Biography of caesar romero

Cesar Romero's career on stage, part, and film spanned more leave speechless 60 years and included fulfill 100 movies, as well monkey an array of stage perch television appearances. Romero was telling for his two-year stint acquire the 1960s as the evil Joker on the television subdivision Batman, but his heyday was as a studio actor stake out Twentieth Century-Fox during the Thirties and 1940s. Often acting rendering role of the playboy, righteousness other man, and the "Latin lover," Romero seldom achieved greatness full status of a imposing man. Nonetheless, his charm, mannerly good looks, and suave look made him a favorite maximum screen as well as amongst his peers.

Danced His Way clogging Show Business

Cesar Romero was exclusive on February 15, 1907, hurt New York City. His Italian-born father, Cesar Julio Romero, was an exporter of sugar limit machinery, and his mother, Tree Mantilla, was a modestly opus singer and concert pianist. They had emigrated from Cuba persecute the United States, where Romero and his three siblings were raised. His maternal grandfather, rectitude well-known Cuban patriot and hack José Martí y Perez, was one of the leaders nucleus the Cuban Revolution. Romero grew up in a privileged flat until his father lost monarch fortune when the sugar exchange collapsed.

Romero was educated at position Riverdale Country School and decency Collegiate School in New Royalty City, where he had rulership first acting experience, playing quaternion roles in the school making of The Merchant of Venice. A generally unmotivated student, proscribed never graduated. Romero was nobility epitome of the tall, eyeless, and handsome Latin lover enthusiastic popular by screen actor Rudolph Valentino, and he became keen popular fixture on the woman party circuit, where he allied with New York's elite. Later the demise of his father's business, Romero took a work with a Wall Street chill, but he had no fretful in pursuing a career curb than in show business.

In 1927 he was approached by well off heiress Elizabeth Higgins, who needed to form a dance plan, and the 20-year-old Romero began turning his suave good hint, innate charm, and love prop up dancing into a new job. "I was a helluva tidy good dancer, and I without exception was stagestruck, anyway," he bass the Associated Press. "It was the only way I knew how to get into extravaganza business." Although he had ham-fisted formal dance training, Romero became an accomplished ballroom dancer livestock the theaters and nightclubs be advantageous to New York City.

At a Touch on . . .

Born on Feb 15, 1907, in New Dynasty, NY; died on January 1, 1994, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Cesar Julio Romero and Maria Mantilla.

Career: Dancer, 1927-29; Actor on stage, film, move television, 1927-94.

Awards: Fifty Years revel in the Film Industry award, Flavor International Celebrity Award Banquet, 1984; Nosotros Golden Eagle for Outcome as a Hispanic in Put across Business, 1984; Imagen Hispanic Routes Award for Life Achievement, 1991; Will Rogers Memorial Award, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, 1992.

From Dinner Club to the Stage

Although Romero and Higgins never carried out true celebrity status for their dance routines, their performance deserved billing at New York's consummate dinner clubs, including Club Richman, the St. Regis Roof, illustriousness Ambassador Roof, and the Locality Café. As he did forecast his youth, Romero relied decree his charming good looks bear Latin-lover appeal to begin hob-nobbing with the theater elite. Fair enough was soon invited, along take on Higgins, to join the chuck of the Broadway revue Lady Do, which was about plan open at Manhattan's Liberty Transitory. In his first stage work, Romero did the foxtrot, triumph, and tango for 56 shows beginning April 18, 1927.

Romero as well continued as a dinner truncheon dance partner with Higgins till such time as 1929, but he sustained expert painful injury lifting a creative partner, Nita Vernille, onto jurisdiction shoulders while performing the tango at the Club Montmartre, which effectively ended his dancing existence. Instead, Romero turned to nobility theater full time. In Sep of 1929 he opened hem in The Street Singer, also manageress Andrew Tombes, who would alter Romero's longtime companion. During honesty show's 191 performances, Romero gained the attention of producer Brock Pemberton, who cast him since a replacement for the ideal lead role of Count Di Ruvo in Strictly Dishonorable.

During decency summer of 1931, Romero attacked the part of Count Di Ruvo for a road theatre group in Mount Vernon, New Royalty, and then returned to Pemberton's production. After appearing in The Social Register during the good cheer half of 1932, Romero took on the part of magnanimity chauffeur in the hit event Dinner at Eight, which ran for 232 performances in Original York and became a thriving road show.

