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Cesar Romero
Cesar Romero 3 Allan Warren.jpg
Romero in 1973
Born
César Julio Romero Jr.

(1907-02-15)February 15, 1907
New York City, U.S.
Died January 1, 1994(1994-01-01) (aged 86)
Resting place Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California, U.S.
Other names Butch
The Latin from Manhattan
Occupation
  • Actor
  • activist
Years active 1929–1994
Political party Republican
Military career
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Coast Guard
Years of service 1942–1945
Rank USCG CPO.svg Chief petty officer
Battles/wars World War II

César Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years.

His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in costume dramas, characters in light domestic comedies, and the Joker on the Batman television series, which was included in TV Guide's 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time. He was the first actor to play the character.

Early life

Cesar Romero - USCG 2
Romero as part of the deck crew aboard the USS Cavalier, c. 1944

César Julio Romero Jr. was born in New York City on February 15, 1907, the son of César Julio Romero Sr. (1872–1951) and María Mantilla (1880–1962). His mother was said to be the biological daughter of Cuban national hero José Martí. His father was born in Barcelona and immigrated to the United States in 1888, where he was an import/export merchant. His mother was a concert singer.

Romero grew up in Bradley Beach, New Jersey, and went to Bradley Beach Elementary School, Asbury Park High School, the Collegiate School, and the Riverdale Country Day School. After his parents lost their sugar-import business and suffered losses in the Wall Street crash of 1929, Romero's Hollywood earnings allowed him to support his large family, all of whom followed him to the American West Coast years later. Romero, who referred to himself as "a Latin from Manhattan", lived on and off with various family members for the rest of his life.

On October 12, 1942, he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard as an apprentice seaman and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He reported aboard the Coast Guard-crewed assault transport USS Cavalier in November 1943. According to a press release from the period, Romero saw action during the invasions of Tinian and Saipan. The same article mentioned that he preferred to be a regular part of the crew and was eventually promoted to the rating of chief boatswain's mate.

Career in film

Cheating Cheaters (1934) set 1
Romero, Fay Wray, director Richard Thorpe and cinematographer George Robinson (in background) on the set of Cheating Cheaters (1934)
Cesar Romero in Public Enemy's Wife
Trailer for Public Enemy's Wife (1936)
Carmen Miranda and César Romero in Week-End in Havana (1941)
Romero with Carmen Miranda in Week-End in Havana (1941)

The 6'3" [190 cm] Romero routinely played "Latin lovers" in films from the 1930s until the 1950s, usually in supporting roles. In 1935, Romero played a leading role The Devil is a Woman opposite Marlene Dietrich. Romero starred as the Cisco Kid in six westerns made between 1939 and 1941. Romero danced and performed comedy in the 20th Century Fox films he starred in opposite Carmen Miranda and Betty Grable, such as Week-End in Havana and Springtime in the Rockies, in the 1940s. He also played a minor role as Sinjin, a piano player in Glenn Miller's band, in the 1942 20th Century Fox musical Orchestra Wives.

In The Thin Man (1934), Romero played a villainous supporting role opposite the film's main stars William Powell and Myrna Loy. Many of Romero's films from this early period saw him cast in small character parts, such as Italian gangsters and East Indian princes. Romero had a lead role as the Pathan rebel leader, Khoda Khan, in John Ford's British Raj-era action film Wee Willie Winkie (1937) starring Shirley Temple and Victor McLaglen and The Little Princess (1939) also with Temple. He also appeared in a comic turn as a foil for Frank Sinatra and his crew in Ocean's 11 (1960) starring the Rat Pack (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop).

Romero sometimes played the leading man, for example in Allan Dwan's 15 Maiden Lane (1936) opposite Claire Trevor, as well as winning the key role of the Doc Holliday character (with name changed to "Doc Halliday") in Dwan's acclaimed Wyatt Earp saga Frontier Marshal (1939) starring Randolph Scott and Nancy Kelly three years later. 20th Century Fox, along with mogul Darryl Zanuck, selected Romero to co-star with Tyrone Power in the Technicolor historical epic Captain from Castile (1947), directed by Henry King. While Power played a fictionalized character, Romero played Hernán Cortés, a historical conquistador in Spain's conquest of the Americas.

