Yvonne Craig and the webmaster, Motor City Comic Con, May 2006.
If Me-TV’s schedule is right, it will air the first episode of Season 3, Batgirl’s debut on the 1966 Batman series, tonight (16 May). It’s most fitting, because the Dominoed Daredevil herself made her entry into the world 83 years ago today in Taylorville, Illinois.
Yvonne Joyce Craig had studied to be a ballerina, but soon drifted into acting. One of her early roles was the 31 May 1958 episode of Perry Mason, where she acted with her future “father,” Neil Hamilton. The lead actor of that series himself, Raymond Burr, also had a notable year in 1967 himself when he began his run as the title character of Ironside.
I felt an acute sense of disappointment when the third season began on 14 September 1967. The show had been cut down to one night a week, and I could tell that the budget had been severely reduced. By the end of that year, I had stopped watching the series altogether, and would not even see it for another 13 years or so.
Fast forward to 2003. I was finally seeing those episodes that I had missed, and it was an interesting watch. Over 50 years later, I now see that third season as Batgirl’s place in the sun, with the Dynamic Duo as more supporting players. Yvonne brought a real intelligence to the role, and it would have been nice if she had been able to do more with the role.
Yvonne with the Webmaster again, this time in Liverpool, NY, on 22 October 2006.
But that was not to be. We were lucky that she had made it out to comic cons, and I saw her twice in 2006. From time to time, I had been in contact with her and her younger sister, Meridel Carson (whom I’m still in touch with). Sadly, we lost her on 17 August 2015 because of cancer.
Yvonne was on my mind on a hot, hazy 14 September in 2015 when I drove from Massachusetts to Saratoga County, NY. I spoke about it at Hathorn Spring in Saratoga Springs on Facebook. But in the end, we should be thankful for what she left behind, which includes a legacy for women and girls looking for superhero role models. Yvonne Craig brought a special class and so much more. God Bless, Yvonne!!!