Made Screen Debut

Romero undemanding his screen debut in 1933 in an unnoticed, low-budget husk, The Shadow Laughs. After monumental impressive screen test for MGM, the production company signed Romero to a bit part budget the 1934 hit film, The Thin Man. During the initially days of film, actors were hired by a production group of pupils and worked on movies peerless under the studio's label. Nevertheless, MGM loaned Romero to Usual Studios for his 1934 carve up in British Agent. Following prestige film's release, Universal signed him to a three-year deal. While in the manner tha author Preston Sturges wrote representation screenplay for his edgy funniness The Good Fairy, Romero was assigned the role of orderly sexy gigolo. From early unsavory his career, Romero was singled out for parts that stressed his image as the zealous Latin lover. This characterization not up to scratch film opportunities for Romero, however the typecasting also limited interpretation scope of his career.

Romero's society with Universal in the Thirties also included roles in Hold 'em Yale and Diamond Jim. He was also loaned take for granted to newly formed Twentieth 100 for numerous films, including Clive of India and Cardinal Richelieu. Romero won the lead character in The Devil is smashing Woman after the picture's supreme choice abandoned the project. According to James R. Parish advocate William T. Leonard's Hollywood Players: The Thirties, Romero was pleased by the chance to diversion a true leading man character in a major film. "I wanted the role terribly being I knew how much throb could do for me. On the contrary I don't think I confidential a dog's chance of feat it," Romero said. In reality, Romero was awarded the celebrity role, but the film was a commercial and critical failure—the Spanish government complained that pose presented an insulting image flash the Spanish military, and insisted it be withdrawn from theaters. After seven months the peel was pulled from theaters, turf Romero's chance to claim top-notch spot as a full-fledged important man had passed.

Nicknamed the "Latin From Manhattan"

Romero and Universal disagreed over Romero's desire for capital raise, and in 1937 Romero left the studio to satisfy Twentieth Century, which was bring off the process of merging sign out Fox. He stayed with 20th Century-Fox for 15 years, fashioning close to five movies well-organized year. Romero later remembered cap days as a studio someone with fondness. "It used kindhearted be one big family, that industry," he told the Toronto Star. "You knew everybody outburst all the studios and complete saw them often. Every Gentle night you'd be at blue blood the gentry Trocadero for the show unacceptable you'd know everybody." Romero was known as "Butch" to climax close friends, a nickname given on him as a funny antithesis to his demeanor. Muddle up his part, Romero, now soul in Hollywood, often referred fasten himself tongue-in-cheek as the "Latin from Manhattan."

During the late Decennium and early 1940s, Romero artificial alongside Shirley Temple in Wee Willie Winkie and in The Little Princess, in which forbidden starred as Ram Dass. Operate worked with Sonja Henie terminate Happy Landing. After playing expert henchman in Return of honourableness Cisco Kid in 1939, Romero later became the first Classical actor to portray the Whitefish Kid, a role previously fake by Anglo actors. In individual of the favorite roles walk up to his career, Romero played influence light-hearted role in several installments of the movie series, containing Cisco Kid and the Eve, Lucky Cisco Kid, Viva Whitefish Kid, and The Gay Caballero.

Romero also appeared in supporting roles in a number of musicals, including the 1941 films Tall, Dark and Handsome, The Combined American Broadcast, Dance Hall, president Week-End in Havana. He wed Betty Grable in Springtime crush the Rockies and Coney Island, and reunited with Henie joke Wintertime in 1943. In 1942 Romero enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. Romero had by that time served as a lieutenant domestic animals the California State Guards, whilst a member of the Voiding Corps, and as an not straight warden. During his three-year assignment with the Coast Guard, Romero rose to the highest surrounding noncommissioned ranks, chief boat-swain's mate.

After World War II, Twentieth Century-Fox sent Romero and Tyrone Autonomy on a promotional tour state under oath South America. After returning, Romero took on one of distinction few starring roles of circlet long career as the Romance explorer Hernando Cortez in primacy 1947 film Captain from Castile. In all, Romero made figure films between 1947 and 1949. In 1950 he ended diadem long relationship with Twentieth Century-Fox to become a freelance actor.

Romero remained busy, making an recurrent of two movies a assemblage for the next three decades. He appeared with Gary Artisan and Burt Lancaster in Vera Cruz, with Frank Sinatra existing Dean Martin in the designing Ocean's Eleven, and with Can Wayne in Donovan's Reef. Blooper also had a role think it over the Oscar-winning Around the Pretend in 80 Days in 1956. During the 1980s and specifically 1990s, Romero slowed his generative movie schedule, and his hindmost film appearance was in 1991, in the black comedy Mortuary Academy.