Among almost countless television credits, Romero appeared several times on The Martha Raye Show in the mid-1950s. He portrayed Don Diego de la Vega's maternal uncle in a number of Season 2 Zorro episodes.

Cesar Romero - The Joker 1967
Romero in his role as the Joker on the 1960s TV series Batman

In 1958, he guest-starred as Ramon Valdez in How to Marry a Millionaire in the episode entitled "The Big Order". He performed the mambo with Gisele MacKenzie on her NBC variety show, The Gisele MacKenzie Show. He guest-starred in 1957 on CBS's The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour on the first episode of the seventh season ("Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana"). He played "Don Carlos", a Card sharp on the episode, "The Honorable Don Charlie Story" of NBC's Wagon Train. On January 16, 1958, he appeared on The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford. In 1959, Romero was cast as Joaquin in the episode "Caballero" from The Texan, and on September 26 of that year, he hosted the Cuban installment of John Gunther's High Road.

From 1966 to 1968, he portrayed the Joker on Batman. He refused to shave his moustache for the role, and so the supervillain's white face makeup was simply smeared over it throughout the series' run and in the 1966 film.

His guest star work in the 1970s included a recurring role on the western comedy Alias Smith and Jones as Señor Armendariz, a Mexican rancher feuding with Patrick McCreedy (Burl Ives), the owner of a ranch on the opposite side of the border. He appeared in three episodes. Romero later portrayed Peter Stavros on Falcon Crest (from 1985 to 1987). He also appeared in a sixth-season episode of The Golden Girls, where he played a suitor named Tony Delvecchio for Sophia. Apart from these television roles, Romero appeared as A.J. Arno, a small-time criminal who continually opposes Dexter Riley (played by Kurt Russell) and his schoolmates of Medfield College in a series of films by Walt Disney Productions in the 1970s.

Romero with actress Phyllis Brooks, c. 1940
Niche of Cesar Romero at Inglewood Park Cemetery

Political activities

A registered Republican, Romero appeared in the Nixon-Lodge bumper sticker motorcade campaign in October 1960, and four years later, initially supported Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. in the write-in campaign supporting Lodge for president. Romero appreciated and said he liked Lodge's strong anti-Communist stance in South Vietnam where Lodge was at the time the United States ambassador. Later that year, Romero supported Barry Goldwater in the general election.

Also in 1964, Romero was very much involved in the U.S. Senate race in California that pitted one of Romero's best friends and fellow actor, Republican nominee George Murphy (who nicknamed Romero "Butch"), in his bid to oust then-Senator Pierre Salinger, a Democrat.

The Senate race was a heated contest where Salinger had already narrowly defeated then-California State Controller Alan Cranston, who would become a senator in 1968, in the Democratic primary. Both men had "primaried" Senator Clair Engle, who had sought re-nomination despite being terminally ill with a brain tumor; Engle died less than two months after the primary. Then-Democratic Governor Pat Brown appointed Salinger instead of Cranston to fill the vacancy; although the appointment seemed reasonable since Salinger had won the primary, it was roundly criticized by Romero and Murphy as cronyism since Salinger had been the White House press secretary for the late President John F. Kennedy, a close ally of Brown. Romero appealed to disappointed Cranston backers after the primary to support Murphy. Romero's urging helped Salinger lose a race no one thought could be lost.

Murphy lost the full use of his voice during his term when part of his larynx was removed due to throat cancer. Romero employed other Hollywood stars to try to help Murphy win re-election in 1970. However, Murphy lost re-election to John V. Tunney, the son of boxing legend Gene Tunney.

After Murphy's Senate defeat, Romero scaled back his involvement in politics but would take part for a Hollywood friend, such as Ronald Reagan in his successful gubernatorial bids in 1966 and 1970 as well as all four of his presidential bids in 1968, 1976, 1980, and 1984. Romero also joined with fellow actors and actresses in lobbying the United States Congress to present the then-dying John Wayne with a Congressional Gold Medal for his service to the nation.

