New York, US: Kevin Conroy, a well-known voice actor whose somber delivery on Batman: The Animated Series was for many Batman fans the familiar sound of the cape-wearing crusader, has passed away at the age of 66.
Producer of the series, Warner Bros. revealed that Mr. Conroy passed away following a battle with cancer. The legendary voice actor frequently appeared alongside Mr. Mark Hamill’s Joker as Batman in the renowned animated series that aired from 1992 to 1996.
Mr. Conroy went on to voice Batman in a whopping 15 movies, 400 television episodes, and 20 video games, including the Batman: Arkham and Injustice series. No one has played the Dark Knight longer in the eight decades of Batman.
For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the right part, and the world was better for it.
Mr. Hamill shared.
Over the years, as Mr. Conroy’s performance changed, it occasionally made connections to his own life. The voice actor claimed that his own father was an alcoholic and that while he was in high school, his family broke apart. Moreover, Mr. Conroy used those feelings to create the animated movie Mask of the Phantasm 1993, which focused on Bruce Wayne’s unresolved problems with his parents.
“I’ve often marveled at how appropriate it was that I should land this role. As a gay boy growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s in a devoutly Catholic family, I’d grown adept at concealing parts of myself,” Mr. Conroy wrote.
Furthermore, the voice actor stated that he was unrecognizable by the voice that came from Conroy for Batman, a sound that “seemed to roar from 30 years of frustration, confusion, denial, love, yearning.”
In a statement, Warner Bros Animation said Mr. Conroy’s performance “will forever stand among the greatest portrayals of the Dark Knight in any medium.”