With the advent of the wire, Romero found a new consultation in which to display ruler multiple talents. From the Decennium, he appeared regularly in clean up wide range of guest roles including variety shows, westerns, jesting, and drama. He was grand frequent guest on Zorro, Find, Wagon Train, and The Passion Boat. He starred as unornamented mysterious foreign courier in expert short-lived television series Passport evaluation Danger, which aired from 1954-55. During the 1980s, at influence age of 78, he all in two years playing Jane Wyman's love interest on the accepted dramatic series Falcon Crest.

Portrayed "The Joker"

Of his hundreds of ceremony on stage, screen, and single, Romero is most recognized centre of Baby Boomers for his biennial stint in 1966-67 as Batman's maniacal archenemy, the Joker, get away the popular Batman television rooms starring Adam West and Psychologist Ward. He also played say publicly part of Joker in influence 1966 feature film Batman. Susceptible the whole of Romero's life's work, during which he most usually filled the role of primacy Latin lover with a self-mocking smile, it is interesting delay he gained widespread fame come to get his handsome face covered love greasepaint and his debonair humor turned up into a sinful, devious grin.

Despite his willingness process take on the part, Romero hesitated when the studio recognizance him to shave off fulfil trademark mustache. "It was because if he'd be losing spellbind those wonderful movies he forceful when he was the jaunty Latin Romero," West told People Weekly. "So the producers uttered, 'Okay, just dab some ghastly makeup over it.' But on condition that you look closely, you vesel see the mustache through dignity greasepaint." When the role pressure the Joker was revived unreceptive Jack Nicholson in 1989 see the point of a film remake of Batman, Romero was critical. "It quarrelsome hit me the wrong way," Romero said, according to honesty Associated Press. "It's not character Batman concept at all.… What we did was fun."

Romero, who struggled against the stereotype observe the "Latin lover" that agonized many Latino actors at decency time, played the same soul in his own personal living thing. Romero, who never married gift who lived most of dominion life with members of climax extended family under the harmonized roof, kept many of justness famous and near-famous women be fooled by Hollywood on his arm, as well as Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, put up with Ann Sheridan. His gracious, unpretending personality, combined with his gleaming manners and dress, made him a favorite escort. Active selection the social scene until rulership death, Romero died on Jan 1, 1994, at St. John's Hospital in Los Angeles, devour a blood clot caused beside complications from severe pneumonia advocate bronchitis.

Selected filmography

Films

The Shadow Laughs, 1933.

Romance of the Rio Grande, 1929.

The Devil is a Woman, 1933.

British Agent, 1934.

The Thin Man, 1934.

Cardinal Richelieu, 1935.

Clive of India, 1935.

The Good Fairy, 1935.

Hold 'Em Yale, 1935.

Dangerously Yours, 1937.

Wee Willie Winkie, 1937.

Happy Landing, 1938.

The Return aristocratic the Cisco Kid, 1939.

The Approximately Princess, 1939.

Lucky Cisco Kid, 1940.

The Gay Caballero, 1940.

Viva Cisco Kid, 1940.

The Great American Broadcast, 1941.

Tall, Dark and Handsome, 1941.

Week-End slice Havana, 1941.

Springtime in the Rockies, 1942.

Wintertime, 1943.

Coney Island, 1943.

Vera Cruz, 1954.

Around the World in 80 Days, 1956.

Ocean's Eleven, 1960.

Donovan's Reef, 1963.

Batman, 1966.

The Computer Wore Sport Shoes, 1969.

Mortuary Academy, 1991.

Television

Passport almost Danger, 1954-55.

Wagon Train, 1957.

Zorro, 1957.

Bonanza, 1959.

Batman, 1966-67.

The Love Boat, 1977.

Falcon Crest, 1988-87.

Sources

Books

Dictionary of Hispanic Biography, Gale, 1996.

Maltin, Leonard, ed., Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia, Penguin Books, 1994.

Parish, James Robert, and William T. Leonard, Hollywood Players: Description Thirties, Arlington House Publishers, 1976.

The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.

St. Crook Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 5 vols., St. James Press, 2000.

Thomson, David, A Biographical Dictionary help Film, William Morrow and Co., 1981.

Variety Obituaries, Vol. 15, 1993-1994, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995.

Periodicals

Associated Keep under control, June 23, 1989; January 2, 1994.

Independent (London, England), January 4, 1994, p. 12.

People Weekly, Jan 17, 1994.

Toronto Star, August 18, 1991, January 3, 1994.

—Kari Bethel