Johnny Passe by Scott Fivelson and Tim Cleavenger

The hard-boiled detective story emerged in pulp magazines like Black Mask in the 1920s and became popular in the 1930s. It was in the late 1920s improvements in microphone technology saw the emergence of crooners such as Russ Columbo and Bing Crosby. Crooners were very much in vogue in the 1930s, with possibly its most popular performer, Frank Sinatra, emerging in the 1940s.

The novella Johnny Passe (Hen House Press) by Scott Fivelson and Tim Cleavenger is a humorous pastiche of hard-boiled detective fiction. It includes many of the hallmarks of the genre, from the down-and-out detective of the title to a mysterious client to a complicated case. It is written in first person, with Johnny Passe himself telling how he missed the biggest opportunity of his life.

Scott Fivelson is the author of the novel Tuxes as well as the one-act plays Dial L For Latch-Key and Leading the Witness. He is also the writer and director of the film, Near Myth: The Oskar Knight Story, and co-screenwriter along with Caroline Allward of the upcoming British romantic-comedy mystery, The Vicar’s Wife.

Fans of hard-boiled fiction will appreciate Johnny Passe. Authors Scott Fivelson and Tim Cleavenger capture the narration of Raymond Chandler's short stories and novels perfectly. And, as mentioned earlier, they send up many of the tropes of the genre, from a menacing villain to a beautiful girl. What ultimately makes Johnny Passe so enjoyable is that its authors take it in a direction that Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler or many other hard-boiled writers would have never taken it. While readers will appreciate the outcome of Johnny Passe, they certainly won't expect it.

Hard-boiled fiction and the crooners were both phenomena of the 20th Century that remain popular in the 21st. The many fans of both will enjoy Johnny Passe, a very funny, but loving pastiche of both.

Happy Thanksgiving 2022

Here at A Shroud of Thoughts, we realize that there are those who appreciate a bit of cheesecake with their turkey and pumpkin pie. Here, then, are this year's vintage pinups for Thanksgiving.

First up, Gwen Lee and Dorothy Sebastian apparently ate a really big turkey.

Marie McDonald is going hunting for turkey.

=Lelia Hyams would rather be friends with a turkey than eat him.

Janis Page just bagged a turkey.

Ann Blyth wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving

And last but not least, the lovely Ann Miller is making friends with a turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

American Graffiti (1973)

This post is part of the Fake Teenager Festivus hosted by Taking Up Room)

Today George Lucas's second feature film, American Graffiti (1973), is generally overshadowed by Star Wars (1977). Even so, while American Graffiti did not make nearly as much money as Star Wars, it was very successful and proved influential in its own right. Indeed, while it cost only  $1.27 million to make, it grossed  $55 million worldwide. It was the third highest grossing film in the United States after The Exorcist and The Sting for the year 1973.

American Graffiti centres on four friends, recent high school graduates Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) and Steve Bolander (Ron Howard), drag racer John Milner (Paul Le Mat), and Terry "the Toad" Fields (Charles Martin Smith) during the last night of summer vacation in the year 1962 in Modesto, California. The next morning Curt and Steve will make the trip east to attend college. Music plays a large role in the movie, with the soundtrack consisting of popular songs from the era.

The origins of American Graffiti go back to George Lucas's first feature film THX 1138. It was in 1969 that Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas founded American Zoetrope. THX 1138 was only the second film released by American Zoetrope, after Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People (1969). Sadly, THX 1138 received mixed reviews and bombed at the box office. Francis Ford Coppola challenged George Lucas to write something more mainstream and more commercial.

For inspiration George Lucas looked to his own youth, when cruising was still a phenomenon. For those unfamiliar with cruising, it is simply driving around town aimlessly, talking to other cruisers and pedestrians as one does so. In the United States cruising was an activity in which many teenagers engaged from the 1950s and, in some areas, as late as the 1980s. George Lucas drew upon his own life to provide parts of the story, while the four main characters were based on himself from different phases in his life. For additional inspiration, George Lucas looked to Federico Fellini's film I Vitelloni, which centred on five young men in a small town in Italy.

