Yvonne Craig

Very sad news today...

Yvonne Craig, best known for her role as Batgirl in the iconic 1960s television series Batman, died Monday. She was 78. 

Craig was a trained dancer who had studied at the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and toured for three years. Those dancing skills came in handy when the character of Batgirl debuted on ABC's popular superhero crime-fighting series in 1967. Craig was able to perform her own stunts alongside Adam West, who played Batman. 



Star Trek fans will remember Craig's work, too. She played Marta, the green-skinned Orion slave girl who wanted to kill Captain Kirk in Season 3. 

Other roles include the 1963 movie It Happened at the World's Fair and 1964's Kissin' Cousins, both staring Elvis Presley. She also made guest appearances on popular TV shows throughout the 1970s, including Starsky & Hutch, The Six Million Dollar Man and Kojak.

I remember always looking forward to seeing Batgirl show up on Batman during that season and then, around the same time, seeing Ms. Craig show up on Star Trek (a show I've "kinda" been a fan of forever).

She was one of the last to approve a license for her Batman character for merchandising (she didn't do it until 2013), so that explains the lack of action figures out there of her likeness.

However,  it appears the wait was worth it.



A company called Tweeterhead has just completed a new Batgirl statue and it looks almost exactly like her as the character in almost every detail (right down to the eyes, which seems to be something most companies constantly get wrong when doing any kind of character figure).



I just might have to get one of these for my collection.

She will definitely be missed. However, she has left a memorable mark in the Pop Culture world and her character will live on for a very long time.