- "Farewell, we rid Thebes forever of its rodents."
- ―King Tut[src]
King Tut was a villain and enemy of Batman created specifically for the Batman 1960s TV Series. He was portrayed by Victor Buono.
History
King Tut is in fact William Omaha McElroy, a highly regarded professor of Egyptology at Yale University. He is just a normal man with a normal life, that is until he hits his head and his 'other personality' awakens. After a knock on the noggin', he believes he is the reincarnation of King Tut and Gotham City is the ancient Egyptian city Thebes. His ultimate goal is to claim Gotham—that is, Thebes—as his own.
His speech is laced with Egyptian history lessons, his curses and praises directed toward Egyptian gods. His hideouts are decorated with his Egyptian artifacts and his partners in crime are dressed in ancient Egyptian costumes. Indeed, they refer to him as royalty. When anyone dares to question the veracity of his claims, he gets extremely irate, insisting that he is the "Nabob of the Nile" or the "Moon God of Thoth and stuff like that."
He is a rather emotional villain, going from joy to anger and then into sadness in a matter of moments. He also has a tendency to be sadistic, insisting that while he detests violence, he loves a little torture, which he calls "good clean fun." As much as he hates Batman, he seems to hate Robin even more, as on one occasion he has the Boy Wonder suspended above a crocodile pit, and another time plans to have him boiled in a vat of oil. He invests so much time and effort into his capers he often breaks down and cries when things come crumbling down around him. It is usually at this time, when he becomes his old self once again. Sometimes he is hit on the head and this awakens the professor, and sometimes he snaps out of it himself. When he first came to Gotham, King Tut built a sphinx to shout out his demands to Gotham City. Other schemes for world domination included hypnotizing Gotham with deadly juice from scarabs and holding a millionaire's daughter for ransom. Most of the time when he was defeated by Batman, he reverted to his normal scholarly self with no memory of what had transpired.
He was also one of the only two villains in the series (the other being Egghead) to uncover Batman's secret identity as Bruce Wayne, by putting a tracer on the Batmobile. Fortunately, at Tut's challenge, Bruce Wayne appeared "with" Batman by having a Batman dummy drive up with Robin and Bruce threw his voice to make the dummy speak.
However he later found the Batcave by going through a mine shaft under Wayne Manor finally deducing that his theory was correct of Batman and Bruce Wayne being one of the same. After confronting the Dynamic Duo saying that they would have to kill him and his accomplices to stop them from telling the world their secret, a fierce fight ensued with the evil Pharoah making his escape while the heroes spray his tutlings and henchwoman with Batnesia gas to wipe out out any trace of what they had seen.
King Tut raced down the shaft and found Commissioner Gordon, Chief O'Hara and Batgirl at the end. The Dynamic Duo followed him and arrived just as the villain was about to reveal their true identities. Fortunately his loud voice made the roof of the shaft collapse on top of him, making him change back to his normal self once again with no memory of what he had learned.
He was also one of six arch-criminals freed from prison by Dr. Cassandra Spellcraft to form her new invisible gang, but this brief cameo appearance was by a stand-in.
Known Associates
Just as Batman and Robin do not go at crime-fighting alone, King Tut needed fellow partners in crime to assist him with his malicious schemes:
- Tutlings - Simple Hired Thugs who were used for King Tut's various schemes.
- Nefertiti (portrayed by Ziva Rodann) - King Tut's Ex 'queen'. She was the voice of the Great Sphinx which King Tut put in Gotham City Central Park. Beautiful but not too bright, she made the mistake of reminding Tut of his true self, for which she was placed in the dreaded Phoebean pebble torture along with Batman. After 1000 pebbles, she was reduced to a mindless slave. Her current condition is unknown.
- The Grand Vizier and Scrivener (portrayed by Frank Christi and Don "Red" Barry) - Henchmen. They admitted that although King Tut may be off his rocker, he had come up with a good plan to kidnap millionaire Bruce Wayne for ransom.
- Policeman (portrayed by William Boyett)-Henchman Kidnap Bruce Wayne
- Cleo Patrick (portrayed by Marianna Hill) - King Tut's second moll. Tut used her to spy on Commissioner Gordon by posing as his temporary relief secretary.
- Royal Apothecary and Royal Lapidary (portrayed by Sid Haig and Peter Mamakos) - King Tut's henchmen who assisted King Tut in a mind-control plot that involved reanimated scarab beetles.
