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52-570: 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 60 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 live action Batman television series of the mid-1960s, which was included in TV Guide ' s 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time. He

104-517: 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 . In 1960, he was cast as Ricky Valenti in "Crime of Passion" from Pete and Gladys . In 1965, Romero played

156-486: A French paramour who gets killed in World War I, he became an instant star, as the "ideal lover" of Hollywood. Soon, the media aura of "Latin lover" developed around him. For female fans, he became a symbol of masculinity, passion and mystic eroticism, a seducer who conquers women just by gazing at them. Male moviegoers, however, considered him artificial, noting his feminine manners and even grotesque acting. Yet, Valentino as

208-424: 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,

260-604: 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. Latin lover (stereotype) Latin lover

312-449: A book, Hollywood Gays , containing a series of claimed interviews in which Romero allegedly came out. Romero died two years before the book was released, and while many of the interviews in the book are disputed as possible forgeries, many are not disputed. Charlie Harper , lead singer of English punk band UK Subs , is reportedly a nephew of Romero. On January 1, 1994, 45 days short of his 87th birthday, Romero died from complications of

364-485: A fighter for justice, freedom or some other cause. At the same time, the Latin lover was the first distinct non-American type. It was the result of several factors: a crisis of faith in the supremacy of a male as a consequence of the horrors of World War I, growing female emancipation, but also Hollywood's effort to conquer the film markets of Europe, whose audience was deemed more refined at the time. The non-American attributes of

416-818: 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 a supporting role as the Indian servant Ram Dass in 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

468-563: A musical number together, performing the song " Knocked 'Em in the Old Kent Road ". Temple also appeared in an extended ballet sequence. The film's ending was drastically different from the book. In 1968, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication. Captain Crewe, called to fight in

520-474: A number of Season 2 Zorro episodes. 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",

572-688: 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. 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

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624-459: Is Captain Crewe. Sara bursts in upon a visit by Queen Victoria, who grants her permission to search for her father. During her search, she is reunited with a wounded Mr. Geoffrey and Miss Rose. Hiding from Miss Minchin and the police, she happens upon her father in the waiting room. Initially he doesn't respond to her but her cries bring him out of his stupor. A staff member announces Sara has found her father and Miss Minchin exclaims: "Captain Crewe

676-511: Is a stereotypical stock character , part of the Hollywood star system . It appeared for the first time in Hollywood in the 1920s and, for the most part, lost popularity during World War II. In time, the type evolved, developing various local variants and gradually incorporating attributes other than the originally defining physical characteristics. The Latin lover was the first male acting type in

728-491: Is alive?!" to which her brother retorts, "Of course he's alive! How could she find him if he wasn't alive?" The film ends with Sara helping her father stand as the Queen departs, smiling at Sara on the way out. Source: After filming was completed, Daryl Zanuck of Fox requested additional scenes shot totalling $ 300,000 pushing the cost over $ 1 million. This made the movie the most expensive Shirley Temple film to date. As part of

780-574: Is amazing to reflect, The Little Princess would stand out as one of the most glaring exhibits of pure hokum in screen history; with Mistress Temple, it may very well be, as Mr. Zanuck unflinchingly proclaims, the greatest picture with which Mr. Zanuck has ever been associated". Janet Maslin , writing for The New York Times 44 years later, on the occasion of its VHS release by Media Home Entertainment , called it "antiquated enough to seem charming" and concludes that "[t]he movie's music, its corny but likable histrionics and its rousing patriotism (it

832-417: Is free and expects her father will soon come home. Miss Minchin throws Sara a lavish birthday party on the request of her father. During the party, Captain Crewe's solicitor arrives with the sad news that Captain Crewe has died and his real estate, the basis for his wealth, has been confiscated. Miss Minchin ends Sara's party abruptly. Without her father's financial support, Sara becomes a servant, now working at

884-486: Is not dead. After a string of episodes, including a performance of the film's most well-known song " Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road " with Bertie, Sara is at her wits end. Things start to worsen, when Sara gets into an argument with Miss Minchin, who cannot tolerate her faith in believing her father is still alive and tries forcing her to face reality. She is taunted by Lavinia the next day, eventually causing her to lose her temper and dump ashes on her. Miss Minchin arrives in

936-645: 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 . The 6'3" [190 cm] Romero routinely played "Latin lovers" in films from

