Earlier this week, Yvonne Craig lost her battle with breast cancer and passed away at 78. While Craig had a Hollywood career that stretched back to the late ‘50s, she was best known for originating the role of Batgirl a.k.a. Barbara Gordon on the live-action Batman TV series from the ‘60s.

Batman star Adam West recently posted his moving tribute to his former co-star on his Facebook page.

“I was deeply saddened for us to lose Yvonne. It was too soon. She always brought humor and a fine attitude to our stage. She was a joy to work with. A good person. My heartfelt condolences to Yvonne’s family. We will miss her.”

Along with the tribute, West included a terrific behind-the-scenes photo of himself and Craig from the Batman set.

Craig joined the Batman TV series in the third season as Batgirl, but the series was not renewed. Despite her relatively brief time on the show, Craig became indelibly linked to Batgirl. Craig reprised her role as Batgirl for a famous equal pay PSA, and she was a popular guest on the comic book convention circuit alongside West, Burt Ward, and other surviving cast members from the Batman TV series.

Former Batgirl and Birds of Prey writer Gail Simone also shared a tribute to Craig on Playboy.com. “I knew a lot of boys who wanted to be Batman,” wrote Simone. “But from that day to this, I wanted to be Batgirl. And to me, Yvonne Craig was Batgirl.”

Nerdist readers, share your favorite Yvonne Craig memories in the comment section below!

HT: Comic Book Resources
Image Credit: ABC Network/Wikimedia via Creative Commons