Kevin Conroy Known For Voicing The Titular Character In Batman: The Animated Series Dies At 66

Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman for three decades of animated TV, specials and video games, died Thursday. He was 66.

His death was announced by his rep Gary Miereanu and Warner Bros. A cause was not disclosed, but he reportedly had been battling cancer.

In a statement, Warner Bros. Animation said it “is saddened by the loss of our dear friend Kevin Conroy. His iconic performance of Batman will forever stand among the greatest portrayals of the Dark Knight in any medium. We send our warmest thoughts to his loved ones and join fans around the world in honoring his legacy.”

An actor with credits on stage, television and film, Conroy became a premier voice actor as the title character of Batman: The Animated Series (1992-96). He’d eventually give voice to the Dark Knight in nearly 60 different productions, including 15 films and more than 15 animated series spanning nearly 400 episodes and more than 100 hours of television.

Conroy also voiced Batman in dozens of video games and was featured as a live-action Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse’s 2019-20 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event.

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“Kevin was perfection,” said Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker opposite Conroy’s Batman. “He was one of my favorite people on the planet, and I loved him like a brother. He truly cared for the people around him – his decency shone through everything he did. Every time I saw him or spoke with him, my spirits were elevated.”

In recent years, Conroy was a fixture on the convention circuit.

“Kevin was far more than an actor whom I had the pleasure of casting and directing – he was a dear friend for 30+ years whose kindness and generous spirit knew no boundaries,” said casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano. “Kevin’s warm heart, delightfully deep laugh and pure love of life will be with me forever.”

Born on November 30, 1955, in Westbury, NY, and raised in Westport, CT, Conroy attended The Juilliard School and, under the tutelage of John Houseman, studied alongside Christopher Reeve and Frances Conroy. He was, at one point, a roommate of Robin Williams.

Conroy began his stage career following in both New York and at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, playing Hamlet at the 1984 New York Shakespeare Festival.

On TV, he had recurring roles in Dynasty, Tour of Duty and Ohara and appeared on the soaps Search for Tomorrow and Another World. He had guest roles on Cheers, Murphy Brown, Spenser: For Hire and Matlock.

His voice acting career took off with Batman: The Animated Series, which debuted on September 5, 1992. Conroy’s association with the Dark Knight would continue with Batman Beyond and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, Batman: the Killing Joke, Batman: Gotham Knight, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.

“Kevin was a brilliant actor,” Hamill said in his statement. “For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it. His rhythms and subtleties, tones and delivery – that all also helped inform my performance. He was the ideal partner – it was such a complementary, creative experience. I couldn’t have done it without him. He will always be my Batman.”

Conroy is survived by his husband Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy, and brother Tom Conroy.

Review: StarSat Trying To Be DStv Friendly As Traditional TV Is Dying

StarSat is pay-tv platform owned by On Digital Media and StarTimes which served as one of the few competitors available for the monopolized MultiChoice's DStv platform in South Africa offering cheaper alternatives to consumers which some find unappealing.

Sure the platform has a range of premium channels such as TNT, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, ESPN 1 & 2. But that's the thing, there isn't a lot of that or at least not for South Africans as other consumers have Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon.

Either way consumers from these regions have been just as pissed as everyone else as the platform lost or scrapped several channels ranging from Real Time, Fine Living, Investigation Discovery from Warner Bros. Discovery to FOX from The Walt Disney Company.

For nearly 2 years, viewers had been fed the same crap every year that these channels would eventually get replaced but never do and when something does launch its likely crappy channels like C12TV or JIB TV or thematic like Zee Bollymovies.

Point being made this platform is being viewed less and less of a DStv competitor I mean it does still give alternatives as there's a lot of Bollywood content and telenovelas to explore other than that consumers feel they aren't getting money's worth.

I get it's meant to be cheap or at least on the part by On Digital Media but the brand needs a lot of improvements something I'm not holding my breath on as this has been long overdue from the moment it replaced Top TV and it's become more transparent now.

But after seeing them promote something like SABC 1 and eExtra not saying they're bad channels but pay-tv platforms usually give alternatives I mean one of the reasons you hardly see MultiChoice promote or mention them on their ratings sheet or when promoting a product.

I mean it's on the platform so why not promote it but lately I feel that StarSat is trying to be DStv friendly kind of like how Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service Discovery+ has become streaming friendly.

