James Bigwood writes to say this about the actor Alan Napier, who played Alfred the Butler on the Batman TV series…
Just a note about Steve Haynie's letter about Yvonne Craig that you quoted in your blog. Alan and Yvonne did not live in the same condo complex. Alan lived in a house (not a condo) in the Pacific Palisades which he bought in the forties. Yvonne lived in the Palisades as well, but about a mile's drive away. Far from seeing each other weekly, Alan and Yvonne did not re-connect between the time Batman was cancelled in 1968 and the cast reunions in the spring of 1988, twenty years later. She did attend his funeral later that year.
Glad to clear that up…and I should note that Mr. Napier had a pretty impressive acting career before he ever landed the part on Batman. It is quite apropos that his autobiography, which is finally being published next January, is entitled Not Just Batman's Butler. Here — lemme show you the cover along with another photo of Napier…
As I understand it, Napier wrote this book back in the seventies, well before he passed in 1988. He was unable to secure a publisher back then and it languished, unavailable to the public, read by only a few of those close to him. One of the zillion and one things the Internet has made possible is more niche publishing. You no longer have to write a book which the big retailers want to display in their front window in order to get published.
Jim Bigwood has prepped the material for publication and the book will at long last see print. There seem to be hundreds of books out now chronicling the lives of supporting actors and players who would not have warranted a book years ago, and that's a very good thing. Here's an Amazon link if you wish to pre-order the Napier book. Since it's published by McFarland, I don't think the price will come down but if it does, Amazon will give you the lower price.