R.I.P. Michael Gough 1917 - 2011 ( Alfred, Batman Movies )

I have some very sad news to share. The Actor Michael Gough has passed away at the age of 94. Of course as Batman Fans we all know & love him as Alfred Pennyworth, the Butler to both Bruce Wayne & Batman. He appeared in 4 Batman films: 1989 Batman, 1992 Batman Returns, 1995 Batman Forever, and 1997's Batman & Robin. He played the character with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. He is best known for this role but he also had a very long career, appearing in over 150 films. On a personal level, I have always had a lot of respect for this Actor. He played the "Alfred" role perfectly. He was very dignified, proper, and had a great sense of humor. I always enjoyed how he played the character in a "loving, caring" way.

As sort of a tribute to Michael Gough I have posted a few videos. One is a short documentary that covered his Alfred character in the "Batman Returns" movie. The 2nd clip is an appearance he made in one of his many Batman/OnStar TV Commercials. He was a great Actor & will be missed.

BATMAN 1970's NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIP Original Art

Here's a lovely example of some Original Batman Newspaper Comic Strip Art from January 4th, 1971. ( Be sure to click the small picture up above for a larger photo. ) It mainly features Bruce Wayne but one panel has his trusty Butler Alfred...nice art work too!! The BAT-BLOG would like to personally thank Steven for sending us this wonderful picture. It's pretty cool & we're sure the readers will enjoy this obscure piece of Batman History!
Be sure to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for more Original Art featuring Batman!

New Batman & Joker Photos From THE DARK KNIGHT Movie

Wow! When I opened my e-mail this morning I was shocked by this awesome set of photos! Thank you Dave, thank you very much, these are great!!! The 1st one shows a nice example of what the Bat-Cave is gonna look like. I like the way the Bat-Costume is displayed behind Christian Bale ( Bruce Wayne ). Plus, it's nice to see Micheal Caine as Alfred again, indeed. The 2nd pic is a GREAT photo of Heath Ledger as The Joker. One of the best so far! The 3rd photograph shows the BAT-POD Bat-Bike in action...love it! The last of the pix features Batman resting on a balcony in Gotham City. It really shows the new Bat-Costume in a lot of sharp detail...nice!! Thanks again Dave, these are seriously cool!!


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Video: Twas The Dark Knight Before Christmas ( Batman Parody )

Vintage Photo: A YOUNG BATMAN IN COSTUME ( With Alfred, The Butler? )

Here's a Vintage Family Photo sent in by our good friend Chip Kidd. Now, this is not "Chip when he was a small child", ha ha! No, it's just a photo that a friend sent to him because it is Batman & then he sent to us. WOW! This photo is extremely beautiful, both in subject matter AND quality! Because of the style of the Batman Superhero Halloween Costume, & the fashion of the clothing worn by Alfred, The Butler ( OK, probably his father or Grandfather, ha ha! ), I would guess it's from the early 1960's. So, the fact that it looks even older is pretty cool. I mean it looks Vintage 40's at least! Maybe it's the fact that it's Black & White or maybe because the architectural details are sort of European-looking. But the costume having the "Yellow Oval Bat-Symbol" on the chest is a dead give-away that's it's at least 1960's. Anyways, thank you to Chip Kidd for sending this wonderful photo, I really appreciate that & know everybody will love this cool pic! Now, If any other Bat-Blog Readers have similar "Batman Halloween Costume" photos then I am inviting them to send them in too!

1966 Batman TV Commercial with Alfred for Fact Toothpaste

Here's a cool Vintage 60's TV Commercial featuring Alfred from the 1966 Batman TV Series. Alfred is played by the actual actor, Alan Napier! It was for FACT TOOTHPASTE with a special Batman & Robin Poster Offer. Both the posters & the toothpaste box with Batman graphics are extremely RARE & it's really a treat to see old Alfred again!

Video: ALFRED PENNYWORTH Now Appearing in LEGO BATMAN: THE VIDEO GAME

Here at the Bat-Blog we have been trying to keep everybody informed about the new LEGO BATMAN: THE VIDEO GAME. The other day we showed a new character, Batgirl. Today another Bat-Family member has appeared...ALFRED, The Wayne Manor Butler! Here's a neat video of some actual game play showing him in action...enjoy!

New BATMAN LIVE Desktop Background Wallpapers!

Unless you have been living underneath a rock you have probably heard of the brand-new BATMAN LIVE World Arena Tour that will be hitting theaters in the UK, & then in the US. Well, here are a few BATMAN LIVE Wallpapers you can use as a background on your desktop. To make them I used official character-design artwork done by Jim Lee. Shown here are: Batman, Catwoman, & Alfred the Butler... Enjoy.

THE DARK KNIGHT Actor's Interviews Talk Show Media Blitz!

