We are heartbroken to report that legendary Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy has passed away at the age of 66. The official cause of death has not been released, though it has been reported by former castmates that Conroy had been ill for some time now.
Fellow voiceactor Diana Pershing, who worked alongside Conroy on Batman: The Animated Series and voiced Poison Ivy, shared a heartfelt tribute to the actor on Facebook:
“Very sad news: our beloved voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, died yesterday. He’s been ill for a while but he really put in a lot of time at the cons, to the joy of all of his fans. He will be sorely missed not just by the cast of the series but by his legion of fans all over the world. Below are pictures of Kevin with Loren Lester who plays Robin another with me and Tara Strong who is in the later episodes of Batman cartoons. And then finally, one of Kevin and me in front of the huge audiences we used to get when we did our panels. RIP, friend.”
1 of 3
Source: Diana Pershing
Source: Diana Pershing
Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Diana Pershing, and Tara Strong
Source: Diana Pershing
Kevin Conroy and Diana Pershing
While he began his acting career in 1978, Kevin Conroy most famously took up the mantle of voicing Batman thirty years ago in the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series. The show ran from 1992 through 1997, with Conroy continuing to play the character in various sequel series and spinoffs like Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman Beyond.
He would continue to return to voice the Batman character in various other television, film, and video game projects throughout the next three decades; truly cementing himself as the definitive voice of the Dark Knight.
Source: Warner Bros
The actor eventually managed to step fully into Batman’s shoes in 2019 when he portrayed the live action Bruce Wayne of an alternative universe in the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover event for The CW’s Arrowverse.
In what may have been his final contribution to the legacy of the Batman, Kevin Conroy wrote an incredibly moving and heartfelt story titled Finding Batman for the DC Comics 2022 Pride Anthology. It tells the story of how him finding Batman within himself was a major turning point in his life and identity as a gay man.
He was vengeance. He was the night. He was Batman.