What that means is they're trying to offer a service and sustaining it without making one or the other feel superior but with Openview+ coming in I wouldn't be shocked if it joined those forgotten or lost DStv competitors in South Africa as there's less premium and more mass.

The Whereabouts Of Sony Channel And Sony Max

Sony Channel (also known as Sony Entertainment Television) was a general entertainment channel based of the branding of the same name in India alongside defunct sister channel, Sony Max both of which were available in the African market in 2007 and 2011 respectively.

Some of the programming featured on these channels included The Amazing Race, Scrubs, Baywatch, Baggage, Drop Dead Diva, 1000 Ways To Die, Fear Factor, The Boondocks, Fatal Attraction, My Wife And Kids, Friends, Crossing Lines and Impractical Jokers.

The channel were seen as another alternative to brands like M-Net, Universal and BBC Brit and went as far as competing with the likes of Comedy Central and MTV. Sony Channel and Sony Max had everything going for themselves until that fateful show Gogglebox changed everything.

In 2015, Sony made their first attempt in producing local content with the launch of Gogglebox a series where random people watch various content particularly on DStv and you got to see their reactions to whatever was viewed on the platform.

It was this same show that caused a lot of scandal not only to the production crew but Sony in general. The crew of the show claimed to have viewed content that MultiChoice wasn't giving their consumers which led to the cancellation of the series.

Reruns were made available but from that point forward Sony had been alienating themselves from society offering less new content and often shuffling shows between channels despite their accessibility to the market.

In 2018, Sony Crime was introduced as a replacement to Sony Channel offering shows like Orange Is The New Black, Person Of Interest, CSI and Law And Order which kind of signalled the end of the brand in Africa of course most hoped that they would be saved.

But from what's been seen with several linear channels like Disney XD, FOX, FOX Life and EVA usually when a channel stops offering new content it usually means the channel is on the chopping which was the case with DStv as viewers had to resort to M-Net and Universal.

The Sony Channels were made available for another year until they were subsequently discontinued on another defunct platform Cell C's Black.

Sony Entertainment Television operated a number of linear channels like the kids channel POP and music channel KISS all of which were terminated as the company now opts to supply content to the market and not linear channels.

As of 2022, the only regions to supply a Sony linear channel are in Latin America and Germany while others like Turkey, Asia and the UK join Africa on their demise.

As mentioned, the names of the Sony Channels in Africa were derived from India which remain active but for different programming and audience while DStv uses the channel numbers for Sony Channel and Max for sports or as Vince McMahon calls it Sports Entertainment.

But that's the only thing Sony took from India the brand names as the channels were managed by the UK which has since then been acquired by Narrative Capital with the Sony branding removed from all assets.

Sony Max never existed in those regions and most if not all the Sony Channels are using the "Great!" branding and Sony Channel now Great TV! features shows like Castle, M*A*S*H and The Persuader and Hart To Hart basically old series.

Is Sony's linear offering in better hands I guess but with streaming taking the media by storm you never know if some restructuring will take place but all the best for the new management.

The Truth About Michael Jackson's Stranger In Moscow

A ballad about a man merely trying to have his voice heard while by being crucified by the press.

“Stranger in Moscow” exemplifies Michael Jackson not as ‘The King of Pop,’ but simply as a man in a foreign land disconnected from the world.

“Stranger in Moscow” was written in a hotel room in Moscow, possibly between September 13–16, 1993, while Michael was on his Dangerous World Tour. The song would be released as the final single off the HIStory album in November, 1996. It is perhaps Michael’s most personal song, as his lyrics are direct and in the first person.

“Stranger in Moscow”

“I was wandering in the rain

Mask of life, feelin’ insane

Swift and sudden fall from grace

Sunny days seem far away

Kremlin’s shadow belittlin’ me

Stalin’s tomb won’t let me be

On and on and on it came

Wish the rain would just let me”

The opening verse speaks of a “mask of life,” a clear reference to isolation and despair which so often accompanies fame and fortune. Michael’s “fall from grace” refers to how the pop-star would be ridiculed, victimized and deemed a criminal by the press once the allegations of child abuse broke in 1993.

Up until this point, Michael was at the height of his success and in the midst of his record-breaking Dangerous World Tour. In response to the allegations, Michael recorded a statement from his Neverland Ranch which was televised worldwide on December 22, 1993. Of the media’s damaging treatment Jackson stated:

“I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of this mass matter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions. I ask all of you to wait to hear the truth before you label or condemn me. Don’t treat me like a criminal, because I am innocent.”

