Kevin Conroy has passed away at age 66

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Upset and devastated is an understatement. I miss him already. I hate knowing I won't hear his voice in something new again. There's been a lot crying so far and likely more. A tough day for sure.

I'm hoping he might have left us one or two more gifts. Perhaps the B:TAS Audio drama has been completed or he finished something else as Batman. If he was cast in Batman: Caped Crusader, I wish they would keep his voice for the episodes he was able to complete. Perhaps WB will let us know when the time is right.

Kevin was originally cast in the 'Bat-Kitty' episode of Unikitty, before being replaced by Will Arnett. A director on that show Careen Ingle has released the following animatic clips with Kevin's original performance. This man had more range than he ever got to show. Just wonderful.

 

[RoyalRubble]

I hope there's at least one more DC animated project Conroy has recorded if nothing else to get a proper "in loving memory of Kevin Conroy" tribute at the end. I kind of doubt they would add something like that to a project he wasn't involved with.

Thought of something else - Conroy's last time voicing Bruce Wayne might have actually been that parody Beyond Batman short they had at DC FanDome in 2020, where he and Will Friedle (as Terry) were making fun of old Adam West Batman scenes.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

If he was cast in Batman: Caped Crusader, I wish they would keep his voice for the episodes he was able to complete.

I doubt that Conroy was voicing Batman in Caped Crusader. If he was, they certainly would've announced it by now. If his health problems were a long term thing, then his reps and WB most likely would've been aware of them and known if he was up to a voicing the character again.

If he's recorded ANYTHING that's still in the pipeline, then yes, I'm certain we'll see a tribute card at the end. But it's not required that he voiced something for them to do that. Jack Kirby didn't have anything to do with "Apokalips Now", and he still got a tribute card at the end.

 

[Dusty]

This gutted me and still does. I had the amazing /opportunity and experience to meet him multiple times, allowing me to have a conversation with him, we talked about how he helped me stay in this life. *I still nerd out remembering my interactions…
I was diagnosed with a bad health condition in 2001. It was bad enough that I wanted to just give up, but JL came out that same time. Kevin had the biggest impact since he was always there in the cartoons as a kid then back on a show I needed at the time. He gave me more drive to keep fighting. Thank you Kevin, for being there and helping me endure, but also thanks for being a character that was always there for me to enjoy and look up to.
I’ll never ever forget what he did for me (all my life basically too,) but I also will not forget a great conversation we had about life, my illness, his work, and his advice for me to get into V/O work/film but just his advice for life is something I can cherish forever… once while we were talking I nerdily asked him if he could say something random in his Batman voice, he did so without any weird pause or anything. He said : “Addison, get outside and mow the lawn!" Batman said my name and told me to mow the lawn, how cool is that?
Anyways I’m dribbling on and on so I’ll finish with this… He was patient, humble, kind, compassionate, and just one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met, It was a privilege to have such an amazing guy to look up to and call a friend. I will always be grateful for him just existing.

*sorry, bad grammar and I repeated the same things over and over, but I just wanted to share my thoughts.

 

[Eldorado]

I'm hoping he might have left us one or two more gifts. Perhaps the B:TAS Audio drama has been completed or he finished something else as Batman. If he was cast in Batman: Caped Crusader, I wish they would keep his voice for the episodes he was able to complete. Perhaps WB will let us know when the time is right.

Kevin was originally cast in the 'Bat-Kitty' episode of Unikitty, before being replaced by Will Arnett. A director on that show Careen Ingle has released the following animatic clips with Kevin's original performance. This man had more range than he ever got to show. Just wonderful.

I was thinking about this episode today and how Will Arnett reprised his role as Lego Batman for the episode and how much of a big deal that was. Honestly, I'm glad they didn't use Kevin because Will is a better choice for a Batman as comedic as Lego Batman (plus there's the whole continuity thing as Arnett Batman debuted in the same movie as Unikitty).

Anyway, we got confirmation that Conroy died of colon cancer (just like Chadwick Boseman). I'd give you guys the link but it's behind a paywall.

 

[Classic Speedy]

I'm hoping MeTV makes some kind of tribute to Kevin Conroy during tonight's programming. While I don't believe he ever was involved in any shows that air on that channel, his Batman is frequently heard in sound bytes on Svengoolie. If not, maybe we'll get a tribute on a future Svengoolie episode (as it's probably too late to include anything in tonight's episode).

 

[TUO]

Kevin Conroy was to Batman what Chris Latta was to Cobra Commander. R.I.P Kevin Conroy.

 

[TheGreatOne2]

Kevin Conroy recorded ADR on December 6 2021 for an Unidentified Project

DCAUResource.com: DCAU Resource - Series News

 

[#TeamMike]

It's shocking news. I always thought Conroy had at least 20 years left in him to be voicing the character. F cancer man, it's such a horrible disease that takes away so many loved ones.

