Batman Actors You May Not Know Passed Away

For over 80 years, Batman has thrilled comic book readers with his many adventures, and he's been exciting film and television audiences for nearly as long. After a pair of movie serials in the 1940s, Batman and Robin made their first big live-action splash on the classic 1966 television series "Batman," a knowingly campy, pop-art influenced comedy featuring wacky gadgets, guest stars hamming it up in villain roles, and dozens upon dozens of henchmen.

In 1989, the Dark Knight returned to the big screen in Tim Burton's "Batman." The megahit film was influenced by the darker, more serious tone of the character's comic book adventures in the 1970s and '80s and influenced the next several decades of superhero blockbusters (via The Washington Post). Batman is still going strong, with a brand new adaptation from director Matt Reeves ("The Batman") in theaters now.

With a legacy that spans so many decades, many actors who made their mark in Batman films and shows are no longer with us, some after long and celebrated lives, and some taken tragically too soon. Here is a list of "Batman" actors from the 1960s onward you may not know have passed away.

Actor and dancer Yvonne Craig joined the cast of "Batman" in Season 3 as Commissioner Gordon's daughter Barbara, who secretly fights alongside the Dynamic Duo as Batgirl. Known for her sparkly purple outfit, red wig, and motorcycle, this version of Batgirl made her television and comic book debuts at the same time and continues to influence the character both on the page and on screen.

Craig got her start as a dancer in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and fell into acting almost by accident — she was spotted at a restaurant by the son of director John Ford (via NPR). From there, she appeared in the 1959 Western "The Young Land" opposite John Wayne's son Patrick and Dennis Hopper. Her career consisted of small television roles both before and after "Batman," and in later years, she worked in commercial real estate and had a prepaid phone card business with her sister. She had a recurring role as Grandma on the Nick Jr. animated series "Olivia" from 2009 to 2011. Craig died of breast cancer in 2015

Legendary screen actor Burgess Meredith waddled into the hearts of Gen-X kids everywhere as the Penguin, perhaps Batman's greatest villain. The cackling, top-hat-wearing, cigarette smoking bird-themed evildoer appeared in the series' third episode and made over 20 appearances across all three seasons and its 1966 feature film spin-off.

The Cleveland-born actor first made a name for himself as the lead in Maxwell Anderson's Broadway play "Winterset," as well as its 1936 film adaptation. Meredith began appearing on television as early as 1949 and was a welcome presence on shows such as "The Twilight Zone" and "Rawhide." He was nominated for the Oscar for best supporting actor two years in a row for 1975's "The Day of the Locust" and 1976's "Rocky," where he played Rocky Balboa's hardscrabble trainer Mickey (Burgess reprised the role three more times). In the '90s, he scored a pair of hit films opposite Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in "Grumpy Old Men" and its sequel. Meredith died in 1997 after suffering from melanoma and Alzheimer's disease.

Frank Gorshin appeared as the Riddler in the first two episodes of "Batman," ensnaring the Dark Knight in a lawsuit and disguising his henchwoman (future Bond girl Jill St. John) as Robin. Alongside Lee Meriwether as Catwoman, Gorshin, Meredith, and Romero were the quartet of foes for the 1966 film. Gorshin appeared on 10 episodes across all three seasons and was nominated for an Emmy in Season 1, the only actor to be recognized in the entire run of the show.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1933, Gorshin's main act as an entertainer was as an impressionist, doing vocal impersonations of the stars of the day, including Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, and James Cagney (per the Chicago Tribune). He was a guest on "The Ed Sullivan Show" many times, including the famous 1964 episode that introduced The Beatles to American audiences. After "Batman" he remained a fixture on television and on stage for decades, often returning to the superhero genre with guest spots on "Wonder Woman," Robert Townsend's comedy "The Meteor Man," and voicing Batman villain Hugo Strange on the 2004 WB cartoon "The Batman." Gorshin died of lung cancer in 2005.