Michael has always had an indifferent relationship with the media. As he would suggest later in his career, “The bigger the star, the bigger the target.”

In an interview with Barbara Walters in Paris, 1997, Michael declared he disliked the name ‘Wacko Jacko’ — a name the mainstream and tabloid press often used from the mid 1980s:

Wacko Jacko — where’d that come from? Some English tabloid. I have a heart and I have feelings. I feel that when you do that to me. It’s not nice. Don’t do it. I’m not a wacko.

However, with the allegations directed at Michael in the summer of 1993, the media now had ammunition for a full character assassination despite the fact a police officer stated to the LA Times:

“No evidence (medical, photographic or video) could be found that would support a criminal filing.”

The media before 1993, were already invasive of Michael’s privacy, relationships and his changing physical appearance, as Michael suggested in “Leave me Alone”, but once the allegations were in the public domain, the mainstream and tabloid media went on the attack:

The New York Post on its front-page declared, Peter Pan or Pervert? August 23, 1993.

Newsweek on its cover page questioned of Michael, Is He Dangerous or Off the Wall? September 6, 1993.

Time stated, Michael Jackson: Who’s Bad? September 6, 1993.

As the remainder of the Dangerous World Tour was canceled, Michael retreated from the public eye in late November of 1993, in an attempt to end his drug dependency. Michael released an audio statement to the press:

“I was humiliated, embarrassed, hurt and suffering great pain in my heart. The pressure resulting from these false allegations, coupled with the incredible energy necessary for me to perform caused so much distress that it left me physically and emotionally exhausted. I became increasingly more dependent to the painkillers to get me through the days of the tour."

However, the media gave no sympathy to Michael whose emotional and physical health was at risk. Instead, the embattled star became the subject of taunts and ridicule:

The Daily Mirror held a “Spot the Jacko” contest which offered readers a vacation to Disney World. News of the World ran the headline, Hunt for Jacko the Fugitive. The Sunday Express headline read, Drug Treatment Star Faces Life on the Run.

How Does ‘It’ Feel?

In the chorus of “Stranger in Moscow,” Michael repeatedly asked the listener, “How does it feel?” What Michael is referring to is a question he has been asked so many times:

How does it feel to have the biggest selling album of all time? How does it feel to be admired by so many? How does it feel to be wealthy and famous? How does it feel to be so talented? How does to feel, Michael asks, “When you’re alone and you’re cold inside.”

“Here abandoned in my fame

Armageddon of the brain

KGB was doggin’ me

Take my name and just let me be

Then a begger boy called my name

Happy days will drown the pain

On and on and on it came

And again, and again, and again…

Take my name and just let me be”

Michael suggests it all means nothing when you feel isolated, disconnected and alone.

“Just Let Me Be”

Deemed a criminal, a forsaken man, Michael repeatedly asks the media to separate his celebrity persona from his true self. Michael is asking for privacy and for the public and media to understand that behind his image he is a man.

“Stranger in Moscow” concludes with lyrics spoken in Russian. The lyrics spoken by an unnamed individual lend to the feeling of paranoia, despair, fear and isolation of “Stranger in Moscow”, a ballad about a man merely trying to have his voice heard while by being crucified by the press.

Credits: MJ Beats

Poltergeist: A 1980s Classic Became Known As Hollywood's Most "Cursed" Film Following The Untimely Death Of A 12-Year-Old Actress

Not only is Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist regarded as one of the most terrifying horror films of all time, it's also known as the most "cursed" film in Hollywood.

Shrouded in superstition following a handful of mysterious cast deaths, the 1982 film's grim history has followed it through decades – even casting fear over the critically reviled 2015 remake.

The "Poltergeist curse", as it's become known, came about after four of the cast members died of mysterious circumstances – the most shocking being that of Heather O'Rourke – the cherubic 12-year-old childstar who played protagonist Carol Anne in all three Poltergeist films, as well as Heather Pfister in Happy Days.

THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY

Set in a house built on an ancient Native American burial ground, the original Poltergeist trilogy told the terrifying story of the Freeling family and their encounters with the supernatural.

