Iconic voice of Batman Kevin Conroy dies at 66 after battle with cancer

Kevin Conroy, the actor most famous for providing the iconic voice of Batman in his animated adventures for decades, starting with 1992's "Batman: The Animated Series," died on Thursday after a short battle with cancer.

According to TMZ, 66-year-old Conroy's rep Gary Miereanu made the announcement.

To many fans, Conroy's portrayal of Batman is the definitive interpretation of the character outside of the comic books. Conroy's work perfectly balanced Batman's strength and commitment to justice with a deep compassion for humanity born out of personal tragedy.

Conroy said in 2017 "This is the most famous and powerful guy in Gotham. Are you telling me he just puts on a mask and no one knows it’s him? Seriously? There’s got to be more to the disguise." Conroy said that, using the 1930s film The Scarlet Pimpernel as inspiration, he portrayed Bruce Wayne as more of the disguise, the overdone playboy, and Batman as the character's true persona.

Conroy first voiced the Dark Knight in "Batman: The Animated Series," which ran from 1992 through 1994. Conroy's portrayal is considered one of the most significant contributions to the cartoon's historic success which includes accolades such as being considered the number one comic to television adaptation ever by IGN, winning multiple Primetime and Daytime Emmy Awards, and was called "the most influential cartoon ever" by Nerdist. 

Conroy was born on November 30, 1955 in Westbury, New York, and was a graduate of Juilliard where he was classmates with Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams at the famous acting school. Prior to his career-defining voice work, he had a successful acting career appearing in multiple TV shows such as "Dynasty," "Cheers," and "Matlock."

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Mark Hamill, who voiced the villainous Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, in the animated series said in a statement, "Kevin was perfection. 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." 

Andrea Romano, who cast the voices of the show, said, "Kevin was far more than an actor whom I had the pleasure of casting and directing – he was a dear friend for 30+ years whose kindness and generous spirit knew no boundaries. Kevin’s warm heart, delightfully deep laugh and pure love of life will be with me forever."

Conroy's work voicing the Caped Crusader continued for generations after the initial success of "Batman: The Animated Series." The show spawned several tie-ins and spin-offs, all of which elevated to success atypical of content peripheral to its first interpretation. These successes include the animated shows "Batman Beyond," "Justice League" and several animated film adaptations with the character.

Conroy garnered over 7 awards for his voice work, which included also voicing Batman for the universally praised Arkham Asylum video games.

On Twitter, many expressed their heartbreak at the news.

Kevin is survived by his husband Vaughn C. Williams and one of his last Batman-related works was writing a comic for DC in 2022 where he cited Batman as a source of strength as he came out as a gay man.

Conroy is also survived by his sister Trisha Conroy and brother Tom Conroy.