See Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s touching tribute to Adam West

Adam West was best known of course for his role on Batman in the 1960’s, but there is one voice-over role especially that he’s carried on in recent years: Mayor Adam West on Fox’s Family Guy. He voiced this version of himself in countless episodes of the series, and became one of the most beloved recurring characters on the show up until this past season.

Unfortunately, the sad news broke today that West has died at the age of 88 after a battle of leukemia. There are of course many different tributes that are out there about the actor and his contributions to entertainment, but the one from Family Guy comedian Seth MacFarlane (via Twitter) is especially worth reading:

“Family Guy has lost its mayor, and I have lost a friend. Adam West was a joy to work with, and the kind of guy you always wanted to be around. His positivity, good nature, and sense of fun were undeniable, and it was always a big jolt of the best kind of energy when he walked in to record the show. He knew comedy, and he knew humanity.

“I am beyond fortunate to have had the privilege of working with him, and he will be profoundly missed by all of us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have given, Mr. Mayor. You’re irreplaceable.”

Knowing the sense of loyalty that MacFarlane feels towards many of its characters, we have to think that the show will find a proper way to pay tribute to West at some point on the upcoming season. Depending on where the show is in production, they may do something like place a title card before or after the premiere and then offer up some sort of longer tribute down the road. Given that you cannot have Adam West the Mayor without Adam West the person, the character should be retired.

For now, though, let’s give one more thanks to West for the laughs, and his willingness on this show to make fun of himself. His self-awareness was one of the things that made him so great. He realized that he would be forever remembered for Batman, so he decided to have some fun steering into it rather than thinking about this as some sort of curse.

Once again, our thoughts and well-wishes go out to West’s friends and family through what has to be an incredibly taxing time for all of them. (Photo: Fox.)