Post by sanjuro on Jul 18, 2008 16:48:05 GMT -5
As recounted in an old Rolling Stone:
"I maintain that the television series 'Batman' is one of the most brilliant pieces of American art in the last 30 years," says Conan O'Brien. When he was at Harvard, Burt Ward was invited to lecture about his role as Robin on Batman. According to the ads, Ward was bringing the original Robin costume, said to be valued at $500,000.
O'Brien: "So, Burt Ward gave an interview to the school paper and sounded really pompous. We knew we had to do something."
That something, as it turned out, involved O'Brien and a friend procuring security-guard uniforms.
"We went up to him and said, 'Hello, Mr. Ward, the dean is worried about the safety of the costume,'" continues O'Brien. "He didn't question for a second that the dean of a major university would dispatch guards for the Robin costume. He was like, 'Excellent, I thought someone would be by.'"
During a post-lecture question-and-answer session, another friend stood up in the auditorium, dressed as the Penguin -- despite the fact he was acting more like the Riddler -- and asked, "When is a costume not a costume? When it's stolen."
O'Brien: "And just then we had someone turn out all the lights like in a bad movie. But, of course, in the movies it's pitch-black, and here it's really just a little dimmer. Which is an important thing to know for anyone out there contemplating a crime. So it gets grayish brown and we grab the costume and take off."
A chase ensued, with O'Brien and company eventually escaping to a hide out where they took turns phoning up Burt Ward and snapping pictures of one another dressed as the caped crusader's sidekick. O'Brien and his friends were in hysterics. Burt Ward was less than amused.
"I love in life when people act like you think they would," says O'Brien. "He was on the phone going, 'That costume better be returned or you're in big trouble, mister. You're not going to get away with this."
O'Brien laughs -- you know the sound -- and continues: "We eventually got it back to him, but it was not worth $500,000. If you went to his car and jimmied open the trunk, there'd be like 10 more there. Like he's always giving them to girls."
"I maintain that the television series 'Batman' is one of the most brilliant pieces of American art in the last 30 years," says Conan O'Brien. When he was at Harvard, Burt Ward was invited to lecture about his role as Robin on Batman. According to the ads, Ward was bringing the original Robin costume, said to be valued at $500,000.
O'Brien: "So, Burt Ward gave an interview to the school paper and sounded really pompous. We knew we had to do something."
That something, as it turned out, involved O'Brien and a friend procuring security-guard uniforms.
"We went up to him and said, 'Hello, Mr. Ward, the dean is worried about the safety of the costume,'" continues O'Brien. "He didn't question for a second that the dean of a major university would dispatch guards for the Robin costume. He was like, 'Excellent, I thought someone would be by.'"
During a post-lecture question-and-answer session, another friend stood up in the auditorium, dressed as the Penguin -- despite the fact he was acting more like the Riddler -- and asked, "When is a costume not a costume? When it's stolen."
O'Brien: "And just then we had someone turn out all the lights like in a bad movie. But, of course, in the movies it's pitch-black, and here it's really just a little dimmer. Which is an important thing to know for anyone out there contemplating a crime. So it gets grayish brown and we grab the costume and take off."
A chase ensued, with O'Brien and company eventually escaping to a hide out where they took turns phoning up Burt Ward and snapping pictures of one another dressed as the caped crusader's sidekick. O'Brien and his friends were in hysterics. Burt Ward was less than amused.
"I love in life when people act like you think they would," says O'Brien. "He was on the phone going, 'That costume better be returned or you're in big trouble, mister. You're not going to get away with this."
O'Brien laughs -- you know the sound -- and continues: "We eventually got it back to him, but it was not worth $500,000. If you went to his car and jimmied open the trunk, there'd be like 10 more there. Like he's always giving them to girls."