Originally titled Another Quiet Night in Modesto, George Lucas eventually retitled his idea for a film American Graffiti. He wrote 15 page treatment and then hired  Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz to write the screenplay.William Huyck had earlier co-written the film The Devil's 8 (1968). Ultimately, William Huyck and Gloria Katz were unable to complete the screenplay for American Graffiti, due to the start of their own film, the horror movie Messiah of Evil (1973). George Lucas then hired Richard Waller to finish the screenplay. Both George Lucas and Richard Waller had attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Unfortunately for George Lucas, Richard Waller's screenplay would owe more to teenage exploitation films than the more realistic portrayal of a night in the life of teenagers in 1962 that Mr. Lucas wanted. Richard Waller did rewrite the screenplay, but ultimately, George Lucas fired him due to creative differences. George Lucas then completed the screenplay himself, finishing it in three weeks. George Lucas, William Huyck, and Gloria Katz then wrote the second draft of the screenplay together.

While American Graffiti would be a smash hit, George Lucas had trouble finding a  home for the film. Initially the various studios shied away from the movie out of the fear that the music licences would cost a fortune. MGM, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures all refused to provide financing for the movie and to distribute it. While American International showed some interest in American Graffiti, they ultimately turned it down as it did not contain enough of the sex and violence for which they were known in that era. Ultimately, Universal agreed to co-finance and distribute the movie. They gave George Lucas artistic control over the film, as well as approval of the final cut, provided American Graffiti was produced on a very low budget.

The casting director on American Graffiti was Fred Roos, who had earlier served as the casting director on The Andy Griffith Show. It was because of Mr. Roos that Ron Howard, who had played Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, was cast as Steve. As for the rest of the casting, it was both long and involved. A casting call was put out throughout community theatres and high school drama groups in California's Bay Area. Over a hundred actors auditioned for the role of Curt alone.

Despite the casting call sent out to high school drama groups and community theatres for younger actors, of the four leads, only Ron Howard and Charles Martin Smith were actually teenagers Both actors were 18 at the time shooting began. Richard Dreyfuss was 24 years old at the time. At 26, Paul Le Mat was the oldest of the four leads in American Graffiti. Messrs. Dreyfuss and Le Mat were hardly alone in playing characters several years younger than they were. Suzanne Somers, who played the infamous Blonde in the Ford Thunderbird, was 26 at the time. While it is unclear how old drag racer Bob Falfa is in the film (he may be in his twenties), the actor playing him, Harrison Ford, was just shy of his 30th birthday when shooting began. It is a tribute to the talent of much of the cast that, despite being older than their characters, they are convincing as teenagers.

While American Graffiti is set in Modesto, much of the film was shot in Petaluma as George Lucas thought Modesto had changed too much since 1962. The "Burger City" drive-in restaurant was actually the famous Mel's Drive-In in San Francisco. The freshman sock hop was shot at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley. The radio station at which Wolfman Jack works was KRE-AM in Berkeley.

Amazingly enough for a film that would be both a box office smash and a darling of critics, Universal was not overly fond of American Graffiti. Even though a test screening of the film in January 1973 had gone very well, Universal wanted to re-edit the film. Francis Ford Coppola, fresh from his success with The Godfather, took up for the film and even offered to buy it. Both 20th Century Fox and Paramount, initially uninterested in the movie, also offered to buy American Graffiti. It was after Francis Ford Coppola had won his Oscar for The Godfather that Universal relented and asked that only a few minutes be cut from American Graffiti. Even so, Universal was convinced that American Graffiti was suited only for release as a television movie. Fortunately, many Universal employees loved the film and their praise eventually convinced the studio to give the movie a limited release in Los Angeles and New York. The movie was a success in both markets, and it was ultimately released in the United States on August 11 1973.

As mentioned above, American Graffiti proved to be a success with both critics and audiences. It would also prove to be influential. At the time of the movie's release, only Ron Howard was well-known, having played Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and appearing in various movies. American Graffiti turned Richard Dreyfuss into a star. It would only be two years later that he would star in Jaws (1975). Cindy Williams, who played Steve's girlfriend Laurie, would find success on the hit sitcom Laverne & Shirley in only a few years. Mackenzie Phillips and Suzanne Somers would also find success it sitcoms in only a few years, on One Day at a Time and Three's Company respectively. As to Harrison Ford, he would ascend to superstardom in George Lucas's next movie, playing Han Solo in Star Wars (1977).

Of course, American Graffiti would prove influential beyond its cast. A nostalgia craze had been brewing in the United States prior to the movie's release, but arguably it was American Graffiti that kicked it into high gear. Such period films as The Lords of Flatbush (1974), Cooley High (1975), and National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) were released in the wake of American Graffiti. American Graffiti would also have some impact on television. Happy Days had begun life as an episode of the anthology series Love, American Style in 1972. It starred Ron Howard, Marion Ross, and Anson Williams. With the success of American Graffiti, ABC took an interest in developing the episode into a series and so Happy Days was born.