Personal life

Romero never married and had no children, but made frequent appearances at Hollywood events escorting actresses, such as Joan Crawford, Linda Darnell, Barbara Stanwyck, Lucille Ball, Ann Sheridan, Jane Wyman and Ginger Rogers; he was almost always described in interviews and articles as a "confirmed bachelor". Author Boze Hadleigh included a series of claimed interviews with Romero in Hadleigh's 1996 book Hollywood Gays in which Romero allegedly came out; many of the claimed interviews in Hollywood Gays have come into dispute as possible forgeries, and Romero died two years before the book was released.

Charlie Harper, lead singer of English punk band UK Subs, is reportedly a nephew of Romero.

Death

On January 1, 1994, at age 86, 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.

His body was cremated and the ashes were interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

For his contributions to the motion picture and television industry, Romero has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6615 Hollywood Boulevard for film and another star at 1719 Vine Street for television.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1933 The Shadow Laughs Tony Rico
1934 The Thin Man Chris Jorgenson
1934 British Agent Tito Del Val
1934 Cheating Cheaters Tom Palmer
1934 Strange Wives Boris
1935 Clive of India Mir Jaffar
1935 A Dream Comes True Himself Uncredited
1935 The Good Fairy Joe
1935 Cardinal Richelieu Andre de Pons
1935 The Devil Is a Woman Antonio Galvan
1935 Hold 'Em Yale Georgie
1935 Diamond Jim Jerry Richardson
1935 Metropolitan Niki Baroni
1935 Rendezvous Nieterstein
1935 Show Them No Mercy! Tobey
1936 Love Before Breakfast Bill Wadsworth
1936 Nobody's Fool Dizzy Rantz
1936 Public Enemy's Wife Gene Maroc
1937 Wee Willie Winkie Khoda Khan
1937 Dangerously Yours Victor Morell
1937 Ali Baba Goes to Town Himself Uncredited
1938 Happy Landing Duke Sargent
1938 Always Goodbye Count Giovanni 'Gino' Corini
1938 My Lucky Star George Cabot Jr
1938 Five of a Kind Duke Lester
1939 Wife, Husband and Friend Hugo
1939 The Little Princess Ram Dass
1939 The Return of the Cisco Kid Lopez
1939 Frontier Marshal Doc Halliday
1939 Charlie Chan at Treasure Island Rhadini
1939 The Cisco Kid and the Lady Cisco Kid
1939 Hollywood Hobbies Himself Uncredited
1940 He Married His Wife Freddie
1940 Viva Cisco Kid Cisco Kid
1940 Lucky Cisco Kid Cisco Kid
1940 The Gay Caballero Cisco Kid
1941 Romance of the Rio Grande Cisco Kid / Real and fake Carlos Hernandez
1941 Tall, Dark and Handsome J.J. 'Shep' Morrison
1941 Ride on Vaquero Cisco Kid
1941 The Great American Broadcast Bruce Chadwick
1941 Dance Hall Duke McKay
1941 Week-End in Havana Monte Blanca
1942 A Gentleman at Heart Tony Miller
1942 Tales of Manhattan Harry Wilson
