Kevin Conroy the man: His face and name may not ring any bells to you but when you hear his voice it’s sure to strike you with a sense of nostalgia. His name was Kevin Conroy, born on November 30th, 1955. He was an American actor and voice actor with small gigs, roles and cameos not many knew Conroy until 1991. In 1991 Conroy read for the roll of billionaire playboy philanthropist Bruce Wayne who moonlights as the vigilante hero, Batman. Even though Conroy has admitted to not knowing much about the character before he auditioned, the showrunners helped him and he then got the job. Conroy quickly learned and made the character his own and has accepted his role in many people’s lives as the definitive Batman. Conroy never stopped going to conventions, doing readings, taking photos with fans, or interacting with them. Conroy for much of the pandemic offered up Cameo services, a website where you pay for personalized messages from different celebrities. Conroy used the platform not only as a means of giving fans a sense of nostalgia, but giving lots of fans congratulations on big events, or advice through hard times.
Kevin Conroy: The Batman: As Batman in 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series, he helped develop the character and bring it to new heights. Previously the character received notoriety from Tim Burton’s depictions on the character. With the animated series children were targeted as the main demographic. The show proved successful and earned a second season. Conroy and Batman: The Animated Series changed and molded the character and mythos in so many ways that will never be the same again. Conroy was far from done with the character however seeing how, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League: Unlimited followed. Conroy was the Batman after that point and served the character up till now, in 2019 Conroy preformed his last animated interpretation of the character in Justice League V.S. The Fatal Five. His other notable performance of the character from that year was in Batwoman where he played the character in live-action for the first time. Conroy was also known as the voice of Batman in the Arkham and Injustice video-game series’. Including all those and the many more depictions, Conroy acted as Batman in 15 films, 400 episodes of television and 2 dozen video-games. Conroy was as much a Batman fan as anyone else and he never strayed away from the fact that he loved the character.
Kevin Conroy the fighter: Although he played a fierce fighter in the form of batman for the latter half of his life, Conroy was a real-life hero and fighter on many levels. Conroy came out in 2016 during the rollout of Batman: The Killing Joke. For years Conroy stayed in the closet about his identity and hid the fact that he was a gay man for most of his life. In 2016, Conroy embraced his identity and became a open advocate for the LGBTQ community in his later years. Earlier in 2022, Conroy was apart of DC’s Pride issue and wrote about his experience with the character and his own life. At age 66 on Thursday, November 10th Conroy finished his battle with intestinal cancer and passed away. Conroy never let his illness affect his love for his fans and his drive to share those precious with them. Rest in power Kevin Conroy.\
(Sources : CBR.com, NYtimes.com, etonline.com, advocate.com, IMDb.com)