Beyond adding fuel to the Seventies nostalgia craze, American Graffiti arguably created an entire subgenre of period films that simply portrayed a short period in characters' lives. Arguably such diverse films as Diner (1982), Stand by Me (1986), and Dazed and Confused (1993) owe something to American Graffiti. If the coming of age period piece has been seen regularly for nearly the past fifty years, it is largely because of American Graffiti.

Certainly American Graffiti is not as influential as Star Wars (1977), but that is not to say the film did not have a huge impact. The movie had a lasting influence on American cinema that lasts to this day. That influence is still being felt.

Jay Silverheels as Geronimo

Today Jay Silverheels is best remembered as Tonto on the television series The Lone Ranger. This is unfortunate, as Jay Silverheels played many other roles in his career, roles that are not regarded as stereotypical as Tonto is today. Indeed, what is often overlooked is that Jay Silverheels played Apache leader Geronimo no less than three times.

The first time Jay Silverheels portrayed Geronimo was in the 1950 movie Broken Arrow. Broken Arrow starred James Stewart as Tom Jeffords, a historical figure who was friends with Apache leader Cochise and who was instrumental in ending the Indian wars in Arizona Territory. While today Broken Arrow is problematic insofar as it stars Jeff Chandler in redface as Cochise, as well as other white actors portraying Native Americans, it is one of the earliest movies to portray American Indians sympathetically.

Jay Silverheels only appears briefly as Geronimo in the film, but that appearance is significant. Geronimo is not portrayed as a savage bent on killing white settlers, but instead as a leader among his people seeking the best path forward for them. When he opposes the peace treaty Tom Jeffords has negotiated with Cochise, it is clear he has his reasons for doing do. Although brief, Jay Silverheels's performance as Geronimo numbers among his best, lending the Apache leader the gravitas one would expect of him.

It would be two years later that Jay Silverheels would once more portray Geronimo in the movie The Battle at Apache Pass (1952). Like Broken Arrow, The Battle at Apache Pass was also based on history, in this case it was loosely based on both The Bascom Affair from 1961 and the Battle of Apache Pass from 1862. The Battle at Apache Pass had two more things in common with Broken Arrow. First, Cochise was once more played by Jeff Chandler in redface and Geronimo was played by Jay Silverheels. Second, the movie also treats Native Americans sympathetically.

Unfortunately, while Jay Silverheels does a good job in the role, the movie's portrayal of Geronimo is less than would be desired. At one point Geronimo plots with two white men to frame Cochise for an attack on a ranch, something that not only never happened historically, but would have been out of character for the historical Geronimo. Sadly, the makers of The Battle of Apache Pass chose to make Geronimo a traditional screen villain instead of portraying him accurately.

The final time Jay Silverheels would play Geronimo was in the Audie Murphy Western Walk the Proud Land (1956). Walk the Proud Land was also based on history, in this case on introduction of limited self-government to the Apache by Indian agent John Clum (Audie Murphy). Like Broken Arrow and The Battle at Apache Pass, Walk the Proud Land features examples of redface, namely Anne Bancroft as an Indian widow who is John Clum's housekeeper and Robert Warwick as Apache leader Eskiminzin. Even so, like Broken Arrow and The Battle at Apache Pass before it, Native Americans are treated with sympathy in Walk the Proud Land. Indeed, Geronimo fares better in Walk the Proud Land that he had in The Battle at Apache Pass. Like Broken Arrow, Geronimo is portrayed as doing what he believes is best for his people, even if that means resorting to violence.

Over the years Jay Silverheels has received a lot of criticism for having played Tonto on The Lone Ranger, but throughout his career he played many other roles as well, roles that were not stereotypes. His three performances as Geronimo were all fine, even if the portrayal of the Apache leader is less than is desired in The Battle of Apache Pass. In both Broken Arrow and Walk the Proud Land he brought a dignity to the historical figure at time when American Indians were still often being portrayed as savages.

Godspeed Robert Clary

Robert Clary, best known for playing Corporal Louis LeBeau on Hogan's Heroes, who also had regular roles on the soap operas Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful, died on November 16 2022 at the age of 96.