1942 Orchestra Wives St. John 'Sinjin' Smith
1942 Springtime in the Rockies Victor Prince
1943 Coney Island Joe Rocco
1943 Wintertime Brad Barton
1946 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Victory Show Himself
1947 Carnival in Costa Rica Pepe Castro
1947 Captain from Castile Hernán Cortés
1948 That Lady in Ermine Joe Sanger
1948 Julia Misbehaves Fred Ghenoccio
1948 Deep Waters Count Mario
1949 The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend Blackie Jobero
1949 Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc. Himself
1950 Love That Brute Pretty Willie Wetzchahofsky
1950 Once a Thief Mitch Moore
1951 Happy Go Lovely John Frost
1951 Lost Continent Major Joe Nolan
1951 FBI Girl FBI Agent Glen Stedman
1952 The Jungle Rama Singh
1952 Lady in the Fog Philip 'Phil' O'Dell
1953 The Sword of Granada Don Pedro de Rivera
1953 Street of Shadows Luigi
1953 Prisoners of the Casbah Firouz
1954 Vera Cruz Marquis Henri de Labordere
1955 The Americano Manuel Silvera / "El Gato" / Etc.
1955 The Racers Carlos Chavez
1956 The Leather Saint Tony Lorenzo
1956 Around the World in 80 Days Abdullah's henchman
1957 The Story of Mankind Spanish Envoy
1958 Villa!! Tomás Lopez
1959 My Private Secretaries Rafael Travesi
1960 Ocean's 11 Duke Santos
1960 Pepe Himself
1961 Seven Women from Hell Luis Hullman
1961 The Runaway Father Dugan
1962 If a Man Answers Robert Swan / Adam Wright
1963 We Shall Return Carlos Rodriguez
1963 The Castilian Jerónimo
1963 Donovan's Reef Marquis Andre de Lage
1963 Saint Mike Unknown role
1964 A House Is Not a Home Lucky Luciano
1965 Two on a Guillotine John Harley 'Duke' Duquesne
1965 Sergeant Deadhead Admiral Stoneham
1965 Marriage on the Rocks Miguel Santos
1966 Batman The Joker
1968 Madigan's Millions Mike Madigan
1968 Hot Millions Customs Inspector
1968 Skidoo Hechy
1969 Crooks and Coronets Nick Marco
1969 Midas Run Carlo Dodero
1969 Target: Harry Lt. George Duval
1969 Latitude Zero Dr. Malic / Lt. Hastings
1969 The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes A. J. Arno
1969 A Talent for Loving Don Jose
1970 The Red, White, and Black Col. Grierson
1971 Once Upon a Wheel Himself
1971 The Last Generation Unknown role Archive footage
1972 The Proud and the Damned San Carlos' Mayor
1972 Now You See Him, Now You Don't A. J. Arno
1974 The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe Dr. Richard Grimaldi
1974 The Haunted Mouth B. Plaque Also Narrator
1975 The Strongest Man in the World A. J. Arno
1975 Timber Tramps Greedy sawmill mogul
1976 Carioca Tigre Don Rosalindo Y Guana
1977 Mission to Glory: A True Story Admiral Atondo
1985 ... in the Dust Father Garcia
1988 Judgement Day Octavio
1995 Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business Himself
1998 The Right Way Mr. Peretti Final role
Posthumous release

