Kevin Conroy Known For Voicing The Titular Character In Batman: The Animated Series Dies At 66

Also Read

Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman for three decades of animated TV, specials and video games, died Thursday. He was 66.

His death was announced by his rep Gary Miereanu and Warner Bros. A cause was not disclosed, but he reportedly had been battling cancer.

In a statement, Warner Bros. Animation said it “is saddened by the loss of our dear friend Kevin Conroy. His iconic performance of Batman will forever stand among the greatest portrayals of the Dark Knight in any medium. We send our warmest thoughts to his loved ones and join fans around the world in honoring his legacy.”

An actor with credits on stage, television and film, Conroy became a premier voice actor as the title character of Batman: The Animated Series (1992-96). He’d eventually give voice to the Dark Knight in nearly 60 different productions, including 15 films and more than 15 animated series spanning nearly 400 episodes and more than 100 hours of television.

Conroy also voiced Batman in dozens of video games and was featured as a live-action Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse’s 2019-20 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event.

“Kevin was perfection,” said Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker opposite Conroy’s Batman. “He was one of my favorite people on the planet, and I loved him like a brother. He truly cared for the people around him – his decency shone through everything he did. Every time I saw him or spoke with him, my spirits were elevated.”

In recent years, Conroy was a fixture on the convention circuit.

“Kevin was far more than an actor whom I had the pleasure of casting and directing – he was a dear friend for 30+ years whose kindness and generous spirit knew no boundaries,” said casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano. “Kevin’s warm heart, delightfully deep laugh and pure love of life will be with me forever.”

Born on November 30, 1955, in Westbury, NY, and raised in Westport, CT, Conroy attended The Juilliard School and, under the tutelage of John Houseman, studied alongside Christopher Reeve and Frances Conroy. He was, at one point, a roommate of Robin Williams.

Conroy began his stage career following in both New York and at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, playing Hamlet at the 1984 New York Shakespeare Festival.

On TV, he had recurring roles in Dynasty, Tour of Duty and Ohara and appeared on the soaps Search for Tomorrow and Another World. He had guest roles on Cheers, Murphy Brown, Spenser: For Hire and Matlock.

His voice acting career took off with Batman: The Animated Series, which debuted on September 5, 1992. Conroy’s association with the Dark Knight would continue with Batman Beyond and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, Batman: the Killing Joke, Batman: Gotham Knight, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.

“Kevin was a brilliant actor,” Hamill said in his statement. “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.”

Conroy is survived by his husband Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy, and brother Tom Conroy.

VH1 Is Making A Comeback On International Shores Through BET

Also Read

VH1 started life as a music channel for older demos but gradually shifted towards reality TV, and more recently has targeted the African American audience. Bakish said:

“This strategic alignment will ensure VH1 − a leader in multi-cultural programming and the second largest US cable network for Black viewership − is best positioned for future success as a key part of the powerful BET ecosystem under the leadership of Scott Mills. Scott and his team continue to drive the evolution and growth of BET by building an interconnected set of leading platforms – linear, streaming, digital and studios – centered around the Black Community, Black Culture and Content.”

Bakish acknowledged the contribution of the MTV Entertainment Studios team under the leadership of Chris McCarthy and Nina L. Diaz, “who, for the past five years, have rebuilt the VH1 brand and produced powerful hit franchises from Black Ink Crew and Love & Hip Hop to RuPaul’s Drag Race. As Chris and his team continue to focus on integrating SHOWTIME and globalising the Media Networks Group, they’ll also partner with the BET teams to continue producing several of the existing hit shows on VH1.”

VH1 reaches approximately 90m households in the US but has gradually been phased out or rebranded with MTV variants around the world. BET, however, is going strong as a channel and streaming brand. Streaming service BET+ was launched as a JV between Paramount and Tyler Perry Studios in 2019, and has been growing fast.

Back By Popular Demand: My Perfect Family Coming Soon To Telemundo Africa

Also Read

Telemundo, an international telenovela channel owned by NBCUniversal which is inhabited by Portuguese lovers will air a rebroadcast to the 2019 family based drama, My Perfect Family (Mi Perfecta Familia).

My Perfect Family revolves around of the Guerrero family, a family so united, as dysfunctional, formed by five siblings who were left alone when their father died and their mother was deported. The series stars Jorge Luis Moreno, Sabrina Seara and Gala Montes.

My Perfect Family will be the last rebroadcast for the year as the channel sources out more fresh content alongside old favourites.

