While there’s no one in town like Cesar Romero, television fans may have only gotten their first taste of the actor when he appeared as The Joker on the popular 1960’s series, Batman. Series creator William Dozier admitted that while Romero was talented, he was nearly passed on for the role of the iconic villain. It seemed that originally, Dozier had someone else in mind.

“Jose Ferrer was my first choice for the Joker,” said William Dozier, according to The Official Batman Batbook by Joel Eisner. “He either didn’t want to do it or couldn’t. He has kicked himself ever since.” Ferrer was known for his role in films like Joan of Arc (1948) and Moulin Rouge (1952). However, his absence cleared the way for Romero to take on the character.

“‘Butch’ Romero, whom I had known forever, was the second choice for the Joker, and I am not sure he did not turn out better than Jose," said Dozier. "I am not sure that Jose would have captured the frivolity and the ludicrousness of the character. I think he may have taken himself a little too seriously as an actor to do that.”

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Romero fell in love with the series upon his first reading of the script.

“I was very surprised when the producer of the show called me and said that he was doing a series called Batman, and the important characters were the villains,” said the actor. “They had done the first two with Frank Gorshin and Burgess Meredith, and now they were ready to do the third, and the villain was the Joker. He said, ‘I would like you to play the part.’ So, I said I would like to read the script and know what it is all about…So, I read the script, and I thought it was a gas, and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll do it.”