It has been announced that veteran actor Sam Elliot will replace Adam West as mayor of Quahog on Family Guy
Adam West, who of course was best known for playing Batman in the 1960s TV show, died in 2017 at the age of 82.
From 2000 until his death, West played himself on Family Guy, as the mayor of the fictional Rhode Island city where the show is set.
By this point in his career, Adam West had fully embraced his cult appeal and specialised in coming out with random non-sequiturs that played up his pop culture image. His appearances were often the funniest parts of the episodes he appeared in.
Replacing West in his role on the show would always be difficult, but they seem to have found a perfect new mayor in Sam Elliot.
You might not know Sam Elliot by name, but you should recognise both his face, and his iconic mustache.
The character actor’s credits include Ghost Rider, Hulk, The Big Lebowski, The Golden Compass, Blood Diamond and Up In The Air. He is one of those actors who always make you go “Oh, it’s that guy!” whenever he pops up.
His most recent big role came in A Star Is Born, where he played Bradley Cooper’s older brother and manager.
Elliot will be introduced as Adam West’s cousin, with his first and second names both being Wild – making him an elaborate Will Smith reference (think about it if you don’t get it…).
“We wanted to take the time to respect Adam,” executive producer Richard Appel told Entertainment Weekly. “In having a conversation about ‘How do you replace him?,’ the universal belief was: he’s irreplaceable. And then the next question is, ‘Do you find a new mayor?’ In the world of Family Guy, he had an important role, and a role that was necessary for a lot of stories.”
“Who could be as original and unexpected and comedically fun and fresh as Adam? Sam has a voice that — obviously he’s a movie star but he also has a voice made for radio, and Sam Elliot quickly became our first choice.”
