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Actress Yvonne Craig, best known for playing Batgirl in the Batman TV series, died of breast cancer on Monday. She was 78.
Craig had a background in ballet and joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at the age of 17. During this stint, she was discovered by Patrick Ford, the son of film director John Ford, who cast her for the lead in the film The Young Land. These skills would be put to use years later when she was cast alongside James Coburn in the spy spoof In Like Flint. She also appeared in two movies with Elvis Presley — It Happened at the World’s Fair and Kissin’ Cousins — and then subsequently entered into a relationship with him.
Craig’s TV credits prior to joining Batman include Perry Mason, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. She would play Batgirl in the final season of Batman in 1967-1968.
Following the cancellation of Batman, Craig had a memorable guest role on Star Trek in which she played Marta, a green-colored Orion slave girl. Other TV credits include appearances in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The Six Million Dollar Man as well as Starsky & Hutch.
Craig’s acting career wound down in the early 1980s. She would become a real estate broker and later got on the ground floor of the pre-paid phone card business with her sister. In 2009, she returned to TV to do voiceover work for the animated series Olivia but was forced to discontinue when diagnosed with breast cancer.
The video above shows some of Batgirl’s adventures with the Dynamic Duo.