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Ed Wynn Show Himself 1 episode
1954–1958 Passport to Danger Steve McQuinn 33 episodes
1954 A Star Is Born World Premiere Himself TV short
1956–1967 The Red Skelton Hour Prison Convict, Mustapha Dame, Concierge, Russian agent, Clayton Harrison, Witch Doctor, Plumber, Advertising Agency Executive, Pierre, Big Bill - Racketeer 11 episodes
1957 Navy Log Himself/Host
1957 The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show Carlos Garcia Episode: "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana
1958 Wagon Train Hon Don 'Charlie' Carlos de Fuentes Episode: "The Honorable Don Charlie Story"
1959 Zorro Esteban de la Cruz 4 episodes
1959 The Texan Captain Joaquin Acosta Episode: "Caballero"
1959 John Gunther's High Road Himself 1 episode
1959 Death Valley Days Don Augustin Oblivion Episode: "Olvera"
1959–1965 Rawhide Col. Emilio Vasquez, Don Francisco Maldenado, Big Tim Sloan, Ben Teagle 4 episodes
1960 Love and Marriage Himself 1 episode
1960 Stagecoach West Manolo Lalanda Episode: "A Time To Run"
1960 Five Fingers Ferri Episode: "Counterfeit"
1960–1961 Stagecoach West Colonel Francisco Martinez 2 episodes
1961 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre The Man from Everywhere Episode: "The Ballet of the Pater Bullet"
1962 The Beachcomber Jaoquin Perez, Krasny 2 episodes
1963 Fractured Flickers Himself 1 episode
1963 77 Sunset Strip Lorenzo Cestari Episode: "5: Part 4
1963–1965 Burke's Law Police Chief Alvaro, Gregorio Jonas, Antonio Cardoza, Louis Simone, Marcus DeGrute 5 episodes
1964 Dr. Kildare Dr. Paul Marino Episode: "Onions, Garlic and Flowers That Bloom in the Spring"
1964–1970 The Mike Douglas Show Himself Unknown episodes
1965 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Victor Gervais Episode: "The Never-Never Affair"
1965 Branded Gen. Arriola Episode: "The Mission: Part 2"
1965 Ben Casey Frederic Delano Episode: "Did Your Mother Come from Ireland, Ben Casey?"
1966–1969 Daniel Boone Esteban de Vaca, Adm. Alejandro Buenaventura, Colonel Carlos Navarro 3 episodes
1966–1968 Batman The Joker 22 episodes
1967 T.H.E. Cat Gordon Amley Episode: "Queen of Diamonds, Knave of Hearts"
1968 Get Smart Kinsey Krispen Episode: "The Reluctant Redhead"
1969 Here's Lucy Tony Rivera Episode: "A Date for Lucy"
1970 Julia Bunny Henderson, Bernard Henderson 5 episodes
1970 Bewitched Ernest Hitchcock Episode: "Salem, Here We Come"
1970 It Takes a Thief Mike Episode: "Beyond a Treasonable Doubt"
1971 The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World Himself TV Movie documentary
1971 The Jimmy Stewart Show Harris Crofton 2 episodes
1971 Love, American Style Young Unmarrieds 1 episode
1971 Nanny and the Professor Schiavoni Episode: "The Man Who Came to Pasta"
1971 Mooch Goes to Hollywood Himself TV movie
1971 The Merv Griffin Show Himself 1 episode
1971–1972 Alias Smith and Jones Armendariz 3 episodes
1972 The Mod Squad Frank Barton Episode: "The Connection"
1972 The Jimmy Stewart Show Admiral Decker 2 episodes
1973 Chase Parker Episode: "A Bit of Class"
1974 Ironside Tony Hudson Episode: "The Last Cotillion"
1974 Banacek Marius Avantalu Episode: "The Vanishing Chalice"
1974 Dinah! Himself 1 episode
1975 Medical Center Packy Episode: "The High Cost of Winning"
1976 Ellery Queen Armand Danello Episode: "The Adventure of the Wary Witness"
1977 Chico and the Man Gilberto Rodriguez Episode: "Chco's Padre"
1978 Vega$ Christopher Vincente Episode: "Lost Women"
1979 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Amos Armat Episode: "Vegas in Space"
1979–1983 Fantasy Island Sheikh Hameel Habib, Edmond Rome, Frederick Kragen, Maestro Roger Alexander 4 episodes
1980 Charlie's Angels Elton Mills Episode: "Dancing' Angels"
1982 Matt Houston Miles Gantry Episode: "Who Would Kill Ramona?"
1983 Hart to Hart Dr. Villac Episode: "Chamber of Lost Harts"
1984–1986 The Love Boat Carlos Belmonte, John, Stockton, John Drake 4 episodes
1985 Magnum, P.I. Doc Villoroch Episode: "Little Games"
1985–1992 Murder, She Wrote Marcello Abruzzi, Diego Santana 2 episodes
1985 Family Feud Himself 1 episode
1985–1988 Falcon Crest Peter Stavros 52 episodes
1985–1986 Riptide Angelo Guirilini 2 episodes
1988 The Tracey Ullman Show Roland Diego 1 episode
1990 The Golden Girls Tony Episode: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun... Before They Die"
1993 Edna Time! Himself 1 episode

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
1929 The Street Singer John Broadway
1932 Dinner at Eight Ricci Broadway

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1949 Burns and Allen Show Caesar Romero Steals Bills Girlfriend
1952 Hollywood Star Playhouse Diamonds of Gulaga

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cesar Romero para niños

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