Kevin Conroy: Filmmaker Kevin Smith Reveals Final Conversation With Late Batman Star
It was confirmed just yesterday that Kevin Conroy, best known for voicing The Caped Crusader in Batman: The Animated Series and the Batman: Arkham Trilogy, had passed away at the age of 66. Tributes to the voice actor, who actually played Bruce Wayne in live-action just once during The CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, were present throughout the day and now another special one has been published online. Filmmaker and noted Batman fan Kevin Smith took to Instagram to share his tribute to Conroy, revealing the final conversation that he had with the voice actor and how much his friendship meant to him.
"Yours was the soothing voice of a hero that no criminal would ever know; all the bad guys ever heard were the grunts you'd emit while beating them senseless," Smith wrote in praise of the late star. "As a hardcore fan, naturally I sought out Kevin so I could work with him – so I got to make pretend with Batman in Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie, in the @masters series, and even in live action films, with his cameo in Yoga Hosers. And on an episode of Fat Man on Batman, Kevin reassured me I was doing the right thing with my career – in the Batman voice."
He continued, "We'd just been texting on October 16th about him doing a show with me at @smodcastlecinemas in 2023 (where we were gonna watch/discuss his 5 favorite BTAS eps). I ended the exchange with a ❤️ – because I absolutely loved #kevinconroy. I was lucky to have him as my Batman for so long; I was luckier to have known him at all. Thank you, Kevin, for defining the Dark Knight with your powerful pipes... and for being a friend."
In addition to voicing Batman, which he did for countless projects including the feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, 15 animated TV shows and two dozen video games, Conroy's work as an actor wasn't limited to DC Comics adaptations. Some of his other live-action roles came in Dynasty, Matlock, Murphy Brown, and Cheers, but his work as Batman remained what defined him for many.
Perhaps the biggest addition to his legacy as Batman in recent years was when he wrote a short story for DC's Pride anthology, an autobiographical tale about how he used his own experiences and internal pain, channeling it into his performance as The Dark Knight.
Conroy is survived by his husband Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy, and brother Tom Conroy.
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