Batman & Bill

created an entire world 637 00:30:18,612 --> 00:30:21,413 that we are milking to the bone. 638 00:30:21,448 --> 00:30:24,199 So I can't even imagine what he felt. 639 00:30:24,202 --> 00:30:25,952 He spent the rest of the '60s writing, 640 00:30:25,954 --> 00:30:29,084 but not Batman, not even comics. 641 00:30:29,119 --> 00:30:31,217 He wrote carpentry articles, 642 00:30:31,252 --> 00:30:34,422 <i>he ended up writing for the Army Pictorial Center.</i> 643 00:30:34,457 --> 00:30:36,883 So he was always struggling for money. 644 00:30:36,884 --> 00:30:38,267 He was under strain, 645 00:30:38,302 --> 00:30:42,262 I think he was skimping on medications. 646 00:30:42,264 --> 00:30:46,808 I don't think he was eating well, and he was sliding, 647 00:30:46,811 --> 00:30:48,892 and I couldn't do too much about it. 648 00:30:48,898 --> 00:30:52,028 He was just getting by and slogging through 649 00:30:52,063 --> 00:30:54,236 and watching his character get bigger 650 00:30:54,271 --> 00:30:57,157 than ever before and being more detached from it 651 00:30:57,192 --> 00:30:58,287 than ever before. 652 00:31:00,035 --> 00:31:05,256 My very first comic convention was the 1973 New York City 653 00:31:05,291 --> 00:31:08,832 July 4th Com Convention at the Commodore Hotel, 654 00:31:08,837 --> 00:31:11,127 and the keynote speaker of that convention 655 00:31:11,131 --> 00:31:13,651 was Bob Kane, and I was a Batman fan! 656 00:31:13,686 --> 00:31:16,173 And I remember standing in the back 657 00:31:16,179 --> 00:31:18,639 of this packed ballroom 658 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:22,311 where Bob Kane was a little speck in the distance on the stage. 659 00:31:22,346 --> 00:31:24,811 But what do I remember hearing? 660 00:31:24,813 --> 00:31:26,836 "I created Batman, I created Robin, 661 00:31:26,871 --> 00:31:28,858 I created the Joker, I created the..." 662 00:31:28,860 --> 00:31:32,955 "I, I, I, I, I..." that's what I remember. 663 00:31:32,990 --> 00:31:36,120 And the thing is... is that we didn't know at the time, 664 00:31:36,155 --> 00:31:39,768 but Bill Finger was still alive in the summer of '73, 665 00:31:39,769 --> 00:31:41,498 probably on his last legs. 666 00:31:41,500 --> 00:31:44,710 So what really upsets me about Bob Kane 667 00:31:44,711 --> 00:31:47,712 is that right up until the time Bill Finger died, 668 00:31:47,715 --> 00:31:50,804 his friend and partner who co-created Batman, 669 00:31:50,839 --> 00:31:55,179 that gave Bob Kane a living and notoriety for the rest of his life, 670 00:31:55,182 --> 00:31:59,308 he allowed to die penniless and unknown. 671 00:31:59,343 --> 00:32:04,367 And for that, there is no forgiveness for Bob Kane. 672 00:32:04,402 --> 00:32:07,272 In the early '70s, Bill did begin to write 673 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:08,829 for comics again and for DC. 674 00:32:08,864 --> 00:32:10,615 He began to write mystery stories, 675 00:32:10,617 --> 00:32:13,367 and he had two stories due on a Friday, 676 00:32:13,370 --> 00:32:16,038 he turned in only one and went home, 677 00:32:16,073 --> 00:32:18,708 presumably to finish the second one. 678 00:32:18,710 --> 00:32:22,380 This was January 18th, 1974. 679 00:32:22,415 --> 00:32:24,551 He was living alone in Manhattan 680 00:32:24,586 --> 00:32:27,889 in a small apartment in the same building as Charles. 681 00:32:29,639 --> 00:32:32,229 On this particular day, I had not heard from Bill 682 00:32:32,264 --> 00:32:35,055 for like a couple of days, 683 00:32:35,061 --> 00:32:41,820 and I'm carrying a duplicate key for his apartment. 684 00:32:41,855 --> 00:32:46,364 I went to the apartment, and he was behind in his rent. 685 00:32:46,366 --> 00:32:50,747 The landlord had eviction notices on his door. 686 00:32:50,782 --> 00:32:53,167 I used my key and went in. 687 00:32:53,202 --> 00:32:55,259 [music] 688 00:32:55,294 --> 00:32:58,387 I-I walked up to him. 689 00:32:58,422 --> 00:33:02,633 He had a blanket like pulled up to about here. 690 00:33:02,635 --> 00:33:05,228 I pulled it down. 691 00:33:05,263 --> 00:33:08,144 Looked, looked, and looked, you know. 692 00:33:08,179 --> 00:33:10,602 No movement, nothing, you know? 693 00:33:10,603 --> 00:33:14,774 And I reached down, shook his shoulder. 694 00:33:14,775 --> 00:33:17,085 Nothing. 695 00:33:17,486 --> 00:33:21,039 Poor Bill had died alone 696 00:33:21,074 --> 00:33:24,364 with his little television set going on. 697 00:33:24,369 --> 00:33:26,290 I thought, you know, what a... 698 00:33:26,325 --> 00:33:30,338 kind of a sad little end. 699 00:33:30,373 --> 00:33:34,505 [music] 700 00:33:34,506 --> 00:33:38,046 The world has lost a very interesting guy. 701 00:33:42,264 --> 00:33:44,106 So when I asked Charles 702 00:33:44,141 --> 00:33:46,351 "What happened to Bi