Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films. Conroy earned fame for voicing the DC Comics superhero Batman in various animated media, beginning with '' Batman: The Animated Series'' in 1992. Conroy went on to voice the character for dozens of animated television series, feature films, and video games over the next three decades.

Early life

Kevin Conroy was born on November 30, 1955, in Westbury, New York, into an Irish Catholic family. He moved to Westport, Connecticut, when he was about 11 years old. He had three older siblings. Conroy held dual American and Irish citizenship.

Due to the tumultuous environment in his home, Conroy lived with a family friend during his last year of high school. Conroy's father was an alcoholic and once attempted suicide while Conroy was in high school. In adulthood, Conroy was estranged from his father for many years but they reconciled shortly before his death. He was at both his mother's side and his father's side when they died.

Conroy moved to New York City in 1973 when he earned a full scholarship to attend the Juilliard School's drama division, studying under actor/director John Houseman. While there, he roomed with Robin Williams, who was in the same group as both Conroy and Kelsey Grammer. After graduating from Juilliard in 1978, he toured with Houseman's performing group The Acting Company, and the following year he went on the national tour of Ira Levin's '' Deathtrap''. Conroy and his co-star Brian Bedford did not get along, and got into an on-stage brawl during the opening night performance of ''Deathtrap'' at the Kennedy Center.

Career

Theatre

In 1980, after playing the role of Jerry Grove in the New York City-based daytime soap opera '' Another World'', Conroy moved out to California to pursue further work in television. Conroy became associated with the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, where he performed in productions of ''Hamlet'' and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. From 1980 to 1985, he acted in a variety of contemporary and classic theatre pieces, including the Broadway productions of Edward Albee's adaptation of ''Lolita and Eastern Standard''. He told ''The New York Times'' that, as a gay man living in New York City in the time of the AIDS epidemic, he "went to so many funerals that efelt such a sense of obligation" to portray the character of a TV producer secretly living with AIDS in ''Eastern Standard.''

Film and television

Conroy returned to television in the 1985 TV film ''Covenant'' and had a role on another daytime soap drama, ''Search for Tomorrow''. Conroy played gay lawyer Bart Fallmont on ''Dynasty'' from 1985 to 1986. He was a series regular on '' Ohara'' in 1987, and as the company commander on ''Tour of Duty'' from 1987 to 1988, before starring in a series of television films. Though initially cast as one of the show's main characters, his role on the show was reduced while it filmed in Hawaii and he ended up spending much of his time making portraits of tourists on the Honolulu boardwalk. Conroy also guest starred on shows such as ''Cheers'', ''Search for Tomorrow'', '' Matlock'' and ''Murphy Brown''.

Voice acting

As a voice actor, Conroy is known for his starring role in '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995). He was notably the first voice actor to alter his voice tone between portraying Batman and Bruce Wayne, which Michael Keaton had previously done in Tim Burton's live-action ''Batman'' films. However, Conroy based his dual-voice performance on Leslie Howard in the 1934 film ''The Scarlet Pimpernel''. He continued to voice Batman in various animated spin-off productions, which collectively took place in what is known as the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). These spin-offs include the TV shows ''The New Batman Adventures'' (1997–1999), ''Batman Beyond'' (1999–2001, in which he portrays an elderly Bruce Wayne retired from crimefighting), ''Justice League'' (2001–2004), and ''Justice League Unlimited'' (2004–2006), as well as the theatrical film '' Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' (1993), and the direct-to-video films '' Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero'' (1998), '' Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker'' (2000), and '' Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman'' (2003). He also voiced the DCAU Batman for guest appearances in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', ''Static Shock'' and ''The Zeta Project''.

Conroy went on to voice Batman in the direct-to-video DC Universe Animated Original Movies: '' Batman: Gotham Knight'' (2008), '' Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'' (2009), '' Superman/Batman: Apocalypse'' (2010), '' Justice League: Doom'' (2012), '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'' (2013), '' Batman: Assault on Arkham'' (2014), '' Batman: The Killing Joke'' (2016), '' Batman and Harley Quinn'' (2017), and '' Justice League vs. the Fatal Five'' (2019). He later returned to voicing Batman on TV for the animated series ''Justice League Action'' (2016-2018), along with guest appearances on ''Teen Titans Go!'' and ''Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?''. In a tally of the actor's performances that include his every episode and film portrayal of Batman, Conroy portrayed the character longer than any other actor in live-action and animation. The previous record-holder was Olan Soule, who voiced Batman in various animated works between the late 1960s and early 1980s (including ''Super Friends'').