988-462: The Second Boer War , has to leave his daughter Sara ( Shirley Temple ) with her pony at Miss Minchin's School for Girls. With all the money Captain Crewe can offer, Miss Minchin gives Sara a fancy, private room. Although worried about her father, Sara is distracted by riding lessons. It is during these riding lessons that Sara helps contrive meetings between Miss Rose, her teacher and Mr. Geoffrey,

1040-561: 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

1092-617: The United States Congress to present the then-dying John Wayne with a Congressional Gold Medal for his service to the nation. Romero was a lifelong bachelor and had no children. Romero made frequent appearances at Hollywood events escorting actresses, such as Joan Crawford , Linda Darnell , Barbara Stanwyck , Lucille Ball , Ann Sheridan , Jane Wyman , Agnes Moorehead, and Ginger Rogers . Many Hollywood historians and biographers have speculated on Romero being very private about his sexuality. In 1996, Boze Hadleigh wrote

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1144-591: 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

1196-586: 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

1248-447: The sound period , most popular American actors of the type were William Powell , Fredric March , Melvyn Douglas and commercially extremely successful Robert Taylor and Tyrone Power . The 'French lover cliché' type was created by Charles Boyer , while popular British actors, prior to World War II, include Laurence Olivier , Leslie Howard , Robert Donat , David Niven and James Mason . Britons in general added much more realism to

1300-578: The 1920s, his enormous popularity was enhanced by his unusual personal life and the fact that he was the first male star whose private life was compared to those of the characters he played. The Valentino myth was sealed with his premature death at the age of 31, as it was followed by massive hysteria and collapses of the fans and his fellow actresses, a huge funeral with almost 100,000 people, and alleged suicides of several women. Other typecast actors such as Ramon Novarro , Ricardo Cortez , Antonio Moreno , Gilbert Roland , Rod La Rocque and Adolphe Menjou ,

1352-503: 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

1404-672: The 1970s. Still, the type survived through the 1980s in the cinema of South America and was revived to some extent in the 1990s with Antonio Banderas . Other Latin Lovers of world cinema, partially or through their whole careers, include Warner Baxter , Iván Petrovich , Pierre Blanchard , George Raft , Cesar Romero , Fernando Lamas , Ricardo Montalbán , Sal Mineo , John Gavin , George Hamilton , Jean-Paul Belmondo , Alain Delon , Al Pacino , Sylvester Stallone , John Travolta , Andy García , Olivier Martinez and Vincent Perez . In time,

1456-591: The Frances Hodgson Burnett several-generation favorite, Sara Crewe, is accomplished most successfully. The fairy-tale story is still saccharine to the nth degree, but once the basic premise is established, it rolls along acceptably. And, while the story has been changed for screen purposes, the general line is close enough". Benjamin R. Crisler, who reviewed the film when it opened in New York City at Roxy Theatre , said: "With any other child on earth, it

1508-410: The Latin lover was the first male star who "brought women to ecstasy", as previously only the female counterparts, the vamps , existed in Hollywood movies. Despite continuous attacks from the yellow press , which included accusations of homosexuality and " strong women " who steer his career, Valentino's movies earned unprecedented amounts of money. A symbol of what a lover should be and look like in

1560-607: 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

1612-429: The attic to punish Sara for "hurting" Lavinia. She discovers blankets, food and other items that Ram Dass and Lord Wickham left Sara, assumes they are stolen and locks her in the attic, calling the police. Sara escapes and runs to the hospital with Minchin in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, the hospital is preparing to transfer a newly arrived unknown patient, who is unable to communicate except to repeatedly say, "Sara, Sara"; it

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1664-452: The day and was initially rebuffed. The director Lang eventually relented and gave her a card to use. IBM caught word of Temple's enthusiasm and provided a special custom-made punch card recorder embossed with her name along with punch cards with her photo on them. The machine sat unused while Temple continued using the regular machine. Her time cards were likewise ignored by the studio payroll person. According to Variety : "Transposition of

1716-459: The first who brought a certain measure of cynicism to the type, would follow. As the Latin lovers rapidly gained popularity with the audience, the 'non-Latin' characteristics increased, so the variations of the type developed, which made the use of 'stranger' instead of 'lover' more acceptable. In Great Britain, the originator was Ivor Novello , and Ronald Colman added the Englishness , creating

1768-619: 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

1820-501: The head of THRUSH in France in "The Never Never Affair" from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 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,

1872-419: The history of filmmaking whose behavior and destiny are set through his love relations with a woman, hence 'lover'. Though, as the type was depicted in the beginning, the term 'seducer' would be more suitable. Major characteristics describing the type include: When he appeared, the Latin lover was opposed to the absolutely dominant type of male character in Hollywood at the time, a man of action, who represented