Catch the first episode everyday at 18:00 CAT replacing The Son I Never Knew from 23 November.

In December, Hidden Passions will reach its climax and will be supplemented by another RCN production titled The Chosen Granddaughter starring Francisca Estévez, Carlos Torres, Juliette Pardau, and Consuelo Luzardo.

Review: StarSat Trying To Be DStv Friendly As Traditional TV Is Dying

Also Read

StarSat is pay-tv platform owned by On Digital Media and StarTimes which served as one of the few competitors available for the monopolized MultiChoice's DStv platform in South Africa offering cheaper alternatives to consumers which some find unappealing.

Sure the platform has a range of premium channels such as TNT, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, ESPN 1 & 2. But that's the thing, there isn't a lot of that or at least not for South Africans as other consumers have Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon.

Either way consumers from these regions have been just as pissed as everyone else as the platform lost or scrapped several channels ranging from Real Time, Fine Living, Investigation Discovery from Warner Bros. Discovery to FOX from The Walt Disney Company.

For nearly 2 years, viewers had been fed the same crap every year that these channels would eventually get replaced but never do and when something does launch its likely crappy channels like C12TV or JIB TV or thematic like Zee Bollymovies.

Point being made this platform is being viewed less and less of a DStv competitor I mean it does still give alternatives as there's a lot of Bollywood content and telenovelas to explore other than that consumers feel they aren't getting money's worth.

I get it's meant to be cheap or at least on the part by On Digital Media but the brand needs a lot of improvements something I'm not holding my breath on as this has been long overdue from the moment it replaced Top TV and it's become more transparent now.

But after seeing them promote something like SABC 1 and eExtra not saying they're bad channels but pay-tv platforms usually give alternatives I mean one of the reasons you hardly see MultiChoice promote or mention them on their ratings sheet or when promoting a product.

I mean it's on the platform so why not promote it but lately I feel that StarSat is trying to be DStv friendly kind of like how Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service Discovery+ has become streaming friendly.

What that means is they're trying to offer a service and sustaining it without making one or the other feel superior but with Openview+ coming in I wouldn't be shocked if it joined those forgotten or lost DStv competitors in South Africa as there's less premium and more mass.

Conspiracy Theory: BBC Brit To Be Replaced With BBC UKTV On The DStv Platform, Will Be Made Available To Openview Customers

Also Read

Last month, eMedia Investments and BBC Studios were meant to launch BBC UKTV on the Openview platform but was postponed as they finalise various details with some speculating that MultiChoice may have a hand in the matter.

I mean MultiChoice already supplies various linear channels from BBC Studios including BBC Brit, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Earth, BBC World News and CBeebies and now there's reports that BBC UKTV will also be added onto the pay-tv platform.

BBC UKTV will be basically lending their lineup from the bulk of DStv channels joining another channel BBC Brit which too has seen itself borrow content from the current offering.

For several years, the channel has been going through an identity crisis as BBC Studios had tried finding ways to reinvent the channel and make it look more redeemable as if Strictly Come Dancing could distract anyone from Top Gear repeats.

The only reason anyone has to keep wasting their time on there has to do with the bulk of BBC First as MultiChoice thought it would be awesome to keep BBC Brit instead of shelving it and perhaps move shows like The Graham Norton Show and The Weakest Link to BBC First.

Other content such as Top Gear would fit well on BBC Lifestyle. But look where we are are now we're stuck with a channel that is glued to 3 shows and honestly I feel BBC UKTV will be 100 times better.

The channel hasn't even launched yet but the more you hear about it the more interesting it gets. As mentioned, it combines the concepts seen in the BBC channels on the DStv platform with BBC Brit inheriting about 10% of Earth and Lifestyle.

MultiChoice has been keeping the finer details about the channel under wraps but questions amount to what capacity the channel will be distributed to various consumers.

My guess is that BBC UKTV will likely be added as a replacement to BBC Brit I mean look at the brand names Brit and UK aren't they one and the same and the other is the love both of them share for repeats.

My Family is currently on season 10 and this new channel will air it from season 1 and BBC Entertainment had aired several seasons to some shows that BBC Brit opted to air from scratch.

Remember what eMedia and BBC said in regards to the delay they were finalising details what if those details concerned BBC Brit on DStv. What if UKTV was opting to air content from 2016 and with the axing of Brit wanted to align some with the timeframe of the DStv channel.