After the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City, Conroy participated in relief efforts by volunteering to cook for people. During an audio commentary on '' Batman: Gotham Knight'', Conroy expressed his surprise at the reaction of the emergency service workers to his presence. At the behest of another cook, Conroy called out from the kitchen to the dining area in his "Batman voice", reciting the iconic line, "I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!" (from the '' BTAS'' episode "Nothing to Fear"). This was greeted by cheers and applause from emergency service personnel, many of whom had been fans of ''Batman: The Animated Series'' during its airing in the 1990s. Conroy confessed to being humbled and deeply flattered by the reaction.

Conroy also voiced Batman for multiple video games, including the '' Batman: Arkham'' series. Following the release of '' Batman: Arkham Asylum'' (2009) and '' Batman: Arkham City'' (2011), he stated at the 2013 Dallas Comic Con that he had been working on "the next Arkham", leading to rampant speculation that he would reprise his role in '' Batman: Arkham Origins''. In June 2013, however, it was confirmed that Conroy would not be involved in ''Arkham Origins'' (Batman was instead voiced by Roger Craig Smith in that game), meaning Conroy may had been referring to a yet-unannounced game from the ''Arkham'' series. He would ultimately reprise the role for the fourth game in the series, titled '' Batman: Arkham Knight'' (2015). The 2024 sequel to ''Arkham Knight'', '' Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League'', marked his final video game performance as Batman. However, in early 2024, it was revealed that Conroy had recorded a role for '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three''.

In October 2013, Conroy appeared on Tim Daly's web series ''The Daly Show'', parodying his role as Batman, with Daly reprising the role of Superman from ''Superman: The Animated Series''.

Conroy portrayed Bruce Wayne of Earth-99 in live-action in the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths". This was his only live-action portrayal of the character.

Mark Hamill, Conroy's frequent voice actor co-star as the Joker, spoke highly of working with him. Regarding his willingness to be involved in a Batman-related project, Hamill said, "When they offer me roles now, I say, 'Is Kevin doing it?' ... I don't even have to read the script, if Kevin's doing it, I'll do it." In 2023, following Conroy's death, Hamill stated he would no longer voice the Joker, citing his Joker quote "Without Batman, crime has no punchline".

Personal life

In a 2016 interview with ''The New York Times'' promoting the animated adaptation of '' Batman: The Killing Joke'', Kevin Conroy revealed that he was gay. As part of DC Comics' 2022 Pride anthology, Conroy wrote "Finding Batman", a story that recounted his life and experiences as a gay man. It received critical acclaim upon release, and posthumously won Conroy the 2023 Eisner Award for Best Short Story.

He was married to Vaughn C. Williams at the time of his death.

Conroy made an effort to conceal his homosexuality throughout most of his career. He spoke in "Finding Batman" about the discrimination he faced once potential collaborators and employers discovered his homosexuality. Conroy said that on multiple occasions he had been removed from consideration for acting jobs due to his sexual orientation.

In the 2016 United States Presidential Election, Conroy supported Hillary Clinton and described Donald Trump as "a xenophobic, narcissistic clown, who's only interested in himself".

Conroy made frequent appearances at comic book conventions; his last convention was in Connecticut in July 2022.

Death

Conroy died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on November 10, 2022, at age 66, of intestinal cancer. Upon news of his death, DC Comics gave free online access to "Finding Batman" as a way to honor Conroy. "Finding Batman" went on to win the 2023 Eisner Award for Best Short Story. His co-stars, including Mark Hamill, Tim Daly, Tara Strong, and numerous other figures paid tribute to Conroy on social media.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Web

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Kevin
1955 births
2022 deaths
20th-century American LGBTQ people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American male actors
American gay actors
American male film actors
American male Shakespearean actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American people of Irish descent
DC Comics people
Deaths from colorectal cancer in New York (state)
Eisner Award winners
Juilliard School alumni
LGBTQ people from Connecticut
Male actors from Westport, Connecticut
People from Westbury, New York