Sixties TV and movie star played opposite Elvis Presley then joined Batman for its third and final season, playing librarian-turned-Batgirl Barbara Gordon

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Yvonne Craig, the actor known as the original Batgirl for her role in the 1960s TV series Batman has died, aged 78

According to a statement on her website, Craig died from complications from breast cancer that had metastasized to her liver. She had undergone chemotherapy treatment for two years.

Craig joined Batman in 1967 for the third and final season of the popular TV show. She played librarian-turned-Batgirl Barbara Gordon. The actor did most of her own stunts including riding the Batcycle, which she didn’t enjoy. “They had taken off the shock absorbers to put on the bat wings,” she said. “So whenever I went over a bump, it was like jumping off a table stiff-legged.” She also had a cantankerous parrot sidekick called Charlie.

In a later interview she said she was cast “because they needed someone who could encourage an over-40 male audience and a prepubescent female audience. That’s the real reason why they hired me!”

The Man from UNCLE review: Style paired with deathly boring substance Read more

She also appeared in Star Trek as the green Orion Slave Girl Marta determined to kill Captain Kirk, in the episode Whom Gods Destroy.

Trained as a dancer, the Illinois-born Craig joined the Ballet Russe of Monte Carlo when she was 17, making her the youngest member of the troupe. She was said to have been discovered by actor John Ford’s son Patrick and she made her movie debut with the film The Young Land. She appeared opposite Elvis Presley in Kissin’ Cousins and It Happened at the World’s Fair, describing him as “a southern gentleman”.

After Batgirl, she appeared in television series The Six Million Dollar Man, Mod Squad, Starsky and Hutch, Kojak and the original TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

She retired from acting in the seventies and became a real estate agent, although she occasionally did voiceover work, most notably the role of Grandma in Nickelodeon’s cartoon series Olivia.

She is survived by husband, Kenneth Aldrich, sister Meridel Carson and nephews Christopher and Todd Carson.