Conroy's passing has genuinely made me both sad and surreal that he's gone, and there's barely any celebrity deaths that make me feel this way. To me he's the most iconic actor to ever play a superhero, more than Christopher Reeve as Superman, Downy as Iron Man, Jackman as Wolverine, etc.

It's truly an end of an era. RIP to a wonderful man and a wonderful Batman.

 

[ShadowStar]

Much has been said here and elsewhere online about Kevin Conroy's passing, and rightly so. I will say that I watched "Prophecy of Doom" tonight and I was moved to tears by both Shirley Walker's music and Kevin Conroy's voice. It hurts to know that such incredible, talented people are gone. In addition, I really want to mention Kevin Conroy's husband, sister and brother, if only in passing, because their loss is so very great and they must be devastated. My heart goes out to them. I hope and pray that they had ample time with him before he passed away. Whether they did or did not is obviously not my business, but I can't help but think of them and their grief right now. As far as those who knew him personally are concerned, I wish them well as they grieve this terrible loss.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

The following link has a beautiful comment from Kevin Conroy's husband. My heart goes out to him and his loss:

Kevin Conroy, who gave voice to Batman for 3 decades, dies at 66

EDIT: A beautiful piece by 'WhyNotStuff' on Twitter.

 

[Dusty]

this was hard to watch through tears. I am so grateful for Kevin as Batman but more-so for who he was

 

[FTPC]

hey AS/TZ gang
I feel Like I lost My Batman When Kevin Died

No Disrespect to Adam West or Micheal Keaton, Ben Affleck
Christian Bale Val Kilmer or to the Other Actors that have dawn the cape & cowl or cape and mask
Since the 1940s

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I found this thread on Twitter the other day. It's a nice collection of Some of the GREAT stories that Kevin told at conventions. He really regarded panels as an opportunity to perform.



Also, I learned from that first video ANOTHER incredibly generous thing Kevin Conroy did in addition to helping out after the L.A. riots and volunteering to feed first responders at Ground Zero after 9/11: He also worked with foster kids on the weekends. Kevin Conroy was undoubtedly a real life superhero.

 

[ShadowStar]

This gutted me and still does. I had the amazing /opportunity and experience to meet him multiple times, allowing me to have a conversation with him, we talked about how he helped me stay in this life. *I still nerd out remembering my interactions…
I was diagnosed with a bad health condition in 2001. It was bad enough that I wanted to just give up, but JL came out that same time. Kevin had the biggest impact since he was always there in the cartoons as a kid then back on a show I needed at the time. He gave me more drive to keep fighting. Thank you Kevin, for being there and helping me endure, but also thanks for being a character that was always there for me to enjoy and look up to.
I’ll never ever forget what he did for me (all my life basically too,) but I also will not forget a great conversation we had about life, my illness, his work, and his advice for me to get into V/O work/film but just his advice for life is something I can cherish forever… once while we were talking I nerdily asked him if he could say something random in his Batman voice, he did so without any weird pause or anything. He said : “Addison, get outside and mow the lawn!" Batman said my name and told me to mow the lawn, how cool is that?
Anyways I’m dribbling on and on so I’ll finish with this… He was patient, humble, kind, compassionate, and just one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met, It was a privilege to have such an amazing guy to look up to and call a friend. I will always be grateful for him just existing.

*sorry, bad grammar and I repeated the same things over and over, but I just wanted to share my thoughts.

Your post is beautiful, Dusty. Everyone's comments are precious, of course, given the nature of this sad time, but I want to say that I find yours particularly heartwarming.

 

[parkersfan89]

RIP to Kevin & Adam West!

 

[Arachne]

Back when I did do some acting, Conroy was someone I even tried to emulate for a couple roles. Him and Adam West were the voices of Batman I grew up with and really treasure. He was one of the greats, a fantastic performer. To say he'll be missed is an understatement.

 

[Road to Gotham]

Rest In Peace Kevin.
Conroy is on the "Mount Rushmore" of BATMAN performers.

Artist Bill Sienkiewicz has a nice Tribute.

Batman Artist Bill Sienkiewicz Reveals Touching Kevin Conroy Tribute

Bill Sienkiewicz revealed a stunning tribute to Kevin Conroy this week. Fans from all over [...]

comicbook.com

 

[parkersfan89]

Oh my God. I haven't been this gutted by a death since Leonard Nimoy. The difference there is that Nimoy was not a surprise. This is a shock and I'm devastated.

a lil off topic, but Aaron Carter & of course Kevin Conroy were the unexpected ones for me.

 

[Dusty]

I have been crying intermittently and I don’t see that stopping any time soon. This just really sucks.