R.I.P. Kevin Conroy, the longtime voice of Batman

Kevin Conroy, who spent decades working as the voice of Batman in television, films, and video games, has died at the age of 66. Warner Bros. confirms his death this morning.

Conroy first lent his voice to Bruce Wayne and Batman in 1992's Batman: The Animated Series. He would go on to voice the brooding Gotham hero in 15 films, 400 episodes of TV, as well as video games.

“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,” casting and dialogue director Andrea Romano tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Kevin’s warm heart, delightfully deep laugh and pure love of life will be with me forever.”

“Kevin was perfection,” says Mark Hamill, who voiced The Joker in the acclaimed animated series, among other projects. “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.”

Diane Pershing, who voiced Poison Ivy in Batman: The Animated Series, broke the news of Conroy’s death on her Facebook page.

“Very sad news: our beloved voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, died yesterday,” she writes. “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… RIP, friend.”

Born in 1955, Conroy grew up in Westport, Connecticut. He would go on to study acting at Juilliard, bumping elbows with peers such as Christopher Reeves and Robin Williams. His career would take him from the stage to television shows and soap operas before he snagged the life-changing role of Wayne/Batman for Bruce Timm’s animated series.

“I remember Mark and I were at the WB sound studio to do ADR work and we got to watch the opening credits,” Conroy reminisced back in 2017.
“We hear the opening theme with the strings and the lush colors. It was incredibly dramatic. And I looked at Mark and said, ‘Did you have a clue this is what we were doing?’ He said, ‘No, I’m blown away!’ We both felt we were a part of something really special.”