I was actually born in 1966 the same year as the Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward started. I used to look forward to the series after it came into syndication and while I did think that Catwoman was pretty cool, my first celebrity crush was Yvonne Craig. I even remembered her name to this day which helped me out in some Trivial Pursuit games.
I don’t know what it was about her. I think it was that she seemed so kind and dainty and then when she put on the Batgirl costume it became obvious that she could take care of herself. I did feel that even when she was helping Batman and Robin and fighting crime there was still a bit of vulnerability about her and let’s not even get into my jealousy over the fact that Robin seemed to have a bit of a crush on her.
Of course there was more to Yvonne than Batgirl, she co-starred with many Hollywood Stars including Elvis Presley in It Happened at the World’s Fair and Kissin Cousins.
She lived quite a full and blessed life even after Hollywood with a career in real estate, world traveling with her husband, Kenneth Aldrich, and being very active in philanthropic circles.
My regret is that I never had the opportunity to meet her. She passed quietly with family after a 2 year battle with breast cancer.
You can read more about Yvonne on her official website including a word from her family as well as her official obituary.
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