Dynamic and debonair, Cesar Romero was best known for creating the role of the Joker in the 1960s Batman television series. As the first actor to play Batman and Robin's villainous nemesis, Romero established the character's giddy, manic tone and the distinctive laugh that subsequent actors like Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix would use as the starting points in their own Oscar-nominated (Nicholson) and Oscar-winning (Ledger and Phoenix) performances. As a closeted gay man of Latin American descent, Romero gracefully faced many personal challenges while maintaining his suave public image and starring opposite legends ranging from Shirley Temple to Marlene Dietrich, Carmen Miranda to Frank Sinatra, and Kurt Russell to Jane Wyman. The first biography of the consummate entertainer, Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild, captures the critical moments of Romero's childhood, adolescence, and accomplishments in Hollywood. Author Samuel Garza Bernstein shares anecdotes regarding Romero's public and personal life, as well as Romero's private disdain for his reputation as the "Latin lover," a discriminatory stereotype he found constrictive both in terms of his range as an actor and as a man who kept his sexuality private. Cesar Romero is an in-depth study of a significant Hollywood star and his impact on the entertainment industry. Batman made him immortal, but with more than four hundred film and television credits, his six-decade career as an actor, dancer, and singer made him a true Hollywood icon. AUTHOR: Samuel Garza Bernstein is a bestselling author, a Stonewall Book Award winner, and an award-winning screenwriter and playwright whose work often reflects the wild intersections of modern life. He, his husband Ronald Shore, and their pack of incorrigible dachshunds split their time between Porto, Portugal, and Los Angeles, California. 63 b/w illustrations
About the Author :
Samuel Garza Bernstein is a bestselling author, Stonewall Book Award winner, and
an award-winning screenwriter and playwright whose work often reflects the wild
intersections of modern life. He, husband Ronald Shore, and their pack of incorrigible
dachshunds split their time between Porto, Portugal, and Los Angeles, California.
Review :
2025 Foreword Reviews INDIES Award Winner - Honorable Mention in Adult Nonfiction, Biography
The Joker Is Wild - and the book is wonderful. Wonderful because Cesar Romero is wonderful, and 'biographer of the stars' Samuel Garza Bernstein has the perfect immersive style to share exactly why that is. Brilliantly researched and written, the book feels more like a memoir than a standard biography; it has a 'you are there' quality that makes you feel as if you're experiencing the surprising life and career of Romero at exactly the same time as he is. Not just a Latin lover, not just the iconic, beloved Joker from Batman, Romero - and Garza Bernstein - are originals. You'll so appreciate this in-depth look at a Golden Age actor who could have been written off, but thankfully, Samuel Garza Bernstein has brought him back to life for every Hollywood fan.
--Kim Powers, author of Rules for Being Dead and Capote in Kansas
[An] enjoyable retrospective.
--David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express
A smart look at the well-lived life of a consummate working actor, Samuel Garza Bernstein's Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild is a fantastic take on a man whose body of work consists of far more than Batman, Falcon Crest, and The Cisco Kid and the Lady. Full of surprises (an account of Cesar Romero presenting the Golden Globe to Whoopi Goldberg for Best Actress in The Color Purple is particularly winning), this is a tome even Batman would don his Bat-Glasses to enjoy!
-- "Film-Flam Man"
Hail, Cesar, and hail, Samuel Garza Bernstein! Here is a biographer with the expertise and empathy to take a beloved 1960s pop culture icon, wipe off the greasepaint, and reveal a pioneer of twentieth century entertainment, a man who worked his way from the ballroom to vaudeville, Broadway to Hollywood, always living on his own terms--and always keeping his mustache, in more ways than one. This is a Hollywood biography that goes far beyond the Joker's laugh to the struggles and triumphs of a true legend and LGBTQ hero.
--Burt Kearns, author of Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel
If you're a fan of great biographies, Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild is a gem you can't miss. Samuel Garza Bernstein captures the figure of the first television Joker and shows him in all his complexity... A fascinating story that blends glamour, identity, and the strength of remaining true to oneself.
-- "People en Español"
In this fond appreciation, Garza Bernstein keeps the singular actor's legacy alive. A skillful and vivacious biography of a multitalented and underappreciated celebrity.
-- "Kirkus"
Samuel Garza Bernstein's Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild manages to be two things most desired in the biography of a star: exhaustively researched and balanced, and a hell of a lot of fun. How often does that happen? The deep dive I undertook while reading this book had me watching some films for the first time, or others with new eyes, and Romero was a dazzler, not only physically redoubtable, but a captivating screen presence. I applaud Garza Bernstein for showing us this man in his fullness. I enjoyed the splendid style in which every detail is presented.
--James Grissom, author of Follies of God: Tennessee Williams and the Women of the Fog
Samuel Garza Bernstein's biography of Cesar Romero is the latest addition to a remarkable body of work celebrating Hollywood history. Meticulously researched yet delightfully accessible, Bernstein's love and respect for his subject is evident on every page. While Romero's iconic characterization as the Joker is clearly the center piece of the biography, his vast filmography is given full attention. Cesar Romero: The Joker is Wild should find a welcome place on any cinephile's film history book shelf.
--Charles Busch, actor/playwright (Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die)
This is the definitive portrait of an actor who epitomized style and class and brought a distinct flair to whatever character he was playing. . . . He personified elegance, charm, and -- yes -- masculinity, and did so effortlessly. The Joker is Wild is well-researched, eminently readable, and truly a valentine to an enduring, versatile talent who was, above all, a gentleman.
-- "YES! Weekly"
What Samuel Garza Bernstein has given us with his breezily written bio of the iconic Cesar Romero is no less than the history of the working actor in Hollywood from the studios' early sound era to the dominance of television. With his debonair charm and talent over six decades, Romero managed to navigate the changes better than some of the golden era's biggest stars, amassing an impressive roster of motion picture roles before segueing effortlessly into television. If you only think of Romero as the definitive Joker in the Batman series or as the wily Peter Stavros in Falcon Crest, Garza Bernstein is here to tell you otherwise.
--Richard Natale, novelist and journalist
