Kevin Conroy, Iconic Batman Voice Actor, Dies At 66

Kevin Conroy, best known for voicing Batman on Warner Bros.' long-running TV show "Batman: The Animated Series," has died after a short battle with cancer. He was 66. Variety reports: "Batman: The Animated Series" originally aired for 85 episodes on Fox Kids from 1992-1995. Conroy's deep, gravelly Batman voice was widely acclaimed by critics and comic book fans, with many regarding the actor as the definitive Caped Crusader. The series also featured Mark Hamill's memorable performance as the Joker.

Conroy was so beloved for his Batman voice role that he continued with the character in various other DC projects, including the "Batman: Arkham" and "Injustice" video games franchises. He also appeared in various DC Universe Animated Original Movies, including "Batman: Gotham Knight" (2008), "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" (2009), "Justice League: Doom" (2012), "Batman: The Killing Joke" (2016) and "Justice League vs. the Fatal Five" (2019), among other films. The 2019 "Justice League" animated film is Conroy's last credited feature as Batman, and his most recent video game credit as Batman is Warner Bros.' "MultiVersus" from earlier this year.

Re:Who? Iconic?

[AmiMoJo]

Like Dr Who it depends who you grew up with.

Batman The Animated Series was like nothing else at the time. 80s cartoons were very tame, and then along came Batman. Dark, drawn on black paper, with a serious protagonist and no comedy sidekick or little kid tagging along. Even Robin, when he joined later on, was portrayed as a young adult.

It was the first cartoon to show realistic guns, at least in the modern era. And it looked incredible, drawn in a retro future 1920s art deco style. Timeless even today.

Kevin Conroy was perfect as Batman. His voice brought authority to the role, and menace. The bad guys fear was believable when faced with his growl. I'm an interview he said that Batman was Bruce Wayne's normal voice, his lighter Bruce Wayne persona voice was the character deliberately altering his speech.

Paired with Mark Hamil's Joker, well it was perfect. Hamil is probably the best overall Joker ever too.

Re:

[93 Escort Wagon]

I really liked that era of DC cartoons - Batman, Justice League / Unlimited, Batman Beyond perhaps as well. The stories seemed nuanced at times (for cartoons, at least), with even some honest to goodness story arcs. And as you say, Conroy's voice was perfect for Batman, and he had the vocal chops to further develop the character as well - without him, the shows wouldn't have been nearly as good.

Re:

[techno-vampire]

I don't know about the voice, but I've always thought that he had the best mask. If you check out the others, going back to the two serials in the 1940s, they were always form-fitting, giving you a good idea of what Batman's head was like. Only Adam West's was hard, with a flat top that hid the shape of his face.

Re: vaxxed

[nsbfikwjuunkifjqhm]

He died of cancer dumbass. Meanwhile the CDC says eating shit is bad for you, since you don't trust them or believe in science I guess you should go do that now, right after drinking bleach.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

"Baa baa, you're all sheep, I deny reality like thousands of other antivaxxer morons because internet conspiracy theorists told me to! "

Re:

[s_p_oneil]

How about injecting some bleach, or wasting money on ivermectin, or how about forsythia? Yes, these "conspiracies" are so dumb even the movie Contagion poked fun at them (and how dumb people are to fall for them). People who follow conspiracy theories are just dumber sheep following a dumber wolf in sheep's clothing. You think you're not sheep because you "stand out" from the rest of the sheep. You do stand out, just not in the way you think. We pity you.

Feel free to bleat loudly like sheep do when they're

Re:

[bill_mcgonigle]

Are you saying it didn't prevent transmission?

Re: vaxxed

[memory_register]

Even the CDC now admits the vax did not prevent transmission.

Re:

[Busman85]

memory_register must forget frequently and easily with a handle like that one.

So many people should have failed biology class or health class... having had both and learned beyond what was covered I have to assume American education is lacking in practical knowledge because how vaccines really work was not covered in either class I took or in my related tangents. I had to learn it on my own. I hope people had a better education and simply FAILED to learn but in my case I could blame others; except that a

Re:

[techno-vampire]

That's not the only way people have failed to understand what's going on. I have a friend who's about 80 who's stated that she's hoping that the vaccines and mask will be enough to keep her healthy. Unless she's badly misstated her hopes (unlikely in this case) she doesn't understand that the masks don't protect you from infection; they only keep you from infecting others if you're contagious, at which point it's too late to prevent you from becoming infected.

Re:

[ufgrat]

Masks will reduce the chances of you picking up the infection due to casual contact. But only reduce. Similarly, unless they're N95 or better, they're not going to prevent you from infecting others-- but they will help.

The vaccine won't "keep her healthy", but being vaccinated, it should reduce the severity and duration of any infection.

With an airborne virus like covid that spreads by latching onto your nasal passages and airways, there are no guaranteed solutions-- all you can do is play the odds, and i

Re:

[techno-vampire]

Yes, I know, but it doesn't hurt to point it out again. And just to be safe, she's effectively quarantined herself in her home, not even going outdoors unless she has to.

Re:

[ufgrat]

No one claimed the vaccine prevented transmission. Arguing that it did or didn't is asinine.

The whole point of the vaccine was to prepare the body's immune system so that in the event of an infection, the immune system could respond as rapidly as possible, reducing the severity and duration of the infection.

In the big wave in late summer 2021, 96% of the covid deaths people who were unvaccinated.

The Voice of Batman for a Generation

[memory_register]

Conroy was and is THE voice of Batman for millions. He voiced the games, the shows, the animated movies. Moreover, he was the first actor to understand and convey Batman as a complicated and emotionally deep person. Ever Batman actor who followed owes him a debt of gratitude.

Bummer to hear; 66 ain't that old

[karlandtanya]

"Short battle with cancer" makes me think pancreatic, but nope.
That one got both my grandfather and my uncle. By the time they figure out you've got it, it's usually too late.

RIP, Mr. Conroy

[joshualeeclark]

Kevin Conroy is/was The One True Batman. Other actors and voice actors have done great playing that role. But Mr. Conroy was something special.

His voice is in my head whenever I read a Batman comic book. Mark Hamill has been my Joker voice since then too. It's been that way since Batman: TAS came out back in the 90's. I was a teenager back then and even though I have always liked superheroes, I hadn't really gotten into comic books until around that time. All my money from mowing grass went into building my