Gifted with a connection to the spiritual world, the youngest daughter, Carol Anne (O'Rourke), was haunted by the malicious spirits buried beneath her home, including that of a sadistic doomsday cult leader named Kane

It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on June 4, 1982 and was a commercial success, grossing $1.13 million in the United States, making it the highest-grossing horror film of 1982 and eighth overall for the year.

The film's special effects – inventive for its era – makes it frequently ranked among the greatest horror films of all time.

BEGINNINGS OF "THE CURSE"

Many believe the "Poltergeist Curse" began the same year the first movie was released.

Actress Dominique Young, who made her film debut in Poltergeist as the elder sister of Carol Anne, died a violent death shortly after its release in 1983.

She was strangled to death by her boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney.

According to a New York Times article, Young was put on life support after the attack but passed away five days later.

Sweeney was later found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, according to a 1983 article from The Freelance Star.

JULIAN BECK

It was the actor who played Carol Anne's most intimidating spirit, doomsday cult leader Kane, who died next.

Julian Beck, who played Kane in Poltergeist II sadly did not live to see the release of the sequel.

He was 60 when he lost a battle with stomach cancer on September 14, 1985, according to The New York Times.

WILL SAMPSON

The third in the spooky string of deaths associated with the film was of the man who portrayed a friendly ghost named Taylor in the second Polergeist film, Will Sampson.

Sampson died on June 3, 1987, aged 53, after of an illness caused by a chronic degenerative condition, according to The Herald Journal.

HEATHER O'ROURKE'S DEATH

It was the unexpected nature of Heather O'Rourke's death which led many to believe the "Poltergeist Curse" was real.

Known for adorable, blue-eyed angelic looks and her creepy delivery of the line; "They're here" in the first film of the series, it was largely O'Rourke's chilling performance that made the film iconic.

At 12 years old, she passed away suddenly.

The actress died in surgery when doctors were attempting to repair an acute bowel obstruction, caused by what was believed to be a long battle with Crohn's disease, the LA Times reported.

The young address was tragically pronounced dead after suffering septic shock, on February 1, 1988.

Turkish Couple Edits Presents Verdeelde Liefde's Zeynep & Mehdi ღ Aciyor

Turkish Couple Edits a YouTube channel which distributes a variety of music videos based on couples within a number of telenovelas. Part of which can be viewed on eExtra: #DisComplicated and Verdeelde Liefde.

Here's another music video this time for the show

Verdeelde Liefde:

For those wondering what song is used in the video it's called Aciyor and performed by Göksel.

TheOdd1sOut Presents The Spiders And The Bees

Robert James Rallison (born May 14, 1996), known online as TheOdd1sOut, is an American cartoonist, YouTuber, animator, author, and voice actor. He is known for producing storytime animations on his YouTube channel and being the co-creator and co-star of the animated Netflix series Oddballs.

As of January 7, 2021, Rallison's main YouTube channel had over 16 million subscribers, and his secondary channel had over 2.7 million subscribers.

In 2017, Dave Trumbore of Collider named Rallison one of five YouTubers who were "poised for mainstream success". In 2018, Kristin Brantley of Culturess reviewed his channel and webcomics favorably, writing, "You’ll be glued to the screen watching all of these hilarious clips and reading all his great comics."

BYUtv Offers The Very Best In Kids And Family Entertainment, Could DStv, StarSat Or Openview Perhaps Get It?

With family at its core, BYUtv - a non-commercial, value-based television network - brings inspiring and uplifting entertainment into million of homes across the nation through cable, their website or on the app. BYUtv has a place for everyone -- together.

BYUtv produces shows under several categories: BYU Sports, Campus, Documentary, Faith, Family, Lifestyle, People, and Performing Arts. This includes original series, documentaries and religious service programs, along with family and faith-based films from several major studios.

Some notable original series include Studio C, Random Acts, All-Round Champion, Relative Race and Wayne Brady's Comedy IQ.

StarTimes and On Digital Media once provided a religious channel Smile TV operated by Trinity Broadcasting Network. This channel would have made a suitable alternative had they considered replacing the channel the moment TBN opted not to supply it.

MultiChoice is set to lose a pair of channels in the near future - Disney Channel and Disney Junior. With that entail, an alternative will be needed in order to keep viewer's minds at ease. BYUtv can make up for the soon to be lost live-action slate on Disney Channel.

eMedia Investments once offered the Da Vinci educational channel on the Openview platform until it formed one of their never ending attempts to save money. BYUtv could make up for the lost factual content especially now that Openview+ is on the cards.

