Batman TV star Yvonne Craig passes away

Craig performed Batgirl and her alter ego librarian Barbara Gordon in 1967 and 1968, reverse Adam West’s Batman.

Now, Yvonne Craig, the formally trained dancer-turned-actress who donned yellow-and-blue leather to play Batgirl, has died at 78.

Variety reports that Craig died Monday at her home in Pacific Palisades surrounded by her family, according to her spokesman. From there, she had various other guest roles on TV shows during the era, and even played an enemy of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk on Star Trek.

Craig later appeared in episodes of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”, “Mod Squad” and “The Six Million Dollar Man“.

Craig also had a role in the 1964 Elvis Presley movie “Kissin’ Cousins“.

Aged 16 she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but left three years later and eventually fell into acting after a chance meeting with John Ford’s son Patrick.

She had been in chemo nearly continuously for the past two plus years since being diagnosed and that had weakened her immune system as well as her body. “This didn’t dampen her sense of humor or her spirit”, the statement said.

In an interview with CNN earlier this year, she said: “I hear from women that I was their role model”. Another bonus: She could ride a motorcycle and so could do “the stuff on the bikes”. She penned a memoir – “From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond” – in 2000. She had been able to do this with joy and much laughter and she wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Craig continued to do voice-over work over the years, including the role of Grandma in Nickelodeon’s animated series “Olivia” from 2009 to 2011. In lieu of flowers, fans can make donations to The Angeles Clinic Foundation by mail at 2001 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404 or by going into their website at TheAngelesClinicFoundation and following the Donate link.