Actor Kevin Conroy has passed at the age of 66 away following a battle with cancer, according to a statement released by his representatives on Friday.

Conroy is known by most (including myself) as the voice of Batman from Batman The Animated Series. Prior to landing the role as the Caped Crusader in 1992, Conroy worked as a stage and television actor, appearing on shows including Cheers, Dynasty, and others. He would continue lending his voice to Batman long after the final episode of BTAS aired, including in direct-to-home release DC animated movies, several video games including the Arkham series and Injustice, and of course several BTAS spinoffs and follow-ups including Batman Beyond and Justice League. In addition to his voice work, Conroy also contributed an autobiographical short story to the DC Pride 2022 comic anthology.

Bruce Wayne/Batman went on to become Conroy’s career-defining work, and he embraced his legacy both on the convention circuit and with his own social media pages, where fans were frequently greeted with videos of him giving a boisterous “I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!”

Just like many others who grew up in the 90s, Conroy will always be “my” Batman. His voice lent a dark edge to the character, without abandoning the bold heroism necessary for a DC superhero. I did get the chance to meet Conroy once during a signing event hosted at the Warner Bros. store, where we were all greeted by a live performance of the above “I am the night…” line. As a young teenager at the time, I regretted not asking him to say something funny in the Batman voice like “Get bent, Joker!” Despite that, he was still a delight to meet, friendly and engaging with all of the fans who came to see him, and I was fortunate enough to get him to sign my VHS copy of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (which is one of the very few video cassettes I still own).

We want to extend one final, huge “thank you” to Kevin Conroy for his generation-defining performances that will be an inspiration to us always. May God speed you spirit on to a better place, and may He grant your family and friends peace and comfort in this time of loss.