Chandell (Batman 1966 TV Series)

Chandell
Batman '66‎
Gallery
Real Name	Chandell (full name unknown)
Main Alias	Chandell
Other Aliases	Fingers
Relatives	Harry (identical twin brother)
Base Of Operations	Gotham City
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Concert pianist · Professional criminal
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Hazel
Hair	Black · Grey
Origin
Universe	Batman (1966 TV Series)
Creators	Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
First Appearance	"The Devil's Fingers" (October 26, 1966)
Last Appearance	Batman '66 #11 (July, 2014)

Chandell was a criminal hoping to reform.

History

Some time prior to encountering Batman, Chandell was a renowned pianist. During a performance at the White House, he used a player piano to cover that he had sustained an injury to his hands beforehand. His twin brother Harry used this to blackmail Chandell into a life of crime, using the alias Fingers.

Harry used Chandell in a plot to murder Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson so that he could marry Aunt Harriet, who would be the sole heir to the Wayne fortune. When Harry discovered Chandell's plans to go straight upon planning to use the fortune to pay him (Harry) back, Doe, Rae, and Mimi ended up using the knock-out gas on him (Chandell). When Harry's lawyer, Alfred Slye, wanted his payment for getting Harry out of Gotham City Police Station, Harry, who believed Slye's fees were too much higher than he wanted to pay, also had Slye exposed to the knock-out gas. Batman and Robin managed to defeat Harry and free Chandell and Slye from a deathtrap.

Chandell was last seen playing his music for the guards while Harry was making plans to escape from prison.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Music
• Charisma
  • Seduction
• Deception

Notes

• Much of the character is based on the life of Liberace, for whom Lorenzo Semple Jr. actually created the character and who acted out the role. Even the villain's name came from Liberace's habit of playing piano under chandeliers.
• "The Devil's Fingers"/"The Dead Ringers" were the highest-rated installments of the entire series.
  

Trivia

• Liberace brought his own costumes for the part of Chandell, as well as using his own piano. This was apparently because he "wouldn't trust anyone else's piano."
• The "Special Guest Villain" credit for "The Devil's Fingers"/"The Dead Ringers" read "Liberace as Chandell (likewise as Harry)."
• Like Chandell, who had a twin brother named Harry, Liberace himself was a twin; however, unlike Chandell's brother Harry, Liberace's identical twin brother died at birth.
• During the time when Bruce Wayne was reminding Richard "Dick" Grayson of Chandell's White House concert, Dick, upon recognizing the music as actually coming from a player piano rather than Chandell's actual performance, yelled, "HOLY PADEREWSKI!!!" This detail (Chandell's player piano using a piano roll of a Paderewski performance) was included at the insistence of Liberace himself, who never lost a chance to pay tribute to his professional mentor, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who also served as Prime Minister of Poland aside from his musical prominence.

Related

• 4 Appearances of Chandell (Batman 1966 TV Series)
• 2 Images featuring Chandell (Batman 1966 TV Series)
• Quotations by or about Chandell (Batman 1966 TV Series)
• Character Gallery: Chandell (Batman 1966 TV Series)

Footnotes

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."

Batman Villain(s) from the 1966 series This character, team or organization, was primarily an enemy of the Batman in either the 1966-1968 television show, related 1966 film, tie-in comic book series or the animated movies. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Batman (1966 TV Series) Villains category."