Adam West, the star of the 1960s Batman TV series, has died aged 88.
He died on Friday night in Los Angeles after a short battle with leukemia, his family said.
He died peacefully surrounded by his family and is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
His family said in a statement: "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."
They also released a statement on Adam West's Twitter saying "Our beloved AW passed away last night. He was the greatest. We'll miss him like crazy. We know you'll miss him too - West Family."
Our beloved AW passed away last night. He was the greatest. We'll miss him like crazy. We know you'll miss him too - West Family pic.twitter.com/8bkEq1C2ao
— Adam West (@therealadamwest) June 10, 2017
While the actor's career waned after the cancellation of the Batman television series, the show's stylistic camp and tongue-in-cheek earned both itself and him cult status among fans.
In an interview with the Archive of American Television, West explained that the tone of the show "was one of absurdity and tongue in cheek to the point that I found it irresistible.
"You can't play Batman in a serious, square-jawed, straight-ahead way without giving the audience the sense that there's something behind that mask waiting to get out, that he's a little crazed, he's strange."
More recently, Adam West also did some voice-over work, including his role as the eccentric mayor of Quahog, who was called Adam West, in the animated TV series Family Guy.
Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, recently paid tribute to Adam West on Twitter. TV host Conan O'Brien also paid tribute to Mr West on Twitter saying that he was "a sweet and lovely man".
— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) June 10, 2017
God Bless Adam West pic.twitter.com/9OK7kHNZHS
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) June 10, 2017
On his website, Adam West wrote: "Sometimes, when I think about my over the past 40 years, it is hard to remember all of it. Of course, Batman has been an important part of it, and recently, Family Guy.
"Thanks to your loyalty, both shows have become an enormous success, and Batman has become iconic all over the world. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."
We are so sad to hear about the passing of Adam West. He was our first #Batman and defined the role for so many others. RIP. â¤ï¸ #AdamWest pic.twitter.com/XJJp7mo1Gc
— Nerdist (@nerdist) June 10, 2017
