Cesar Romero

Tall, suave and sophisticated Cesar Romero (1907-1994) was an American actor, singer, dancer, voice artist, and comedian who was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in costume dramas, characters in light domestic comedies, and The Joker in the camp 1960s Batman television series. He was the first actor to play the white-faced, green-haired, cackling villain.


British postcard in the Colourgraph Series, London, no. C 374. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Cesar Romero in Lucky Cisco Kid (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1940).


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 1040. Photo: Paramount.

Ballroom dancer

César Julio Romero Jr. was born in New York City in 1907. His parents were César Julio Romero, a Spanish import-export merchant in the sugar business, and Cuban concert singer Maria Mantilla. His grandfather was the Cuban poet and revolutionary hero José Martí. César attended the Collegiate School and Riverdale Country School.

His father got him a job in a bank on Wall Street. At the same time, Romero made his debut as a ballroom dancer in 1927. His father lost almost his entire fortune in the stock market crash of 1929 on Black Thursday. From then on, Cesar had to use his income as an actor to help finance his two sisters, parents, niece and nephew.

He first appeared on Broadway in the 1927 production of 'Lady Do', and then in the stage production of 'Strictly Dishonorable'. In 1932, he made his debut as an actor on Broadway. Romero signed a three-year contract with Universal Studios in the early 1930s. He made his film debut as Tony Rico in the mystery film The Shadow Laughs (Arthur Hoerl, 1933).

He went on to star in films such as The Thin Man (W.S. Van Duke, 1934) with William Powell and Myrna Loy, and The Devil is a Woman (Josef von Sternberg, 1935) opposite Marlene Dietrich. Romero sometimes played the leading man, for example in Allan Dwan's 15 Maiden Lane (1936) opposite Claire Trevor.

He was then poached by Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox, where he starred in John Ford's British Raj-era action film Wee Willie Winkie (1937) also starring Shirley Temple and Victor McLaglen and played a supporting role as the Indian servant Ram Dass in The Little Princess (Walter Lang, 1939), also with Temple. He played the key role of the Doc Holliday character in the acclaimed Wyatt Earp saga Frontier Marshal (Allan Dwan, 1939) starring Randolph Scott.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2084/1, 1939-1940.


Italian postcard by Ediz. Garami / Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 116. Photo: 20th Century Fox.

The Joker

Between 1939 and 1942, Cesar Romero played a leading role in a string of low-budget Westerns about the rough bandit The Cisco Kid. He stayed with Fox for 15 years and did three years of military service with the United States Coast Guard during World War II.

Romero danced and acted opposite Carmen Miranda and Betty Grable in the Technicolor musicals Week-End in Havana (Walter Lang, 1941) and Springtime in the Rockies (Irving Cummings, 1942). Romero co-starred with Tyrone Power in the historical epic Captain from Castile (Henry King, 1947). While Power played a fictionalised character, Romero played Hernán Cortés, a historical conquistador in Spain's conquest of the Americas.

After the studio system collapsed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he lost his contract with Fox. Romero went on to appear in almost countless television series. As Steve McQuinn, he acted in 28 episodes of the espionage TV serial Passport to Danger (1954-1958). It earned him a considerable income due to a canny profit-sharing arrangement.

He also appeared in a comic turn as a foil for Frank Sinatra and his crew in Ocean's 11 (Lewis Milestone, 1960) starring the Rat Pack (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop). In 1963, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Robert Swan in the film comedy If a Man Answers (Henry Levin, 1962) starring Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee.

Romero achieved international fame through his portrayal of the Joker in the television series Batman (1966-1968). He appeared in 22 episodes, and in the film version, Batman: The Movie (Leslie H. Martinson, 1966). He refused to shave his moustache for the role, so the supervillain's white face makeup was simply smeared over it.


Vintage postcard.


Spanish promotion postcard by Petrocelli. Photo: Tom Kelley. Caption: Madrid, Television and film artist Cesar Romerto in his suit by Petrocelli is the centre of attention. Curiously the postcard was sent from Spain by entertainer Jack Elam. He wrote: Dear Friend: Having a most interesting time in Madrid attending the Petrocelli International Men's Fashion Show & Fietsa. Spain is fabulous and stimulating and so are the Suits and Sport Coats being shown - the best of which you can now see and try on before our mirror. Ole - for your good appearance. My best regards. Cordially, Jack Elam.

Staunchly single

In the 1970s and 1980s, Cesar Romero toured the country with stage productions. He also played the bumbling corporate villain A. J. Arno in the fun-packed Disney films The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (Robert Butler, 1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (Robert Butler, 1972) and The Strongest Man in the World (Vincent McEveety, 1975) alongside Kurt Russell.

His guest star work in the 1970s included a recurring role in the Western comedy Alias Smith and Jones. He increasingly appeared in individual episodes of television series such as Fantasy Island (1977) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). His last major role was that of Peter Stavros, the husband of matriarch Angela Gioberti Channing, played by leading lady Jane Wyman, in the television series Falcon Crest (1985-1988). He portrayed Stavros in 51 episodes.

In the cinema, he played Father Garcia in the Western comedy Lust in the Dust (Paul Bartel, 1985) starring Tab Hunter and Divine, and he appeared in the Horror film Judgement Day (Ferde Grofé Jr., 1988).

He also appeared in an episode of The Golden Girls (1990), as a suitor for Sophia named Tony Delvecchio. Although Romero stopped acting in 1990, he remained busy, regularly hosting classic movie programs on cable television.

On 1 January 1994, Cesar Romero died from complications of a blood clot while being treated for bronchitis and pneumonia at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. He was 86. His body was cremated and the ashes were interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California. The unmarried Romero was described as ‘staunchly single’, a euphemism for his homosexuality which was not made public during his lifetime.


Dutch postcard by Vita Nova, Schiedam, no. 10 B/10/49. Photo: National Periodical Publications Inc. / 20th Century-Fox Film. Cesar Romero as the Joker in Batman: The Movie (Leslie Martinson, 1966).


Dutch promotional postcard for Okee. Photo: National Periodical Publications Inc. / 20th Century Fox. Publicity still for Batman: The Movie (Leslie Martinson, 1966) with Lee Meriwether as The Catwoman / Kitka, Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, and Cesar Romero as The Joker.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.