprise cult hit with its premiere on ABC in 1966, and although the show was a huge success, the star found himself struggling to get other work as he had become synonymous with the popular character.

Speaking previously about what the role of Batman has come to mean to him, Adam said: “Money. Some years ago I made an agreement with Batman. There was a time when Batman really kept me from getting some pretty good roles, and I was asked to do what I figured were important features. However, Batman was there, and very few people would take a chance on me walking on to the screen. And they’d be taking people away from the story. So I decided that since so many people love Batman, I might as well love it too. Why not? So I began to reengage myself with Batman. And I saw the comedy. I saw the love people had for it, and I just embraced it.”

More recently, Adam took on a voice role in the animated comedy series ‘Family Guy’, where he voiced a fictional version of himself, who is the mayor of Quahog, where the show is set.

He said previously of his role: “I had done a pilot with Seth [MacFarlane, ‘Family Guy’ creator] that he had written for me. It turned out we had the same kind of comic sensibilities and got along well. When ‘Family Guy’ came around and Seth became brilliantly successful, he decided to call me and see what I was doing. He asked if I would like to come aboard as the mayor, and I thought it would be neat to do something sort of absurd and fun.”

Adam is survived by his his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.