Kevin Conroy, the legendary voice of Batman in many animated DC Comic projects, passed away at the age of 66. Conroy’s husband confirmed his passing on Nov. 10 at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Conroy was privately dealing with intestinal cancer at the time of his death. Conroy holds the title of playing the character of Batman for the longest period of time.

Conroy was born Nov. 30, 1955, in Westbury, New York and was raised in Westport, Connecticut where Conroy grew up on the stage, performing plays with friends. In 1973, Conroy received a scholarship to The Juilliard School in New York City, moved to the city and lived with fellow actor Robin Williams as he studied under acting and theater legend John Houseman.

In 1980, Conroy moved out to San Diego, Calif. and started working in theater. Between the years of 1980 and 1985, Conroy acted in stage productions of “Hamlet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Eastern Standard,” in which he portrayed a TV producer who was secretly living with AIDs during the AIDs epidemic.

After years of small supporting roles in sitcoms and soap operas, Conroy landed his iconic role of Batman in 1992 for the animated Fox Kids show, “Batman: The Animated Series.” The animated show only lasted four seasons; however, it was only the beginning of Conroy’s time as Batman. Conroy became the recognizable voice for the DC Animated Universe, with his distinctively raspy vocals becoming synonymous with the character. After the success of “Batman: The Animated Series,” the voice actor appeared in Batman spin-offs like “Batman Adventures” and “Batman Beyond.” The actor also supplied the voice in many critically acclaimed Batman animated films, including “Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm” and “Batman: Assault on Arkham.” Between 1992 and up until his death, Conroy starred in 60 different Batman-related productions including 15 films, 15 animated series and two dozen video games.

Conroy is remembered by family, friends and fans alike for his kind heart and commitment to helping others. Conroy found solace in Batman and his ability to help others despite his hardships, and the actor expressed this in his 2022 comic “Finding Batman.” The comic was published by DC Comics on June 7, 2022 for their “DC Pride 2022 #1” issue. Conroy, who was gay, discusses in the comic his troubles of being a homosexual in a time when it was taboo and how the character of Batman helped him find and accept himself. “I felt Batman rising from deep within,” Conroy ends his comic.

Mark Hamill, who provides the voice of The Joker as a counterpart to Conroy’s Batman, said, “Kevin was a brilliant actor. For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it. His rhythms and subtleties, tones and delivery–that all also helped inform my performance. He was the ideal partner–it was such a complementary, creative experience. I couldn’t have done it without him. He will always be my Batman.”

Towards the end of his life, the actor continued to attend conventions and meet fans on top of acting. Some of Conroy’s latest work includes providing the voice of Batman in the Warner Bros. Pictures battle royale fighting game “MultiVersus” and portraying Bruce Wayne in a live-action episode of The CW Network’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Conroy is credited with providing the voice of Batman in “Batman: Caped Crusader,” a new Batman show set to air in 2023. “Batman: Caped Crusader” was Conroy’s last acting project as Batman before his death. Following his death, fans of Conroy began leaving flowers and tributes around the Batman Statue in Burbank, Calif.