It was five years ago today …
Not all anniversaries are happy ones. Five years ago today, we lost Yvonne Joyce Craig, the actress who portrayed Batgirl in the 1967-1968 season of Batman. She already was a seasoned actress who had worked in films and television for a decade after her switch from a dancing career.
Though her role didn’t last an entire season, Yvonne’s impact was considerable. Her particular version of Batgirl was created in late 1966 as a direct response to Catwoman’s immense popularity, and that character would first appear in Detective Comics #359, January 1967.
Yvonne, consequently, was added to the Batman cast the following September to help boost sagging ratings for the show. Looking at the show now, the scripts and reduced budget helped to send the show to its death, but Batgirl herself was a true asset to the series. The show becomes more tolerable when looking at the Third Season as more of a Batgirl series than that of its namesake (with all due respect to the late Adam West).
Though Yvonne Craig continued with her acting career (Star Trek, Mannix and Emergency!, among other productions, her appearances became less and less, and she eventually drifted into working in real estate. By the 2000s, she was on the convention circuit, which is where we met her. Sadly, cancer claimed her on 17 August 2015. But we remember her, and her character of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl continues to live on today!
God Bless, Yvonne, and best wishes also for her sister, Meridel Carson!