Its eMovies And eMovies Extra Vs. TNT And CineMagic: Another Openview Vs. DStv Saga

Openview has been dominating the South African market for several years giving companies like MultiChoice a run for their money particularly for those residing on lower bouquets such as DStv Easyview as the once underachieving platform is about to go through some changes.

MultiChoice will be adding two new entertainment channels to the bouquet in the month of November, Magic Showcase and CineMagic which just helps build onto the number of alternatives in South Africa.

Openview offers less channels but they have managed to win a lot of audiences with the selection of sports, local dramas, international series, kids shows and movies. Now it appears as if MultiChoice has begun catching up to the free-to-view platform.

DStv Easyview only offered 1 movie channel TNT which has been having a bit of its ups and downs with the likes of Blade, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Final Destination, Anaconda and so forth. If it was for TNT Original Movies and All Elite Wrestling I don't how far the channel could have gotten.

Point is, TNT was at a disadvantage as Openview provided two movie channels eMovies and eMovies Extra which were able to juggle around a mix of emotions. eMovies had Pokémon, Mama Jack and Oh Schuks while eMovies Extra had Fast And Furious, Transporter and Rush Hour.

With the inclusion of CineMagic, I'm not expecting them to read each other's mind or become the sibling duo as these two fall under different grounds so the only thing that anyone should be excited about is the number of options available.

CineMagic is set to feature a mix of local and international films 18 hours a day leaving TNT to the remaining 6 hours. Although, a schedule hasn't been provided my guess would be the content is based from M-Net Movies and Mzansi Bioskop.

Over to the winners which there's none, you got to look at the benefits to the above brands to reach your conclusion. eMovies is very selective I guess that's what made them favourable on DStv, TNT has got All Elite Wrestling and CineMagic by my hunch has the local productions.

Magic Showcase Vs. Novela Magic: List Of Content You'll Probably Miss Out On? + Potential Content Suggestions

MultiChoice and M-Net decided to the halt the distribution of Novela Magic to consumers in South Africa with the channel expected to go off air from 27 November as it will be supplemented by two other channels ahead of time, Magic Showcase and CineMagic.

Novela Magic offered a lot of content from Mzansi Magic which is enough justification to have it removed but the brand existed for multiple brands as well including Africa Magic, Maisha Magic, Zambezi Magic, Pearl Magic and Maningue Magic.

While as Mzansi Magic and kykNET can make up for the chunk of SA content alongside kykNET & Kie, kykNET Lekker and Mzansi Magic. Viewers will basically lose access to content from the above-mentioned brands with Access receiving the most blows.

Africa Magic hosts a ray of linear channels none of which can be viewed on the Access package so it's bye bye to The Johnsons, Zuba and Battleground unless you plan to upgrade to the Family package in order to continue watching these shows or Easyview better yet.

Magic Showcase is a general entertainment channel which will be sourcing out content from Mzansi Magic such as Being Bonang and The Imposter while as supplying content outside of that namely Zuba, Arendsvlei and Legacy.

All this kind of gave me an idea for another channel which is hovered with rebroadcasts and basically a waste to Compact bouquets, Mzansi Wethu.

As much as MultiChoice refuses to acknowledge the fact Mzansi Wethu is basically how Magic Showcase could have been had they made it accessible to more consumers. I know I say this channel sucks a lot but maybe there is a way to keep it onboard.

In July, kykNET introduced their Turkish offering on kykNET & Kie which kind of helped give the channel its own identity as opposed to being viewed as kykNET+. Mzansi Wethu could do something similar but instead of sourcing Turkish they go for African.

Africa Magic Family already supplies Isibaya to their audiences so what's the harm in getting Battleground and Zuba onto Mzansi Wethu as it can help reduce that repeat tier tendancy for those using the Compact bouquet.

Turkish Couple Edits Presents Zeynep & Mehdi ღ Gidemiyorum

Turkish Couple Edits a YouTube channel which distributes a variety of music videos based on couples within a number of telenovelas. Part of which can be viewed on eExtra: #DisComplicated and Verdeelde Liefde.

Here's another music video this time for the show

Verdeelde Liefde:

For those wondering what song is used in this video, it's titled Gidemiyorum and is performed by Göksel.