Kevin Conroy

However, Conroy based his dual-voice performance on Leslie Howard in the 1934 film The Scarlet Pimpernel.

He continued to voice Batman in various animated spin-off productions, which collectively took place in what is known as the DC Animated Universe (DCAU).

Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor.

Kevin Conroy was born on November 30, 1955, in Westbury, New York, into an Irish Catholic family.

He moved to Westport, Connecticut, when he was about 11 years old.

He had three older siblings.

Conroy held dual American and Irish citizenship.

Due to the tumultuous environment in his home, Conroy lived with a family friend during his last year of high school.

Conroy's father was an alcoholic and once attempted suicide while Conroy was in high school.

In adulthood, Conroy was estranged from his father for many years but reconciled shortly before his death.

He was at both his mother's side and his father's side when they died.

The previous record-holder was Olan Soule, who voiced Batman in various animated works between the late 1960s and early 1980s (including Super Friends).

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/director 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 performing group The Acting Company, and the following year he went on the national tour of Ira Levin's Deathtrap.

Conroy and his co-star Brian Bedford did not get along, and got into an on-stage brawl during the opening night performance of Deathtrap at the Kennedy Center.

In 1980, after playing the role of Jerry Grove in the New York-based daytime soap opera Another World, Conroy moved out to California to pursue further work in television.

Conroy became associated with the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, where he performed in productions of Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

From 1980 to 1985, he acted in a variety of contemporary and classic theatre pieces, including the Broadway productions of Edward Albee's adaptation of Lolita and Eastern Standard.

He told The New York Times that, as a gay man living in New York in the time of the AIDS epidemic, he "went to so many funerals that [he] felt such a sense of obligation" to portray the character of a TV producer secretly living with AIDS in Eastern Standard.

Conroy returned to television in the 1985 TV film Covenant and had a role on another daytime soap drama, Search for Tomorrow.

Conroy played gay lawyer Bart Fallmont on Dynasty from 1985 to 1986.

He was a series regular on Ohara in 1987, and as the company commander on Tour of Duty from 1987 to 1988, before starring in a series of television films.

Though initially cast as one of the show's main characters, his role on the show was reduced while it filmed in Hawaii and he ended up spending much of his time making portraits of tourists on the Honolulu boardwalk.

Conroy also guest starred on shows such as Cheers, Search for Tomorrow, Matlock and Murphy Brown.

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.

He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned fame for voicing the DC Comics superhero Batman in various animated media, beginning with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992.

Conroy went on to voice the character for dozens of animated television series, feature films, and video games over the next three decades.

As a voice actor, Conroy is best known for his starring role in Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995).

He was notably the first voice actor to alter his voice tone between portraying Batman and Bruce Wayne, which Michael Keaton had previously done in Tim Burton's live-action Batman films.

These spin-offs include the TV shows The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), Batman Beyond (1999–2001, in which he portrays an elderly Bruce Wayne retired from crimefighting), Justice League (2001–2004), and Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006), as well as the theatrical film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), and the direct-to-video films Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998), Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000), and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003).

He also voiced the DCAU Batman for guest appearances in Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock and The Zeta Project.

After the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City, Conroy participated in relief efforts by volunteering to cook for people.

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 BTAS episode "Nothing to Fear" ).

Conroy went on to voice 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), Batman and Harley Quinn (2017), and Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019).

He later returned to voicing Batman on TV for the animated series Justice League Action (2016-2018), along with guest appearances on Teen Titans Go! and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?.

In a tally of the actor's performances that include his every episode and film portrayal of Batman, Conroy portrayed the character longer than any other actor in live-action and animation.