Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Yvonne Craig, 1937-2015, R.I.P.


Actress Yvonne Craig has died at the age of 78, after a long battle with breast cancer. Ms. Craig had a long list of acting roles to her credit, most notably her role as Batgirl in the third and final season of ABC's Batman.

Ms. Craig as Batgirl, arguably the best-known role of her career.

Ms. Craig out of uniform on the Batman set with the series' star, Adam West.

Funny thing... I'm sure there are dozens of men who are roughly my age that are blogging about Yvonne Craig's passing, and how she was their first -- or at least, an early -- celebrity crush for them. Not me, surprisingly. In fact, rather than when I was 10 or 11, I grew to appreciate Ms. Craig's charms as I got older. And it's not that I had yet to "discover" girls in 1967/68. That happened when I was in kindergarten.

No, the plain and honest truth was that I had pretty much given up on the Batman TV show by its third season, as had a large percentage of the rest of the TV viewing audience. Not sure what I was watching instead, though. Wikipedia's 1967–68 United States network television schedule article lists Cimarron Strip on CBS and Daniel Boone on NBC, and I wasn't watching either of those. But we all know Wikipedia's never wrong, so I dunno...

Anyway, if it'll make you feel better, I had a huge crush on Batman's Catwoman, played by Julie Newmar!


But, back to Yvonne Craig...


For those of you reading this who disagree with my saying that Batgirl was Ms. Craig's best-known role, she was also notable for playing Marta, the "green girl" in the third-season Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy." Her character was even mentioned in an Eddie Murphy routine! (Or was he referring to Susan Oliver, "green girl" in a first-season Star Trek episode?)

Ms. Craig and... uhhh... some guy, her co-star in
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) and Kissin' Cousins (1964).

And here she is, kissin' not another cousin, but an U.N.C.L.E.! Well, sort of... She's with
Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo in the original, "real" Man from U.N.C.L.E. on NBC-TV!

 
A more recent shot of Ms. Craig, holding her book 
From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond.

Yet another shot of "Marta," because... well, because I can!

And finally, another shot of Ms. Craig showing off her dancer's legs... Again, because I can!

Thanks for your time.
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23 comments:

  1. BirgitAugust 19, 2015 at 12:39 PM

    Oh how sad that she passed away. I always thought she was a cute pixie vixen. She seems so modern to me that it's hard to think she was in her 70's

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Silver FoxAugust 20, 2015 at 9:41 AM

      Yeah, I did a double-take when I read "78," too!

      Delete
  2. Janie JunebugAugust 20, 2015 at 12:33 AM

    Those are some legs. Yvonne remains a beautiful young woman in my mind. I didn't see Batman. It was off limits in our house.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Silver FoxAugust 20, 2015 at 9:42 AM

      Off limits? Interesting restriction to place on kids...

      Delete
    2. Janie JunebugAugust 22, 2015 at 1:51 AM

      That was my mom. I think I was the only kid in my class who didn't get to watch Batman.

      Delete
    3. The Silver FoxAugust 22, 2015 at 11:42 AM

      Wow...

      Delete
  3. Blue GrumpsterAugust 22, 2015 at 6:29 AM

    That crush makes perfect sense to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Silver FoxAugust 22, 2015 at 11:42 AM

      Dunnit? :)

      Delete
    2. Blue GrumpsterAugust 29, 2015 at 7:17 AM

      Well, let's just say I love the ladies. ;)

      Just stopping by to say.... well, you know what.
      Hi.

      Delete
    3. Blue GrumpsterNovember 20, 2015 at 5:38 PM

      Hi.

      Delete
    4. The Silver FoxNovember 23, 2015 at 10:33 AM

      Hi! I'm still alive, just not inspired lately. (Lately? It's been months!)

      Delete
    5. Blue GrumpsterJanuary 1, 2016 at 4:35 PM

      Well, it happens. Just stopping by to wish you a happy new year :))

      Delete
    6. The Silver FoxJanuary 4, 2016 at 4:13 PM

      Same to you, my friend!

      Delete
  4. UnknownSeptember 23, 2015 at 1:12 AM

    Whoa, she had some obvious assets! I have more of a memory of Julie Newmar as Catwoman, though.

    I really appreciate the comments you left the last few weeks. Now that I'm kinda back from the dead, isn't about time for you to arise?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Silver FoxSeptember 23, 2015 at 11:09 AM

      Alas, I've had no motivation to write for many, many weeks! I'll even get an occasional idea, but not be inspired enough to post about it.

      Maybe I need a new muse...

      Delete
  5. Brandon AxSeptember 30, 2015 at 11:45 AM

    She was a beauty for sure and quite a prolific actress. It seems like she lived a full life and that is really all we can ask for.

    ReplyDelete
  6. RLM CooperDecember 22, 2015 at 11:42 AM

    Oh those legs! Beautiful gal!

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownDecember 25, 2015 at 5:21 PM

    I am sorry for being late. I wanted to be by much earlier. "Stuff" happened, but I hope you are still having a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Silver FoxDecember 26, 2015 at 9:05 AM

      Well! The same to you, and a Happy New Year, too, Jerry!

      Delete
  8. Stephanie FarisJanuary 25, 2016 at 10:30 AM

    Breast cancer is such a terrible disease. I was surprised how common it is.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Silver FoxJanuary 25, 2016 at 12:28 PM

    Various forms of cancer have been robbing us of a lot of celebrities, unfortunately.

    ReplyDelete

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