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.[1][2] Conroy went on to voice the character for dozens of animated television series, feature films, and video games over the next three decades.[3][4]
Early life
Kevin Conroy was born on November 30, 1955, in Westbury, New York,[5] into an Irish Catholic family. He moved to Westport, Connecticut, when he was about 11 years old. He had three older siblings.[6] Conroy held dual American and Irish citizenship.[7]
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.[8] In adulthood, Conroy was estranged from his father for many years but reconciled shortly before his death. He was at both his mother's side and his father's side when they died.[9][10][non-primary source needed]
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.[11] 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.[12][6] 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.[9]
Career
Theatre
In 1980, after playing the role of Jerry Grove in the New York-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 in the time of the AIDS epidemic, he "went to so many funerals that [he] felt such a sense of obligation" to portray the character of a TV producer secretly living with AIDS in Eastern Standard.[6]
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.[13] 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.[14]
I 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. Of putting aspects of myself in a separate box and locking it away.
—Kevin Conroy, from his autobiographical comic Finding Batman[21]
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"[26]). 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.[27]
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.[28] He would ultimately reprise the role for the fourth game in the series, titled Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).[29] 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.[30]
In October 2013, Conroy appeared on Tim Daly's web series The Daly Show,[31] parodying his role as Batman, with Daly reprising the role of Superman from Superman: The Animated Series.[32]
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.[33]
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."[34] In 2023, following Conroy's death, Hamill stated he was done voicing the Joker, citing his Joker quote "Without Batman, crime has no punchline".[35]
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.[39][40]
Conroy died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on November 10, 2022, at age 66, of intestinal cancer.[43] Upon news of his death, DC Comics gave free online access to "Finding Batman" as a way to honor Conroy.[44] "Finding Batman" went on to win the 2023 Eisner Award for Best Short Story.[45] His co-stars, such as Mark Hamill,[46]Tim Daly,[47] and numerous other figures paid tribute on social media. His ashes are interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles California.[48]
^Rodriguez, Lee (November 18, 2009). "PoP! Interviews Kevin Conroy". Panels on Pages. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeaf"Kevin Conroy (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Mahadeo, Kevin (August 15, 2013). "5.2 Reasons We Can't Stop Watching the DC Nation Shorts". DC.com. Retrieved November 18, 2022. 4. Tales of Metropolis One of the newer DC Nation Shorts, Tales of Metropolis also easily ranks as one the funniest things we've seen. ..., and the recent Lois Lane short brought in even more harmonious hilarity. Plus, it features Batman voiced by Kevin Conroy, which is ALWAYS an amazing thing.
^Khouri, Andy (April 9, 2014). "Bruce Timm On His Return to Batman In 'Strange Days'". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved November 18, 2022. CA: Is Kevin Conroy the voice of Batman in this short? BT: Yes. He is. It's funny... he's got one line of dialogue. CA: Wow. BT: It's two words! He got a very good payday that day for word to dollar ratio!