1924-428: The preparation for the film, great pains were taken to make sure every aspect of it was true to 1899 and England, the time period and setting of the story. Props such as the doll had to be to the exact specifications of a doll made at that time. Clothing also had to be precise. Production was held up after it was discovered that one of the costumes Temple wore used snap fasteners that were not invented until 1908. During

1976-410: The riding instructor, who is also the grandson of the mean-spirited next door neighbor, Lord Wickham. Mr. Geoffrey decides to volunteer to fight in the war and asks Miss Rose to marry him before leaving. Sara has him to tea before he ships out, using the excuse to convince Miss Minchin but she catches Geoffrey and Rose together, not allowing them to say a proper goodbye. Sara later hears news that Mafeking

2028-409: The scene where Temple dumps ashes on Marcia Mae Jones' character, the original plan was to do it in one take. Temple, however, who was angry about the attention received by Sybil Jason in a previous scene, wanted to repeat it after the first take, likely just to "let off steam", but when she asked director Lang for a second ash-dump take, he said it was not necessary. For the ballet dance scene, Temple

2080-502: The school she used to attend. Sara gains new solace in a friendship with Ram Dass, Lord Wickham's servant. She also receives support from Miss Minchin's brother Bertie, who does not agree with her treatment. Miss Minchin confiscates a letter from Mr. Geoffrey to Rose and fires her. She intervenes with Geoffrey's grandfather who vows to never speak to him again. In her new role, Sara gets hungrier and more tired from her arduous duties and sneaks off to veterans' hospitals, convinced her father

2132-405: The short period of their careers: Louis Jourdan and Gérard Philipe in the late 1940s, Tony Curtis and Rossano Brazzi in the 1950s and Omar Sharif in the late 1960s. Marcello Mastroianni did some type acting but also very effectively evoked and parodied it in several films, while only partially it was represented by Robert Redford , Burt Reynolds , Gérard Depardieu and Michael York in

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2184-419: The term spread to other arts, like music, with typical representatives being father and son Julio Iglesias and Enrique Iglesias . The Little Princess (1939 film) Although it maintained the novel's Victorian London setting, the film introduced several new characters and storylines and used the Second Boer War and the siege of Mafeking as a backdrop to the action. Temple and Arthur Treacher had

2236-458: The type and the fact that a noticeable number of European actors moved their careers to Hollywood has made some film historians, like Enno Patalas , prefer the term 'stranger' instead of a 'lover'. Because of the American idea of what a Latin lover should look like (dark hair, darker complexion), initial representatives of the type were indeed of southern European or Latin American origin. The first

2288-403: The type of an English gentleman. Central European and local German flavors were presented by Erich von Stroheim and Conrad Veidt , respectively, while a very popular Russian exemplar was Ivan Mosjoukine . When it comes to the American actors in the later silent period , almost without any competition from other fellow actors, the type was embodied by John Barrymore and John Gilbert . In

2340-427: The type, while Mason represented a bit of a 'sadistic' derivative. Massimo Girotti was an Italian version. Though actors like Douglas Fairbanks and Anthony Quinn are sometimes placed in this category, they actually belonged to the adventurer or the swashbuckler type. Outbreak of the war made the type look totally obsolete, so after the war ended only rare actors appeared in the type, and even then, only for

2392-500: 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

2444-521: Was Italian-born Rudolph Valentino . Director George Fitzmaurice , who directed Valentino in several of his movies, was very important for the launching of Latin lover character. Valentino is universally considered as the supreme representative of the type in film history. In 1921, Valentino starred in Rex Ingram 's The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse . Though not the top billed actor in the movie, playing

2496-601: Was a first cousin of silent film star Emerson Romero , who was a few years older than César and came to New York in 1907 to attend a school for the deaf. 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

2548-496: 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

2600-470: Was at the time the United States ambassador. During 1964, 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

2652-476: Was the first actor to play the character. 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 a concert singer and said to be the biological daughter of Cuban national hero José Martí . His father was born in Barcelona and emigrated to the United States in 1888, where he was an import/export merchant. He

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2704-532: Was trained by ballet dance instructor Ernest Belcher. Temple rented her pony Spunky to the studio to simply lie down in the stall. The artificial green coloration of the straw (which was green so it would show better in Technicolor) however caused the pony to become restless and resulted in him being removed and Temple losing his appearance fee. As a way of fitting in with the rest of the crew, Temple wanted to have her own punch card for punching in and out of work for

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