Yvonne Joyce Craig

Yvonne Joyce Craig, May 16, 1937 - - August 17, 2015. Craig was an American actor and ballet dancer popular for her performances as Batgirl on the 1960s ' television series Batman and Marta, Marta, the Orion slave girl Marta who appeared in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Deceive" (1969). The Huffington Post called her "a pioneer in female superheroes for television." Yvonne Craig was born in Taylorville, Illinois, and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. In 1951 her family moved from Illinois to Dallas. In Dallas, she attended W. H. Adamson High School in Dallas as well as Sunset High School. However, she did not graduate as she didn't have "one credits for PE". Craig was discovered by Alexandra Danilova (a ballerina and teacher) and joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as its youngest corps de ballet member. It was an excellent training that allowed her to do stunts as Batgirl. In 1957, she quit the company's ballet program due to disagreements about casting changes. After that, she relocated to Los Angeles with the hope of making it a career for her. However, she discovered herself appearing in film roles. One of her earliest television performances was on an episode from the TV series Perry Mason ("The Case of the Lazy Lover", 1958) with Neil Hamilton, who played her stepfather (later Hamilton played Police Commissioner James Gordon, Batgirl's father). Shortly afterwards, she appeared in three films: The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story and Gidget (all 1959)--and as a guest in the TV series Mr. Lucky as Beverly Mills in the episode "Little Miss Wow" (also 1959). Craig made an appearance with Bing Crosby in High Time (1960) as well as in Seven Women from Hell (1961) which was co-starred with Cesar Romero. In 1962, she appeared as a guest star in Western Laramie's "The Long Road Back" episode. She also starred with Bing Crosby on High Time (1960) as well as Seven Women from Hell (1961) as well as Seven Women from Hell (1961), both which featured Cesar Romero. Craig also starred in two Elvis Presley films: It was at the World's Fair (1963), and Kissin Cousins (1964). In 1966, she starred in Mars Needs Women. In 1967, she appeared as a Russian ballet dancer in In Like Flint.