Happy Birthday! Burt Ward Turns 71 Years Old

Today is Burt Ward's Birthday.

Burt Ward, whose real name is Bert John Gervis, Jr., is best known as Robin from the Batman television series, which starred Adam West as The (not-so) Dark Knight and originally aired from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968. As the Caped Crusader's trusty sidekick, Ward played The Boy Wonder throughout the series' one hundred and twenty episode run, as well as 20th Century Fox's 1966 (June) feature film, Batman: The Movie.

Ward also voiced Robin for The New Adventures of Batman cartoon series and reprised the role in live-action form for the 1979 Legends of the Superheroes television specials.

In November 1966, Ward tried to cash in on Batman's popularity by recording a series of tracks, produced by Frank Zappa. Two of the four tracks were released: "Boy Wonder, I Love You" (Zappa wrote) and "Orange Colored Sky." While the other two, "Teenage Bill of Rights" and "Autumn Love," have never seen the light of day.

Ward wrote a tell-all autobiography, "Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights," detailing life behind-the-scenes of Batman. It was published in June 1995.

In 1994, Ward and his wife, Tracy Posner Ward, founded a charitable organization called Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions, Inc., which specializes in rescuing giant breed dogs. Since it began, the charity has rescued over 15,400 dogs.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Ward turns 71. Happy Birthday, Burt Ward!