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Frank Gorshin, Riddler on 'Batman,' Dies
Wednesday, May 18, 2005

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BURBANK, Calif. � Frank Gorshin (search), the impressionist with 100 faces best known for his Emmy-nominated role as the Riddler on the "Batman" TV series, has died. He was 72.

Gorshin's wife of 48 years, Christina, was at his side when he died Tuesday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, his agent and longtime friend, Fred Wostbrock, said Wednesday.

"He put up a valiant fight with lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia," Mrs. Gorshin said in a statement.

Despite dozens of TV and movie credits, Gorshin will be forever remembered for his role as the Riddler, Adam West's (search) villainous foil in the question mark-pocked green suit and bowler hat on "Batman" from 1966 to 1969.

The Riddler's high-pitched laugh was based on his own, Gorshin told AP Radio in 1997. "I fooled around with all kinds of different laughs and then I found out that when I do laugh I get this high-pitched laugh and I thought, 'This is what I'm going to use."'

"It really was a catalyst for me," Gorshin recalled in a 2002 Associated Press interview. "I was nobody. I had done some guest shots here and there. But after I did that, I became a headliner in Vegas, so I can't put it down."