"My name is Jolene Belinda Twomey and I live in Central Florida.  The Batman TV series had an incredible presence on the playground during the second and third grade when the show originally aired.  It was all anyone talked about!  During the first two seasons though, my mother used to put me to bed at 7:00 because of my allergies and asthma so mostly the conversations were Greek to me.  It was not until we moved to Connecticut in the fall of 1967 that she would allow me to stay up later.  By then we also finally got a color TV.  During the fall of 1967 and early spring 1968 we were all able to watch the technicolor adventures of Batman, Robin, and Batgirl first run. 

 

   Fast forward to 1992, when some friends of mine said they were going to a huge Halloween party in the Oregon district of Dayton, Ohio.  For the days leading up to it I was mulling over something to wear when I suddenly rediscovered my black dancer's unitard.  "Batman Returns" had been a hit in theatres that summer so "Catwoman" would be one of the hot costumes.  Since my costume was thrown together at the last minute I didn't have time to try to get a hood or cowl like the one Michelle Pfeiffer wore.  Instead, I improvised cat ears out of bent coat hanger wire and black tape, glued to a headband and had my hairstylist give me a "flip" do (my hair was tinted burgundy back then).  Guess what!  People kept approaching me all night saying "You look just like the Catwoman from the TV series!"  And I thought: "Eartha Kitt?  She's a small black woman.  What are you talking about?"  But then someone explained that Julie Newmar had originally played the role. Later on some friends pressured me to enter the costume contest and I won second prize!  When the fuss over my costume continued to bewilder me, someone told me to watch some reruns (I did).

 

   Something clicked after that because before then I'd thought that Julie Newmar might be a good role model for extremely tall women (I am six foot, like Julie).  My sisters and I had watched her on "Love American Style" a few times.  But her Catwoman episodes floored me!  She was smart, ultra mega super duper sexy without appearing to try too hard, and funny!  Who could forget her disguises as the old rich woman or the dorky dance teacher?   Her performances sparked me to seek out her other non-cat appearances and read all her interviews and anything else that had been written about her.

 

   Fast forward again to 2002 and me getting worn down by working two jobs, seventy hours a week.  When I finally got a computer (April 2002) one of the first things I did was to "Google" Julie.  There was a website that spoke all about Julie and mentioned that she would be appearing at Knoxville during a comic book and toy convention June 1 and 2.  Something told me to go to that convention and meet her and when I did, Julie was instantly gracious and friendly.  When we sat for a picture together she told me to move in together so that our picture would be better.  And she signed my old coppertone ad for free.   

A year later when I had the opportunity to see her again in Cleveland at something called    FrightVision, one of my bosses at my old job suggested that I go to that event wearing the Catwoman outfit.  I had made a yearly tradition of wearing the outfit every Halloween, since I'd won a prize wearing it.  The costume turned out to be a big hit at the Cleveland show, and before long I was being invited to appear at other shows such as Motor City Comicon and the big one, the San Diego Comicon.  And Julie showed up in my back yard, Orlando, last fall, and I was able to visit with her for two whole days!

Catwoman Southern Style

    My hobby of re-creating the Catwoman character, plus studying Julie Newmar and becoming her acquaintance has helped me to stay young and vital (the calendar says I am 45).  A modeling agency has recently seen all my Catwoman pictures and they invited me in for a photo shoot and signed me to their agency.  So indirectly, Julie may be responsible for leading me to a new career! 

 

   And of course, in gallivanting around the country I have also been able to meet such wonderful people as Adam West, Burt Ward, Yvonne Craig, and Frank Gorshin.  Adam thrilled me the first time we met by saying "Catwoman!" in the same tone as he did in the series!  And he has been extremely nice ever since."