Batman's iconic voice actor Kevin Conroy passes away at age 66

Kevin Conroy, the famous voice actor whose gravely delivery on "Batman: The Animated Series" was the distinct sound of the Caped Crusader for many Batman fans, has died at the age of 66. Warner Bros. said Friday that Conroy died on Thursday following a battle with cancer. Conroy provided the voice of Batman in the critically acclaimed animated series that aired from 1992 to 1996, frequently opposite Mark Hamill's Joker. Conroy remained almost exclusively the animated voice of Batman, appearing in 15 films, 400 episodes of television, and two dozen videogames, notably the "Batman: Arkham" and "Injustice" franchises.

No one has played the Dark Knight more times in Batman's eight-decade career. "He has been the ultimate Batman for multiple generations," Hamill said in a statement. "It was one of those perfect instances where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was a better place as a result." "He'll always be Batman to me," Hamill stated. Conroy's fan following made him a popular figure on the comic-con circuit. Conroy was a fixture and widely appreciated in the frequently turbulent world of DC Comics. Warner Bros. Animation said in a statement that Conroy's performance "will forever stand among the best representations of the Dark Knight in any medium."

Paul Dini, the producer of the animated series, stated about Kevin, "Kevin carried a light with him everywhere, whether in the recording booth giving it his all or feeding first responders during 9/11 or making sure every fan who ever waited for him had a moment with their Batman." "In every sense of the word, a hero." Conroy began his career as a skilled theatre actor after being born in Westbury, New York, and raised in Westport, Connecticut. He resided with Robin Williams while attending Julliard. He went on tour with John Houseman's acting troupe, the Acting Company, after receiving his degree. At the Public Theater and on Broadway, he appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Eastern Standard," respectively. He performed in "Hamlet" at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California.

He had a special connection to the 1980s version of "Eastern Standard," in which Conroy portrayed a TV producer who was secretly suffering from AIDS. Conroy, a gay man, recalled that he frequently attended friends' AIDS-related funerals during the time. Every night, he vented his suffering on stage. Conroy relocated to Los Angeles in 1980, started performing in soap operas, and landed roles on TV shows like "Cheers," "Tour of Duty," and "Murphy Brown." Before Conroy walked in for an audition, casting director Andrea Romano had to go through hundreds of applicants to find her lead actor for "Batman: The Animated Series" in 1991. He went on a friend's tip and started casting right away.

Conroy began the part with no prior experience in voice acting or comics. His Batman was a dark, husky character. Bruce Wayne in this version was slim and sassy. He claimed that the 1930s movie "The Scarlet Pimpernel," about an English aristocracy who leads a double life, served as his inspiration for the conflicting voices. Conroy stated to The New York Times in 2016 that it was "so much pleasure as an actor to sink your teeth into." "It is not appropriate to refer to it as animation. It resembles mythology more." Over the years, as Conroy's performance changed, it occasionally made connections to his own life. Conroy claimed that his own father was an alcoholic and that while he was in high school, his family broke apart.

In 1993, he used those feelings to create the animated movie "Mast of the Phantasm," which focused on Bruce Wayne's unresolved problems with his parents. Conroy stated to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 that Andrea "came in after the recording and grabbed me in a hug." She saw that I was drawing on something when she commented, "I don't know where you went, but it was a great performance." Tom Conroy, Trisha Conroy, and Vaughn C. Williams, Conroy's spouse, are all still alive. Conroy wrote a comic about his odd path with the character and as a homosexual guy in Hollywood in "Finding Batman," which was published earlier this year.

He remarked, "I've frequently wondered how appropriate it was that I should land this role. "As a gay child growing up in a devoutly Catholic home in the 1950s and 1960s, I'd become skilled at concealing portions of myself." He claimed that a voice he didn't recognize—one that "seemed to shout from 30 years of rage, misunderstanding, denial, love, and yearning”—emerged within Conroy for Batman. "From deep within, I felt Batman rising."

(source : AP)