- Sethos (portrayed by Boyd Santell) - Henchman of King Tut whose job is to keep him informed on such things as how a mission he has sent other henchmen on is progressing. He appears to be a bit dyslexic, as shown when he reads a newspaper article very slowly to a very impatient Tut.
- Amenophis Twofik (portrayed by Michael Pataki) - Henchman of King Tut whose one notable characteristic is his frequently used catchphrase, "...or my name's ain't Amenophis Twofik."
- Neila (portrayed by Grace Lee Whitney) - King Tut believed she was the Goddess of the Nile. She got in big trouble with him when she let the kidnapped Lisa Carson and Robin free so she would have Tut to herself. She alongside Lisa and Robin were rescued by Batman. She is very in love with Batman.
- Royal Jester and Lord Chancellor (portrayed by Tim O'Kelly and Lloyd Haynes) - Two Yale students who were with Professor McElroy when he got hit on the head. They too became convinced they were ancient Egyptians when they were hit on the head by falling flower pots.
- Shirley (portrayed by Patti Gilbert) - Loyal fan girl of King Tut's who is clearly one of his "favorites", especially after she helps him subdue Batgirl by smashing a vase over her head.
- Nubis (portrayed by Larry Duran) - Henchman who didn't have a lot to do. He and Siris sometimes got delegated to peeling fruit for his Highness.
- Siris (portrayed by James Gammon) - King Tut's henchman who didn't have a lot to do. He and Nubis sometimes got delegated to peeling fruit for his Highness.
- Suleiman the Great (portrayed by Joe E. Tata) - At different times he was the Royal Geologist, the Royal Haggler, and the Royal Tailor. He appeared to be blind, though he may have just been wearing extremely dark glasses.
- Florence of Arabia (portrayed by Victoria Vetri) - A professional belly dancer. She always called Tut 'poopsie', which he seemed to rather enjoy. She didn't help at all in his crime capers so it must be assumed he kept her around because of her dancing. She did request a more important role in his royal court, though, offering to take over one of Suleiman's many responsibilities.
- Manny The Mesopotamin (portrayed by Henry Youngman)
- H.L. Hunter (portrayed by Jock Mahoney)
- Pyramid (portrayed by ??????) - Tut's head henchmen, and has been stealing him lots of gold.
- Nile (portrayed by ???????) - Tut's henchmen, and has been stealing him land and water.
- Sphinx (portrayed by ??????) - Tut's henchmen, and has been stealing him busts of famous gods and goddesses.
- Karnak (portrayed by ???????) - Tut's henchmen, and has been stealing him statues.
- Giza (portrayed by ??????) - Tut's moll, and has been robbing every bank in Gotham City as her alias Jasmine Greene. She was very attracted to Batman, and wanted his utility belt for Tut.
Weapons and Equipment
- Lead Pestle - this blunt weapon is much like a policeman's sap though it is made of lead and not hardened leather. It is not a modern weapon. It was prominent during the ancient Egyptian era. A quick blow to the back of the head renders the victim senseless.
- Sneezing Powder - A villainous favorite. Tut's henchman, Royal Apothecary made the stuff in his lab.
- Abu Rabu Simbu Tu - An ancient Egyptian potion which can paralyze human will. The secret of its making had been lost when Saribus Saesar, a beetle sacred to the Egyptian Sun God, became extinct many centuries ago. King Tut obtained a number of these scarabs encased in amber, revived them and then killed them to make the potion.
- The Sphinx - This hollow statue rigged with radio transmission equipment always played an important role in Tut's plans. He would place the Sphinx in a busy area of Gotham and then speak to his 'people' through the radio equipment, making predictions which would become realities through his own evil machinations.
- Tut Truck (aka The Royal Barge) - a very large vehicle with enough room in the back for a fully furbished Egyptian throne room.
Appearances
Season 1
- The Curse Of Tut/The Pharaoh's in a Rut
Season 2
- The Spell Of Tut/Tut's Case Is Shut
- King Tut's Coup/Batman's Waterloo
Season 3
- The Unkindest Tut Of All
- I'll Be A Mummy's Uncle
- The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra (Cameo, portrayed by body double)
Notes/Trivia
- King Tut's appearance in Batman: The Brave and the Bold is based on Victor Buono's version of the character. Due to Fox's owning the name however, he is referred to as Pharaoh.
- King Tut is similar to Maxie Zeus, another ordinary man who's other personality has taken him over, in his case believing that he is the Greek god Zeus.
- King Tut finally made his comic book debut to the world of Batman in 2009.