Kevin Conroy gives an emotional tribute to his Batman: The Animated Series co-star Michael Ansara, the voice of Mr. Freeze. Created by first-time producers Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, the animated series originally ran from September 1992 to September 1995 on Fox Kids, and it has been called the best adaptation of Batman anywhere outside of the comics. The Emmy Award-winning series featured a talented cast of voice actors that included Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker, Richard Moll as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Ron Perlman as Clayface, and Michael Ansara as Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze.
Many of the voice actors from Batman: The Animated Series continued to portray the characters in DC's other animated projects, including Ansara. Outside of Batman, Ansara had appeared in movies and television series since his career began in 1944, and he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Notably, he appeared as Commander Kang in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. Sadly, after a fifty-seven-year-long career, Ansara died in 2013 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.
This year, Kevin Conroy remembered Michael Ansara with an emotional message on social media. For Ansara's birthday, Conroy paid tribute to the late Mr. Freeze actor with a tweet calling his Batman: The Animated Series performance heartbreaking. In his heartfelt message, Conroy also called himself lucky to have been able to work with Ansara and so many other incredible actors. Check out Conroy's full tweet below:
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Batman: The Animated Series is one of the most beloved television series ever made and it is no exaggeration to say that the performances given by its cast influenced future versions of the DC characters. In particular, Ansara's performance as Mr. Freeze in Batman: The Animated Series transformed the character from a quirky gimmick character to a complex villain driven by loss and tragedy. While a good portion of that transformation is due to the series' writers and producers' vision, without Ansara's voice to breathe life into the new Mr. Freeze, the character would have never become who he is today.
There is no downplaying the incredible impact Batman: The Animated Series had on the DC characters and the superhero genre as a whole. Because of its role in shaping Batman, the series' cast and crew still receive the support of fans even thirty years after its premiere. As Conroy pays an emotional tribute to Ansara, fans of Batman: The Animated Series certainly still find the late actor's performances heartbreaking.
Source: Kevin Conroy