The Batscholar on Episode 101

By Joel Eisner

Created by motion picture screenwriter Dwight Taylor (I Wake Up Screaming, Top Hat, an numerous other Fred Astaire musicals, and detective films like the Thin Man Goes Home) Louie, the Lilac could have been one of the funniest parodies on gangsters ever done. Here we have a character who dresses all in purple and surrounds himself with flowers (and later perfume in his next appearance). He wants to take over the flower children and create his own army of young people. If ever an over the top effeminate actor were needed for the show this would have been the part to play. Milton Berle could have pulled it off, he had played all sorts of parts and especially women on his old variety show back in the 1950's. When Berle left NBC he was signed to a 20 year contract with ABC and given his own show. However, times changed and his brand of comedy no longer was popular. ABC was stuck with him. He hosted Celebrity Bowling, he guested on most ABC sitcoms, including this one. Why he chose to play Louie as a straight (no pun intended) gangster role, is anybody's guess. Berle never reverted to his comedic talents except when he did his famous stamping walk (he used to walk on the sides of his feet for comic effect) into the hot house at the end of the episode.

Louie's gang consisted of actor Karl Lukas (Arcacia), who spent most of his career playing gangsters, thugs and policeman. Jimmy Boyd, (Dogwood) who was famous for singing I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (at age 14), he was a regular on the Bachelor Father and Broadside sitcoms. He was also Yvonne Craig's ex husband. Finally was Dick Bakalyan as Arbutus. Last seen as in last season's King Tut Coup and as Riddler's henchman for the silent movie episode. He would later appear as the Joker's little Green Man later in the season.

Actor Richard Bakalyan: “This was a fun show to do. I mean, everybody wanted to be on it, only because it was an ‘in’ show to be a part of, like ‘The Untouchables’ was years ago. We had such fun doing the one on Louie the Lilac, where we stole all of the flowers in Gotham City. “Milton was such a fun guy. They kept throwing me off the set, because he kept breaking me up. Every time he went to do a scene in his costume, I would just stand there and laugh. When I stopped laughing, he knew I was going to laugh, so he started to laugh.”

Lisa Seagram who appeared on numerous tv shows of the 1950' s and 1960's left the business to open an acting school and that is where she is today.

Skye Aubrey is the daughter of actress Phyliss Thaxter and former CBS President Jim Aubrey has appeared in numerous bit parts over the years.

Production Manager Sam Strangis “That was a difficult shoot. We were out in Fox’s Rancho Park and almost a thousand kids and adults came crowding around to see Batman and Uncle Miltie. Miltie was quite a ham. He went out and told jokes and signed autographs. We lost a day of shooting.”

This is the second and last time the Batgirl theme song was heard on the series.

Next Vincent Price returns as Egghead and this time Anne Baxter formally Zelda the Great returns to the series as Olga Queen of the Bessarovian Cossacks. Baxter was the first and only guest villain to return to the series playing a different guest villain. The following two part episode was in reality a three part episode (they all have the same episode production number) but rather than air it in three parts, the second part was removed and a new ending was added allowing it to be show at a later date.