The very first Joker episode in 66 is one of the BEST representations of Joker you're going to get from a campy episode. It's got a great balance of camp, humor, terror, drama, suspence, everything a growing boy/girl needs. Thank you, Cesar Romero for playing the Hell out of the Joker.
I remember this show first aired on January 12th, 1966. My 6th birthday. I'd had my bath, was in my pajamas and my dad told me to go get on the floor in front of the tv. I freaked out when it came on. Already being a Batman fanatic, it was the best birthday ever. Now, at 63 years old, I still can't get enough.
I can remember in 1973 when I used to watch this on television. We lived in orange county at the time. I was 4 years old. I can remember on Halloween when someone came to our door and dressed like batman. He looked just like Adam West himself. I was fantasized ànd admired him. The costume at the time was an exact replica from the series. The 70s sure had some great Halloween 🎃 costumes.
In the 70s, my friends and I loved the series. There was no merchandising in Argentina or anything like that, but my grandmother sewed me a cape and I went around the neighborhood fighting all the imaginary villains. Long live Batman and his super villains.
You gotta hand it to Mr. Romero - he was a serious dramatic actor but he went all in on playing Joker. And the fact he refused to shave off his mustache makes him that much more epic
The first Batman TV program was the one with the baseball game. I was in my late teens and turned the TV on just as Joker threw the baseball and cleared the wall on a giant spring. I remember thinking this is a bit far fetched before realising it was that new TV program from the US. Love it and been a fan ever since.
Cesar doing it to his mustache just adds to the Rollin self and how he threw myself into it. It is a joke in itself how he hit the mustache with make up so we do not have to shave it that is a joke all by itself played on Hollywood. A true master of the joker. The rest seem like his grandchildren lol
Frank Sinatra really pushed to get on Batman. William Dosier considered it but he first asked Cesar Romero to come in and to read the script. As Mr. Romero read the script he started to laugh. When William Dozier heard the laugh he knew he had found his Joker.
Cesar Romero is the real Joker, the rest are pale imitations . Cesar also refused to shave his mustache, claiming that without it, he would have never claimed his stardom. He threw himself into the Joker role.😛 ( Look closely his mustache shows through the white make up.)
The late Adam West said that Mr. Romero was the consummate professional. In between scenes he would go to his chair off-set and doze off. When he was called to do his lines he knew them perfectly and there never had to be retakes. Mr. Romero was loved by everyone on the set and would show concern for the stuntmen involved in the more dangerous scenes.
In one interview, and around the time Batman was in the theater in 1989, Cesar Romero said that while he admired Jack Nicholson’s overall acting, he found Nicholson’s portrayal of Joker too dark and gruesome compared to the comical Joker of the 1966 TV Series
Many of these were actually plots taken from comic book stories from the 50's. The show was essentially lampooning the absurdity of the Batman mags from that time, even though the show took place in the 60's.
The gentleman Joker. Fine actor. Fantastic theme music behind him. While some of the '66 shows were extremely campy, some were written by Batman scribe Bill Finger.