Commissioner Gordon's second-in-command on "Batman" —  his very own Robin in a way — was Chief O'Hara, the thick-brogued policeman played by California native Stafford Repp. If anything, Chief O'Hara was even more amazed by the Dynamic Duo's exploits than Gordon was, often punctuating scenes with a heavily-accented "saints preserve us!"

Repp got his start on stage in California in the years before World War II. During the war, he joined the U.S. Army and produced comedy revues with his fellow soldiers that toured bases and local venues. His army background and weathered face made him a natural choice to play police, military officers, and other authority figures during his decades in Hollywood. He continued to work for nearly a decade after "Batman" on shows like "M*A*S*H" and "Gunsmoke," and had a role in the lost Orson Welles film "The Other Side of the Wind," which was finally completed and released in 2018. Repp died in 1974.

Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred is many things: his counselor, his collaborator, his conscience. He's a father figure and a tether to humanity, a constant in the chaos. Prolific British actor Michael Gough made that constancy literal, playing Alfred across the first four films of Batman's modern era opposite three different Bat-stars — Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney.

Gough was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1916 and studied acting in London at the Old Vic theatre. A consummate character actor, Gough would hold his own against many of the titans of the 20th-century stage, including Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness. On film, he appeared in everything from the star-studded "Julius Caesar" adaptation to the Joan Crawford horror curio "Trog," both in 1970. 1997's "Batman & Robin" was his last visit to the Batcave (other than a series of commercials for OnStar in 2000), but he remained a favorite of director Tim Burton, appearing in "Sleepy Hollow" and lending his distinctive voice to "Corpse Bride" and 2010's "Alice in Wonderland." Gough died in 2011.

One of the great film villains of the 20th century, actor Jack Palance is perhaps one of the few actors who could out-menace Jack Nicholson. As jealous crime boss Carl Grissom in "Batman," he sets the plot in motion by sending his gangster underling Jack Napier (Nicholson) on an assignment to Axis Chemicals from which he is not meant to return. But Jack does return, as the villainous, disfigured Joker, gunning down Grissom in his office and taking over his criminal enterprise.

Born Vladimir Palahniuk in 1919, Palance served in World War II and went to New York to become an actor after a brief try at college in North Carolina. He received two Oscar nominations early in his career, one for "Sudden Fear" in 1952 and the other for "Shane" in 1953. The latter is arguably his most famous role until he played dying cowboy Curly in 1991's "City Slickers," for which he won the Oscar for best supporting actor. Many of his films in between were low-budget B-movies, and Palance was always candid about the variable quality of his work. He died in 2006 of natural causes at age 87.

In "Batman," William Hootkins plays Lt. Eckhardt, the face of police corruption in Gotham City. Openly on the take from crime boss Carl Grissom, his adversarial relationship with Jack Napier results in the soon-to-be Joker gunning him down during the raid on Axis Chemicals.

Born in Dallas, Hootkins attended the prep school St. Mark's alongside fellow thespian Tommy Lee Jones (per The Guardian). After studying at Princeton, Hootkins moved to London, where he would live and work for most of his life. While famous in the U.K. for playing historic figures such as Winston Churchill and Alfred Hitchcock, he is perhaps best known in the U.S. for a pair of George Lucas collaborations. In 1977, he appeared in "Star Wars" as Rebel pilot Porkins, and in 1981, he played Major Eaton, the government agent who assures Indiana Jones that "top men" are working on the Ark of the Covenant at the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Hootkins died of pancreatic cancer in 2005.

Comedian Jan Hooks makes a quick cameo in "Batman Returns" as Jen, one of two PR flaks (alongside Steve Witting) hired by evil businessman Max Schrek (Christopher Walken) to make the Penguin palatable as a mayoral candidate. Her big idea? Put gloves on his flippers, as their research shows that voters like fingers.

