Olan Soule (1909 - 1984)

Olan Soule was an American character actor with hundreds of credits in films, radio, commercials, television and animation, most notably as the primary television animation voice of Batman from 1968 to 1984.

Born on February 28, 1909, in LaHarpe, Illinois, Soule left Illinois at the age of seven and arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, where he lived until he was seventeen. He then launched his theatrical career by joining Jack Brooks' tent show in Sabula, Iowa. After leaving the tent show, he appeared on stage in Chicago for seven years before moving to radio in 1933, including a stint on Chandu the Magician (1935–36). On radio he performed for eleven years in the daytime soap opera Bachelor's Children. Beginning in 1943, he did lead male characters on radio's famed The First Nighter Program for nine years.From 1941 on, Soule had the role of L. William Kelly, SS-11, the second in command of the Secret Squadron on the Captain Midnight radio adventure serial. He was the only actor who performed on both the Captain Midnight radio and television shows.

Concluding his nine-year run on First Nighter, Soule moved to Hollywood where he did films and television, building a reputation as a reliable character actor. He appeared on many television series including The Donald O'Connor Show, Captain Midnight, and I Love Lucy. He made several appearances on The Andy Griffith Show and was a semi-regular as real-life LAPD criminalist Ray Pinker on Dragnet (the character became "Ray Murray" in the 1967 revival). Other TV guest-starring roles were endless: The Real McCoys, Perry Mason, Mister Ed, The Rebel, The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, The Addams Family, The Munsters, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Laramie, The Monkees, Fantasy Island, Dallas, Simon & Simon to name a few.

Soule is remembered by many for providing the voice of Batman in several animated series. He first performed as the Caped Crusader on the 1968 Filmation--produced  The Batman/Superman Hour. He reprised his role as Batman on The Adventures of Batman, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Seasame Street and Super Friends. He appeared as a newscaster on the live-action Batman television series (in "The Pharaoh's in a Rut") with his Super Friends successor Adam West.

On February 1, 1994, Olan Soule died at the age of 84 of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California. He is buried at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery.