By TIMOTHY JOHN FORBES
Sunday, 17 August 2025
Ten years ago today, Yvonne Joyce Craig passed away in Pacific Palisades, CA at age 78 from cancer. The news was a bit surprising for me, but at the time, I was having to move out of a house that I had been renting in Templeton, MA. I did wonder why she hadn’t been seen in public toward the end.
Well, a month later, on 14 September 2015, I reflected on her presence while at Hathorne Spring in Saratoga Springs, NY. That day was the 48th anniversary of her debut as Batgirl on Batman. On that day in 1967, I was doing a repeat of Second Grade, this time at a new school that had just opened in my neighborhood. At the time, I didn’t take to the show’s changes, having only one night to air and having its budget cut. And as an eight-year-old, I didn’t have too much appreciation for her character, despite the fact that I liked Diana Rigg of The Avengers and Barbara Feldon of Get Smart. By the end of 1967, I had abandoned the show, and would not see all of those Season Three episodes until around 2002-2003.
When I DID see those episodes, I was in my mid-40s, and had been through a marriage and had a deeper appreciation of women. Looking at Season 3, once I focused in on Yvonne instead of the two male leads, I appreciated it more. Today, her performance there remains fantastic, and she should have been given a much better break than what she had.
That said, we should be thankful that we still have those episodes. And having met her twice in 2006, in Detroit and Syracuse, NY, she is one of the finest human beings I have met. I am deeply thankful for having met her and her sister, Meridel Carson. I wish her family all the best.
