Kevin Conroy, who is widely regarded as the most iconic voice of Batman after voicing the character in the animated series and films, has died at the age of 66….
Kevin Conroy — an iconic voice actor who became the voice of Batman for the past 30 years — has died at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer.
Born in New York and raised in Connecticut, Conroy attended the famed Juliard School where he studied alongside notable names such as Christopher Reeve, Frances Conroy and counted Robin Williams as one of his roommates. After college, Conroy became a fixture on the theater scene where he had memorable performances in plays such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Hamlet.”
In 1992, Conroy landed his biggest role after he transitioned into voice acting and he became Batman-Bruce Wayne in “Batman: The Animated Series” that ran until 1996. Conroy would continue voicing Batman in numerous other animated series and a total of 15 films including the critically acclaimed “Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm.”
Conroy voiced Batman in nearly 400 episodes of television and eventually got the chance to play a live action Bruce Wayne in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover series as part of the Arrow-verse shows on The CW.
“Kevin was perfection,” Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker alongside Conroy’s Batman, said in a statement. “He was one of my favorite people on the planet, and I loved him like a brother. He truly cared for the people around him – his decency shone through everything he did. Every time I saw him or spoke with him, my spirits were elevated.
“Kevin was a brilliant actor. For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it. His rhythms and subtleties, tones and delivery – that all also helped inform my performance. He was the ideal partner – it was such a complementary, creative experience. I couldn’t have done it without him. He will always be my Batman.”
Conroy is regarded by many as the definitive voice of Batman and arguably the greatest to ever perform in that role. He is survived by his husband Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy, and brother Tom Conroy.
