KEVIN CONROY was an American actor born on this date (d: 2022). He is best known as the voice behind the DC Comics superhero Batman in various media, beginning on the 1990s Warner Bros. television series Batman: The Animated Series as well as other TV series and feature films in the DC Animated Universe. Due to the popularity of his performance as Batman, Conroy went on to voice the character for multiple films under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies banner and the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham and Injustice video games. He was widely considered to be the best Batman voice in the business.
Conroy was born in Westbury, New York, into an Irish Catholic family. The family moved to Westport, Connecticut, when he was about 11 years old. Conroy moved to New York City in 1973 when he earned a full scholarship to attend the Juilliard School’s drama division, studying under actor John Houseman. While there, he roomed with Robin Williams, who was in the same group as both Conroy and Kelsey Grammer. After graduating from Juilliard in 1978, he toured with Houseman’s acting group The Acting Company, and the following year he went on the national tour of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap.
Conroy is distinguished for being the first voice actor to use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, which Michael Keaton had previously done in Tim Burton’s live-action Batman films. In a tally of that actor’s performances that include his every episode and movie portrayal of Batman in live-action and animation, Conroy portrayed the character longer than any other actor. Apart from the DCAU, Conroy also portrayed Batman in the direct-to-video DC Universe Animated Original Movies: Batman: Gotham Knight (2008), Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009), Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010), Justice League: Doom (2012), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013), Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014), Batman: The Killing Joke (2016), and Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019).
After the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Conroy participated in relief efforts by volunteering to cook for police officers and firefighters. During an audio commentary on Batman: Gotham Knight, Conroy expressed his surprise at the reaction of the emergency service workers to his presence. At the behest of another cook, Conroy called out from the kitchen to the dining area in his “Batman voice”, reciting the iconic line, “I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!” (from the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Nothing to Fear”). This was greeted by cheers and applause from emergency service personnel, many of whom had been fans of Batman: The Animated Series during its airing in the 1990s. Conroy confessed to being humbled and deeply flattered by the reaction.
Conroy was out gay. As part of DC Comics’ 2022 Pride anthology, Conroy wrote “Finding Batman”, a story that recounted his life and experiences as a gay man. It received critical acclaim upon release.[e was married to Vaughn C. Williams at the time of his death.
Conroy died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City from intestinal cancer on November 10, 2022, at the age of 66.