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!
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.
