[sniffle]
I've probably told you this before but when I was a child and they used to show reruns of the old Batman series on tv, I would tense up during opening credits. If the image to your left did not appear I would run outside to play. That sudden Batgirl swing with a kick (who knew that kicks made a "BONG!" sound?) meant that she would appear in the episode and even if I'd seen the episode before I would always watch again.
So yesterday when I heard the news that Yvonne Craig, one of the first celebrities I ever crushed on -- before I even understood what crushes were -- had died of cancer I couldn't even write about it. I needed time to process...
a wealth of photos available on this fan page
a fun promo shot
Elvis' Leading Lady in "Kissing Cousins"
with Sal Mineo for The Gene Krupa Story (1959)
Her most famous role
Yvonne in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."
arms akimbo... as superheroes must!
I don't even need the lyrics in that video to sing along to that song!
This next anecdote always surprises even my lifelong friends, as if it doesn't compute and they keep forgetting it. My dad had a motorcycle so I spent a lot of time on the back of his bike as a child. I instinctively knew never to tell Dad that I was pretending to be Batgirl every time. To clarify: Pretending to be Batgirl doesn't surprise my friends -tis the motorcycle part.
I loved everything about Batgirl... but particularly the way her mask included a red wig -- that'll throw 'em off the trail! Gingers forever, even if it's in wig form.
Yvonne Craig was born a midwestern girl logging time in Illionis and Ohio before moving to Texas at 13 and eventually making it to Los Angeles. She started as a ballerina, then moved into acting in both film and television. Her most famous roles were the genre parts that made great use of her terrific body. Batgirl of course but also that infamous green slave girl in Star Trek. She wrote about her career and Batgirl in particular in her memoir "From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond".
I've read that she was always lovely and genuine in person . She must have known that she made millions of little girls and little actressexual boys happy as television's first female superhero.
RIP Yvonne.