Jolene Twomey

Jolene Twomey, in full costume (right), with Julie Newmar and Ernesto of “Gotham Customs,” in 2003.

Born: 20 September 1958 in Watertown, NY; currently resides in Central Florida.

Jolene Twomey, born in northern New York state, grew up in various places. When Batman aired in 1966, she was living in the New York metropolitan area, but had to go to bed early because of her allergies. When she and her family moved to Connecticut in 1967, she was able to stay up later, and her family had purchased a color TV set. So, she was able to watch the last season of the series.

Twenty-five years later, Jolene was working in Dayton, Ohio, when she was invited to a huge Halloween party. Batman Returns had hit the theatres, and when Jolene saw her black dancer’s unitard, she thought of dressing as Catwoman. Since she did not have Michelle Pfeiffer’s headgear, she improvised cats’ ears and had her hair done up. This led to comments comparing Jolene to the Catwoman in the 1966 series. She was initially puzzed, because she only remembered Eartha Kitt in the role. However, she was told to watch the Julie Newmar version, which she did. Incidentally, she won second prize for her costume!

Jolene became intrigued because she realized that she and Julie Newmar were both the same height—6 feet tall. She was also intrigued by Newmar’s performances as the Feline Fatale. Ten years later, she would meet the actress at a comic and toy convention in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 2003, they reunited at FrightVision in Cleveland, OH. At that event, Jolene wore her Catwoman outfit.

This became such a hit that she was soon welcome at other conventions. This has not only enabled her to meet other performers on the 1966 Batman series, but it has also led to a possible new career, in modeling.