LOS ANGELES—Kevin Conroy, who voiced the iconic Batman character in numerous animated films, TV series episodes, and video games since the 1990s, has died from cancer at 66, DC Comics announced.
The company called him “the most beloved voice of Batman in the animated history of the character,” and fans and colleagues took to various media to mourn his loss.
Glen Weldon, a longtime fan and co-host of NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” podcast praised Conroy’s Batman in a remembrance Friday.
“To several generations of fans, including mine, he simply...was Batman,” Weldon wrote on NPR.
“That’s because Conroy understood something very fundamental about the character that no other actor to play Batman ever has: Batman isn’t a disguise. Batman is the real guy. It’s Bruce Wayne that’s the put-on—the pose, the performance, the face he shows to the world.
“Conroy got that. Embodied it, really,” he said.
The actor died Thursday in New York.
Conroy voiced the Caped Crusader on “Batman: The Animated Series” from 1992 to 1996, spanning nearly 400 episodes, as well as in 15 films, 15 animated series, and two dozen video games.
He was born in Westbury, New York, and studied acting at Juilliard alongside soon-to-be famous peers Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams.
“Kevin was perfection,” said actor Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker opposite Conroy’s crime fighter in the animated series. “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.”
“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,” Hamill added. “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.”
Warner Bros. Animation said Conroy’s “iconic performance of Batman will forever stand among the greatest portrayals of the Dark Knight in any medium. We send our warmest thoughts to his loved ones and join fans around the world in honoring his legacy.”
