Kevin Conroy Dead: Batman Voice Actor Was 66 - Hollywood Reporter

Kevin Conroy, the prolific dependable histrion who defined Batman for generations of audiences, died Thursday aft a abbreviated conflict with cancer, Warner Bros. announced. He was 66.

Conroy voice-starred successful the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series from 1992-96, and continued connected with the relation done astir 60 antithetic productions, spanning 15 films and 400 episodes of tv arsenic good arsenic video games. In caller years, helium was a fixture connected the comic normal circuit.

“Kevin was acold much than an histrion whom I had the pleasance of casting and directing — helium was a beloved person for 30+ years whose kindness and generous tone knew nary boundaries,” said casting and dialog manager Andrea Romano. “Kevin’s lukewarm heart, delightfully heavy laughter and axenic emotion of beingness volition beryllium with maine forever.”

Mark Hamill, who played Conroy’s onscreen foil the Joker, mourned his collaborator successful a statement.

“Kevin was perfection,” recalled Hamill. “He was 1 of my favourite radical connected the planet, and I loved him similar a brother. He genuinely cared for the radical astir him — his decency shone done everything helium did. Every clip I saw him oregon spoke with him, my spirits were elevated.”

Conroy was calved Nov. 30, 1955, successful Westbury, New York, and grew up successful Westport, Connecticut. He studied acting astatine Juilliard alongside noteworthy actors specified arsenic Christopher Reeve and was roommates with Robin Williams. He went connected to prosecute enactment onstage earlier landing roles successful the 1980s connected TV bid specified arsenic Dynasty, Tour of Duty and Ohara. He besides appeared connected soaps Search for Tomorrow and Another World and had impermanent spots connected Cheers, Murphy Brown, Spenser: For Hire and Matlock.

The trajectory of his beingness and vocation changed everlastingly erstwhile Batman: The Animated Series debuted connected Sept. 5, 1992.

“I retrieve Mark and I were astatine the WB dependable workplace to bash ADR enactment and we got to ticker the opening credits,” Conroy told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. “We perceive the opening taxable with the strings and the lush colors. It was incredibly dramatic. And I looked astatine Mark and said, ‘Did you person a hint this is what we were doing?’ He said, ‘No, I’m blown away!’ We some felt we were a portion of thing truly special.”

The bid inactive resonated 30 years later, with J.J. Abrams and The Batman filmmaker Matt Reeves teaming up with Batman: The Animated Series’ Bruce Timm for a caller instrumentality called The Caped Crusader, though it is chartless if Conroy was to beryllium involved.

Though Conroy was known for animation, helium stepped into the live-action DC beingness successful 2019 to play Bruce Wayne successful The CW’s “Crisis connected Infinite Earths” crossover story. He astir precocious voiced Batman successful the video crippled MultiVersus.

Over the decades, aggregate actors person enactment their stamps connected Batman’s voice, with Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck successful peculiar getting some praise and parody for their live-action takes. For Conroy, uncovering the dependable was some a situation and a prime that defined his legacy.

“Early on, I said, ‘This is the astir celebrated and almighty feline successful Gotham. Are you telling maine helium conscionable puts connected a disguise and nary 1 knows it’s him? Seriously? There’s got to beryllium much to the disguise,’ ” Conroy told THR in 2017. “My template for the 2 voices was the 1930s film The Scarlet Pimpernel. I played Bruce Wayne arsenic benignant of a humorous playboy to counteract the brooding quality of Batman.”

Among the crowning moments of his vocation arsenic Batman was the 1993 animated diagnostic Mask of the Phantasm, which helium counted arsenic his favorite. It dealt with Bruce Wayne’s unresolved feelings toward his precocious parents, thing Conroy would aboriginal accidental helium could subordinate to fixed his ain tumultuous narration with his father.

“Andrea came successful aft the signaling and grabbed maine successful a hug,” Conroy told THR in 2018 of voicing a peculiarly wrenching scene. “Andrea said, ‘I don’t cognize wherever you went [emotionally], but it was a beauteous performance.’ She knew I was drafting connected something.”

Conroy is survived by hubby Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy and member Tom Conroy.