Robert Clary was born Robert Max Widerman on March 1 1926 in Paris, France. He came from an Orthodox Jewish family of 14 children, of which he was the youngest. He began singing and performing when he was 12 years old. When he was 16 he and his family were sent to the Nazi concentration camp at Ottmuth. He would later be sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. At Buchenwald he would sing every other Sunday for SS officers. He also worked in a factory each day, making wooden shoe heels). He would be the only one of his family to survive the concentration camps. He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11 1945. For decades Mr. Clary did not discuss his experiences during the Holocaust.

Robert Clary returned to France following World War II. There he began singing in dance halls. By 1948 he was recording songs which not only became popular in France, but in the United States as well. It was in 1949 that he moved to Los Angeles where he had a contract with Capitol Records. Mr. Clary released several singles in the late Forties. He made his television debut on Hollywood on Television in 1949. He also appeared on The Ed Wynn Show in 1950.

In the Fifties Robert Clary first album Meet Robert Clary, was released in 1955. He appeared on the variety, game, and talk shows The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Arthur Murray Party, The Blue Angel, The Martha Raye Show, The Stork Club, Pantomime Quiz, Tonight!, The Rosemary Clooney Show, The Spike Jones Show, The Arlene Francis Show, Club 60. The Gisele MacKenzie, The Lux Show, The Garry Moore Show, The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom, Your Hit Parade, and The Big Party. He guest starred on the shows Appointment with Adventure and Play of the Week. He appeared in the Max Liebman Spectaculars adaptation of Heidi. He made his film debut in Ten Tall Men in 1951 and appeared in the movie Thief of Damascus. He made his Broadway debut in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952. He also appeared on Broadway in Seventh Heaven and La Plume de Ma Tante.

It was in 1965 that Robert Clary began playing Corporal Louis LeBeau on Hogan's Heroes. He remained with the show for the entirety of its six year run. He guest starred on the show Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre; The High Chaparral; and Love, American Style. He also appeared on the variety shows, game shows, and talk shows The Merv Griffin Show, International Cabaret, The Hollywood Palace, The Pat Boone Show, Gypsy, The Hollywood Squares, House Party, The Mike Douglas Show, Las Vegas, Everybody's Talking, The Joey Bishop Show, Pat Boone in Hollywood, The John Gary Show, Win with the Stars, Della, It Takes Two, Pantomime Quiz, The Leslie Uggams Show, and Playboy After Dark. He appeared in the movie A New Kind of Love (1963). In 1961 his album Lives It Up at the Playboy Club was released.

Hogan's Heroes ended its run in 1971, cancelled during the Rural Purge. He began his long run on Days of Our Lives in 1972. He guest starred on the shows Arnie, Love They Neighbour, Young and the Restless, and Fantasy Island. Mr. Clary appeared in the talk shows and game shows The Mike Douglas Show, It's Your Bet, What's My Line?, The Merv Griffin Show, The Cross-Wits, Celebrity Bowling, and Dinah!. He appeared in the movie The Hindenburg.

In the Eighties Robert Clary continued to appear on Days of Our Lives until 1997. In 1990 he began a two year stint on The Bold and the Beautiful. He guest starred on the shows Masquerade, General Hospital, The Munsters Today, and The New Adam-12.

Chances are good that Robert Clary will always be remembered as Corporal LeBeau, who was unfailingly loyal to France, had an eye for the ladies, and has such a gift for animals that he even befriended the guard dogs at Stalag 13. He was remarkable in the role. Even so, he did play other roles, some of which were very different from LeBeau. In the High Chaparral episode "The Last Hundred Miles" he played a crooked freight shipper who faked attacks by the Apaches in order to raise his prices. In the movie The Hindenburg he played real life acrobat and Hindenburg passenger Joseph Spah. In the Masquerade episode "The Defector," Robert Clary played a Russian physicist who was defecting to the United States. In addition to being a versatile actor, Robert Clary was also a gifted singer, something he put to use both on Broadway and on television variety shows. Robert Clary had considerable talent for which he will always be remembered.

The Film Noirs of Veronica Lake

A promotional photo
from This Gun for Hire

Veronica Lake was born 100 years ago on this date. Among her best known films today are comedies, such as Sullivan's Travels (1941) and I Married a Witch (1942), but she made other types of films as well. Indeed, among classic movies buffs, Veronica Lake is also remembered for film noirs she made with Alan Ladd. When people think of film noir actresses, Veronica Lake might not be the first name that comes to mind, she starred in a few influential film noirs made during the movement's formative years.

