After all, he was the first Joker.
Look, I'm not saying that he influenced poor, dead Heath Ledger - I don't think he did. For the record, I think Heath based his Joker on Nicholson's Jack Torrence from "The Shining" (really, check it out again with this in mind. It's uncanny, twitches and all), but I guess we'll never know. The Joker's real name is "Jack Napier" after all...
My favorite tidbit about Mr. Romero is this: At one point during the series he had a mustache - I don't know if he was growing it for another role or if he just wanted a damn mustache, BUT he had enough pull to get on the show with it covered in white greasepaint. Even to this, then 4 year old, it was painfully obvious.
"Daddy, why does The Joker have an invisible mustache?"
Which of course, speaking of Nicholson, is right up there with, "Daddy, why is The Joker singing a Prince song?"
The great thing about poor, dead Heath Ledger is that he looked back at the comics (and "The Shining" in my opinion) and made the character his own. And he deserves that Oscar that he's bound to get.
The great thing about Cesar Romero is that he created it from scratch. He was the first. And he had a rogue, bitchin' mustache. And he was Cuban...and gay. That's badass.
And both Ledger and Romero render Nicholson non-existent.
~
February 1, 2009
Dear Tim Burton,
Please burn the negative to "Batman." We'll be just fine without seeing "The Joker doing the Prince dance" ever again. Really. No, seriously.
With love, but not forgiving you for raping "Planet of the Apes" and "Willie Wonka,"
Bat-Photo Of The Day
The mustache was a trademark and with 20 Joker episodes, there is plenty of opportunity to see it! A little bit of Cesar lore tells that up until his 1994 death, Romero attended every Academy Awards of his professional career. That is quite a landmark (I think?) He often escorted many famous (older) actresses of the day to the event. His (telling) nickname was Butch.
ReplyDelete