Burt Ward performed the Boy Surprise within the iconic Nineteen Sixties superhero collection, Batman. One of many present’s most memorable scenes featured Ward combating with martial arts legend Bruce Lee. However based on Ward, that wasn’t the one time the 2 stars went face to face.
‘Batman’ star Burt Ward was a martial artist
Batman starred Adam West as Bruce Wayne and Ward as Dick Grayson, aka Robin. Whereas West usually used a stunt double whereas filming the motion scenes, Ward did his personal stunts due to his combating abilities.
“I loved the fight scenes because I’m a black belt in karate,” he mentioned on The Jim and Sam Show in 2017. “And I was just inducted into the International Karate and Kickboxing Hall of Fame, which was a great honor. I started in 1959, the same year it came to the United States. I was a first-year [when] karate came to the United States.”
He sparred with Bruce Lee very often
Within the late Nineteen Sixties, Lee was nonetheless a rising star in Hollywood. The extremely expert martial artist lived in California, in the identical condominium constructing as Ward. In accordance with Ward, the 2 had been good associates who would usually spar collectively.
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“I lived in the same complex that Bruce Lee lived in,” the actor recalled throughout his interview with the Jim and Sam Present. “We used to spar together. In fact, when I was doing Batman and I had met him [and] his wife Linda, at the time Brandon, his son, was six months of age.”
“We would go down into Chinatown and order all the most authentic food,” Ward added. “Because he lived in China or Hong Kong for 10 years.”
Burt Ward and Bruce Lee had an epic combat scene in ‘Batman’
In 1967, Lee made just a few visitor appearances on Batman as his The Inexperienced Hornet character, Kato. And in season 2 episode 52, titled “Batman’s Satisfaction,” Lee and Ward sparred in an epic combat scene between Kato and Robin. In his chat with The Jim and Sam Present, Ward prompt the scene was the start line for Lee’s Hollywood profession.
“Bruce Lee’s first filmed fight scene of his career was fighting me on Batman,” he mentioned. “And from there he became the most famous cinema martial artist in the world.”
Lee was identified for being assured and proud. However Ward mentioned the martial artist was at all times very form and personable towards him.
“I saw him quite a bit and he trained eight hours a day,” the Batman star recalled. “He was cocky, but he’s also a very nice guy, and he was very smart — he was a really great guy and very nice to me. And he had a wonderful sense of humor. He’s just a really nice guy.”
Lee appeared in three episodes of Batman season 2 — “The Spell of Tut”, “A Piece of the Action,” and “Batman’s Satisfaction.” The collection is obtainable for hire or buy on most streaming platforms, together with Amazon Prime Video and Google Play Motion pictures.