Indeed, the first film she made with Alan Ladd, This Gun for Hire (1942), was the movie that made Alan Ladd a star. The film starred Macdonald Carey as Lt. Michael Crane, a police detective investigating the murder of a blackmailer by paid assassin Philip Raven (Alan Ladd). Veronica Lake played Lt. Crane's girlfriend, stage magician and nightclub singer Ellen Graham. While Veronica Lake and Macdonald Carey were technically the stars of This Gun for Hire, it was arguably Alan Ladd who stole the show. His star power was obvious even before the movie was finished, as was his chemistry with Veronica Lake. It was even before This Gun for Hire was completed that Paramount announced him as the star of The Glass Key.

This Gun for Hire received positive reviews, with Alan Ladd often singled out for praise. It also did well at the box office. Beyond cementing Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake as co-stars in crime films, it would also have an influence on the development of film noir. Released in 1942, it was among the earliest movies that is identifiably noir.

As mentioned above, Alan Ladd was cast in The Glass Key (1942) even before This Gun for Hire as finished. The Glass Key was an adaptation of the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. Paramount had already released an adaptation of the novel in 1935 starring George Raft. While that version would prove to be one of George Raft's most successful movies of the Thirties, it was not particularly well received by critics. Regardless, Paramount apparently thought it was the perfect vehicle for Alan Ladd. It probably helped that The Maltese Falcon (1941), also based on a Dashiell Hammett novel, had been a hit for Warner Bros. the previous year.

In The Glass Key Veronica Lake played Janet Henry, the daughter of a candidate for governor (Moroni Olsen). Political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) falls in love with Janet, and for that reason decides to help get her father elected. Alan Ladd played Madvig's right-hand man, Ed Beaumont, who also falls in love with Janet. Janet's brother Taylor (Richard Denning) creates problems for everyone in that he owes gambling debts to gangster Nick Varna (Joseph Calleia), who is already unhappy with Madvig and Henry after being informed by Madvig that he plans to clean up the city.

Oddly enough, in The Glass Key it is Brian Donlevy who gets top billing, followed by Veronica Lake and then Alan Ladd. Like This Gun for Hire before it, however, it is Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd who are the real stars. And like This Gun for Hire, it also received positive reviews.

Despite the success of This Gun for Hire and The Glass Key, it would be a few years before Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd would make another film noir together, although they had cameos in the film adaptation of the popular radio show Duffy's Tavern (1945). Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd's next film noir, The Blue Dahlia, was not released until 1946. Among other things, The Blue Dahlia was the first and only original screenplay written by Raymond Chandler.

The Blue Dahlia starred Alan Ladd as Johnny Morrison, a United States Navy pilot whose discovers his wife is having an affair with Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva), owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. Ultimately, Johnny finds himself accused of murder when his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) winds up dead. Veronica Lake's part in the film is small. She plays Joyce Harwood, the estranged wife of Eddie Harwood, whose path crosses with Johnny Morrison in the film The Blue Dahlia received positive reviews and did well at the box office in the United Kingdom.

It would be two years later that Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake would appear in their final film noir together. Saigon (1948) starred Alan Ladd as Major Larry Briggs, who, with two of his buddies from the war, run afoul of a dangerous criminal. Veronica Lake played Susan Cleaver, the secretary of a war profiteer from who Larry has taken work as a pilot. Saigon did not received particularly good reviews, with critics pointing out the weakness of the movie's story. The film did not do as well at the box office as Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd's previous films, although it was not a bomb by any stretch of the imagination.

Saigon would be the last film Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd made together. This was perhaps in part because Veronica Lake's career would go into decline. Her last few films of the Forties did not match the success of her earlier films. In 1948 Paramount decided not to renew her contract. After leaving Paramount, Veronica Lake would only make four more films in her lifetime.

Veronica Lake only appeared in four film noirs. Indeed, her career was coming to an end even as the film noir movement was reaching its peak in the late Forties. Even so, her earliest film noirs would leave an impact on the movement. This Gun for Hire and The Glass Key laid the blueprint for many film noirs to come, with Alan Ladd playing morally ambiguous characters and Veronica Lake playing the good girl who initially seems bad. The Blue Dahlia remains a beloved film noir, respected for its atmosphere and dialogue. Although she appeared in far fewer film noirs than other actresses, Veronica Lake remains tied to the movement to this day.

The Late Great Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy, who first provided the voice of Batman in Batman: The Animated Series and voiced the character longer than any other actor, died on November 10 2022 at the age of 66. The cause was cancer.

Kevin Conroy was born on November 30 1955 in Westbury, New York. He grew up in Westport, Connecticut. He studied acting at Julliard under actor and director John Houseman, and was room mates with Robin Williams. Among those at Julliard at the same time as Mr. Conroy was future Superman Christopher Reeve. After he graduated from Julliard he toured as part of The Acting Company.