Hooks got her start on television in her native Georgia, starring on "The Bill Tush Show" of TBS in 1980. She then appeared on the 1st and 2nd seasons of the early HBO sketch comedy series "Not Necessarily the News," which had a young Conan O'Brien in the writer's room. In 1985, she had a small role as a perky Alamo tour guide in Tim Burton's "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," and in 1986, she joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" for five seasons. After "SNL," she starred in the last two seasons of "Designing Women" and had recurring roles on "Third Rock from the Sun," "The Simpsons," and "30 Rock." Hooks was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009 and died of throat cancer in 2014.

Veteran character actor Rene Auberjonois has just a brief role at the end of "Batman Forever" as Arkham Asylum caretaker Dr. Burton (whose name is perhaps a nod to Tim Burton, who did not return to direct this sequel, though remains credited as a producer). He tells Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) that the asylum's new patient, The Riddler (Jim Carrey), has been screaming that he knows the secret identity of Batman. Chase, Bruce Wayne's current love interest, is understandably concerned that her man's spot might get blown up, but luckily, the Riddler has been driven mad by his own mind control device and claims that he himself is the Caped Crusader.

Auberjonois was born into the life of an international artist, growing up in New York, Paris, and London (per The Hollywood Reporter). His father was a foreign correspondent, and his namesake grandfather was a Swiss painter. Auberjonois began acting on Broadway in the late 1960s before making the leap to film and television in the early 1970s. He was a near-constant presence on screen for the rest of his life, either as a regular on shows like "Benson" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" or as a prolific guest star on everything from "Charlie's Angels" to "Madam Secretary," not to mention dozens of voiceover roles. Auberjonois died in 2019 of lung cancer at 79 years old.

In "Batman Begins," Dutch actor Rutger Hauer plays William Earle, the businessman who has assumed control of Wayne Enterprises in the absence (and presumed death) of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale). His plan to take the company public puts him at loggerheads with some of the other employees, particularly Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who will soon become Batman's armorer. This corporate intrigue plot mostly plays out in the background until the end of the film, when Bruce reveals that he has purchased a controlling interest in the company and is installing Lucius as Earle's replacement.

With his matinee-idol looks and taste for provocative work, Hauer became a star in his native Netherlands during the 1970s, collaborating with director and kindred spirit Paul Verhoeven on many films and television projects, including "Turkish Delight" and "Soldier of Orange" (per Variety). He made the move to Hollywood in 1981, playing the villain in Sylvester Stallone's cop thriller "Nighthawks." The next year, in 1982, Hauer delivered arguably his signature performance as philosophical android Roy Batty in Ridley Scott's sci-fi noir classic "Blade Runner." Hauer would specialize in genre films over the next several decades, playing heroes and villains alike in "The Hitcher," "Blind Fury," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Sin City." Hauer died in July 2019 at age 75.

In "Batman Begins," Irish actor Gerard Murphy played the corrupt Judge Faden, who presides over the parole hearing of Joe Chill (Richard Brake), the man who killed Bruce Wayne's parents. Chill was the cellmate of Gotham crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and has information that could put Falcone behind bars for good — that is until Chill is conveniently gunned down outside of the courtroom. Later, we see Faden carousing at Falcone's bar.

Born in County Down, Northern Ireland, in 1948, Murphy was a prolific stage actor across the U.K., working with Citizens' Theatre Company in Glasgow throughout the 1970s before becoming an artistic associate with the Royal Shakespeare Company after 1977. During this time, he also began a long and robust television career for the BBC, appearing in play adaptations such as "The Playboy of the Western World" in 1974 and the pilot episode of "Father Ted" in 1996. After "Batman Begins," Murphy remained primarily a stage and television actor, joining the U.K. touring company of Alan Bennet's hit play "The History Boys" in 2010 and returning to Citizens' Theatre for his final theatrical performance in the Samuel Beckett short play "Krapp's Last Tape." Murphy died from cancer in 2012.