Kevin Conroy, Iconic Voice of Batman, Dies at 66

Kevin Conroy, beloved by fans for his iconic voice work as Batman, died Thursday at 66 after what publicist Gary Miereanu calls "a short battle with cancer."

Conroy's fellow voice actor, Diane Pershing aka Poison Ivy, wrote on Facebook, "Very sad news: our beloved voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, died yesterday. 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 November 30, 1955, in Westbury, New York, he spent part of his youth in Westport, Connecticut, ahead of a move to NYC to attend Juilliard. He studied under the legendary John Houseman, rooming with Robin Williams and attending classes alongside Kelsey Grammer.

Along with stage work, he made an early splash on the soap "Another World" (1980-1981). Other noteworthy TV work included playing Sen. Ted Kennedy on the 1983 miniseries "Kennedy" and appearances on "Search for Tomorrow" (1984-1985), "Dynasty" (1985-1986), "Tour of Duty (1987-1988), and "The Office" (1995).

But it was his work voicing Bruce Wayne/Batman on "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992-1995) that became his calling card. He would voice the character on innumerable other series in the DCAU (DC Animated Universe), including "The New Batman Adventures" (1997-1999), "Batman Beyond" (1999-2001), "Justice League" (2001-2004), and "Justice League Unlimited" (2004-2006), to name just a few.

He also did dubbing on an animated trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), which starred Christian Bale.

Known for differentiating the voices of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman, Conroy became the actor who played the part longer than any other. He even played a live-action, older and wiser version of Bruce Wayne on a 2019 episode of The CW's "Batwoman."

Commenting on his work as a voice artist, Conroy was featured in the 2013 doc "I Know That Voice."

Conroy, an out gay man, wrote "Finding Batman," a part of the DC Comics Pride anthology, earlier this year.

He is survived by his husband Vaughn C. Williams.