Mr. Conroy made his television debut in a bit part as a bartender in the TV movie How to Pick Up Girls in 1978. He had a regular role on the soap opera Another World from 1980 to 1981. In the Eighties he had  recurring or regular roles on Search for Tomorrow, Dynasty, Ohara, and Tour of Duty. He guest starred on the shows Matlock, Kay O'Brien, Spenser: For Hire, Cheers, and WIOU. He played Ted Kennedy in the mini-series Kennedy and John Laurens in the mini-series George Washington.

It was in 1992 that Kevin Conroy began his long stint playing Batman with Batman: The Animated Series. He would play Batman on the TV shows The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Static Shock. The Zeta Project, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Justice League Action, Teen Titans Go, and Scooby Doo and Guess Who?. He provided the voice of Batman in the TV movies The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest and Batman Beyond: the Movie, as well as the mini-series Tales of Metropolis. He also appeared in live action as Bruce Wayne in the Batwoman episode of the crossover miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. He provided the voice of Batman in several feature films, starting with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993). He voiced Batman in the feature films Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998), Batman Beyond; The Return of The Joker (2000), Batman: Mystery of The Batwoman (2003), Justice League: Starcrossed (2004), Baman: 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 provided the voice of Bruce Wayne's father Thomas Wayne in Batman vs. Robin (2015) and guest starred as Robin's father John Grayson in an episode of The Batman. He also voiced Batman in several video games, beginning with The Adventures of Batman & Robin in 1996. He last voiced Batman in a video game in MultiVersus, released this year.

During the Nineties Kevin Conroy also had a regular role on the TV show Rachel Gunn, R.N. He had a recurring role on The Office. He guest starred on the shows Murphy Brown and The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest. Kevin Conroy made his movie debut in Chain of Desire in 1992.

In the Naughts, in addition to voicing Batman in various DC Comics projects, he guest starred on the shows Ben 10: Alien Force and The Venture Brothers. On Batman: Brave and the Bold he voiced The Phantom Stranger and Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.

In the Teens Kevin Conroy continued to voice Batman. He also provided the voice of Zeus in the mini-series Shazam and was a guest voice on Turbo FAST and The Gang's All Here. He guest starred on The Daly Show. He was a regular voice on the series Welcome to the Wayne. He provided a voice for Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie (2013) and appeared in the movie Yoga Hosers (2016). In the Twenties he was a guest voice on the animated shows Masters of the Universe: Revelation and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Kevin Conroy is considered by many, perhaps most fans as the definitive voice of Batman. When many hear the voice of Batman in their head, it is not Adam West, Michael Keaton, or Christian Bale they hear, but Kevin Conroy. If Kevin Conroy is the quintessential Batman, it is with good reason. He brought a suitable air of menace to the character, but with an underlying humanity. He drew upon his own life to channel a character whose life had been shaped by tragedy. More so than any other actor, Kevin Conroy brought out the fact that at his core, Batman was someone who had lost his parents at a very young age. This made it much easier for viewers to identify with Kevin Conroy's Batman than any Batman before or since.

Of course, Kevin Conroy played more roles than Batman. He played the extremely patient Captain Rusty Wallace on Tour of Duty. On Dynasty he played gay politician Bart Fallmount. He also had a successful stage career. He appeared on Broadway in Lolita in 1981. In 1989 he appeared in Eastern Standard, in which he played a television producer recently diagnosed with AIDS.

While Kevin Conroy was an extremely talented actor, he was also a true gentleman known for his kindness and thoughtfulness. Following the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, Mr. Conroy volunteered to cook for firefighters, police officers, and other emergency service workers. He frequently attended conventions, where he would always take time with his fans, who always said that he was the nicest person one could meet. Kevin Conroy was also on Cameo, the video-sharing service that allows celebrities to send personalized messages to their fans. He was well-known for creating longer messages than he had to, taking time to let fans know how much they meant to him. Following Mr. Conroy's death, a DC Animated Universe fan shared on Twitter a Cameo video they had received from him following the death of their grandmother. Opening the video as Batman, Kevin Conroy shared his own experiences with death and grief and gave comfort to the fan. When it came to his fellow human beings, particularly his fans, Kevin Conroy always gave more than he was expected to. He was a kind, loving man who truly cared for his fellow human beings. In the end, Kevin Conroy not only played a superhero, he was a superhero.