OK, since THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie is about to hit Warner Bros is kicking the media talk show circuit up a bit! Scheduled for Tuesday, July 15th:
In the morning, Morgan Freeman ( Lucius Fox ) will be on The TODAY SHOW. Then, Morgan Freeman will join Michael Caine ( Butler Alfred Pennyworth ) on THE VIEW. Then, later tonight, Aaron Eckhart ( DA Harvey Dent / Two-Face ) will be on the LATE SHOW with David Letterman. Be sure to check your local TV Guide for air time information.

Movie BATMAN - UNDER THE RED HOOD New Images

This post sort of explains itself with the title. Here are some brand new images from the BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD Animated Movie due to come out on July 27th, 2010. There are some cool graphics here of Batman, Joker, The Red Hood, Alfred, Nightwing, Ra's Al Ghul, etc... Oh yeah, the very last picture ( of the joker smiling ) is a Exclusive Collector Lithograph that will be available if you order the 2-disc DVD Set at Amazon. For more information be sure to visit the Official Warner Bros / DC Comics website for the movie, just click HERE!

THE DARK KNIGHT: Michael Caine Interview on The Tonight Show

Here are 2 really hard to find video clips showing Michael Caine being interviewed the other night by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. Of course this is about him plugging The Dark Knight Batman movie. Mr. Caine has some really great stories & from all reports I've heard he's a very nice guy. I wanna thank Stephanie over at the "What Is Techno Again?" website for sending the information. Down below is a link to check out her cool blog.


Online Videos by Veoh.com



Online Videos by Veoh.com

New BATMAN Merchandise: THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Story Books!

Later this year Scholastic Publishing is going to publish a few Batman-related children's books that focus on the characters from the new DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie. The artwork is pretty cool if you ask me! They will feature Batman and The Joker but it looks like they will also have Alfred, The Butler & Jim Gordon, The Police Commissioner too. Look for these later in fine book stores everywhere or grab some online at Amazon.

The Tonight Show : MICHAEL CAINE Interview THE DARK KNIGHT July 11th

Be sure to check out Michael Caine's interview on NBC's THE TONIGHT SHOW with JAY LENO on Friday, July 11th ( check your local listing for time ). Of course we all know him as Alfred, Bruce Wayne's Butler, in Batman Begins & The Dark Knight. He's an extremely funny & very intelligent guy so it should be quite good. Plus, there might be some new insight to the new Batman movie we have not heard before.

New BATMAN TOYS - DC Comics Cubees Paper Craft Figures

We have featured many different Paper-Craft Toys at this site before & they're always very popular. Here are some new ones we recently came across that are pretty cool. An Artist named Joshua Wolf has created a huge amount of DC Superheroes Toys you can make. Basically you just print them on card stock, cut them out, & fold/glue them into shape ( Warning: This activity is very addictive ). I'm just showing a few examples here: Batman, Alfred Pennyworth, and the Red Hood / Jason Todd. But there are many more, like Robin, Batwoman, Batgirl, The Huntress, Azrael, Nightwing, Ace The Bat-Hound, & many more! Just click HERE!

BATMAN WALLPAPERS 2 Desktop Backgrounds

Are you a brand-new Bat-Blog Reader? Well, we post 2 Batman Desktop Backgrounds every Wednesday, we call it "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday"! Today I thought I would do "something old & something new". First, the new one. This is an image from the new DC UNIVERSE ONLINE video game. It's the Concept Art for Batman drawn by Jim Lee. The 2nd one is a picture of the ever-loyal Alfred Pennyworth ( actor, Alan Napier ) from the 1966 Batman TV Show. I really like black & white photography so I think this makes a great background, give it a try.

BATMAN & ROBIN SUPPORT THE WAR! 1940's PSA Advertisement

Here's an interesting piece of Bat-History! In the March, 1944 Issue of BOY COMMANDOS ( # 6 ) Batman, Robin, and Alfred join the Paper Drive effort for the war. In this Public Service Announcement Ad ( PSA ) Alfred explains to a small boy how recycling newspaper can help the US Troops during World War II. It's a bit of American Propaganda aimed at supporting the fight against Germany's Hitler & Japan's Hirohito. Be sure to click on the small graphic up above to see a larger, easier to read, version.

Funny Animation Video: BATMAN IS UNGRATEFUL!

This animated video is very short & very funny! I mean, Batman would never act this rude to Alfred in real life, ha ha!

THE BATBUTLER! - Funny BATMAN Comic Book Parody Cover

While surfing the internet the other day, looking for goofy "Batman Stuff", I came across the website of an extremely talented Graphic Artist named Paul Conrad. He has a blog about his current art assignments ( with tons of eye candy ) called SUPER ROBOT MONSTER! The thing that caught my attention, & made me go visit his site, was this graphic of a "fake Batman comic book" titled BATBUTLER. It was for a story in Nickelodeon Magazine. I think Paul did an extremely excellent job on this & it totally cracks me up! Plus, with all the "Battle of The Cowl" business going on with the real-life Batman Comic these days, then who knows, maybe Alfred could become the next Batman!