
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 3, 1994                   TAG: 9401030059
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Daily News
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Short

CESAR ROMERO DIES AT 86

Cesar Romero, the suave, romantic actor whose career spanned seven decades, and who became widely known as the evil Joker in the "Batman" television series of the 1960s, died Saturday evening. He was 86.

Romero died at 9:10 p.m. at Saint John's Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica after suffering a blood clot stemming from severe bronchitis and pneumonia, hospital spokesman Gary Miereanu said Sunday.

Born Feb. 15, 1907, in New York City, Romero made his major motion-picture debut in the 1934 classic, "The Thin Man."

The star of the popular "Cisco Kid" series, Romero was a member of Hollywood's Golden Age and played opposite Betty Grable, Carole Lombard and Sonja Henie.

Romero was born into a distinguished Cuban family in New York City. His grandfather was Jose Marti, the liberator of Cuba. "The Cuban war of independence was planned in my grandfather's house," he once remarked.

His films included "The Thin Man," which starred William Powell and Myrna Loy, "Special Agent," "Diamond Jim," "Clive of India," "Cardinal Richelieu," "Wee Willie Winkie" and "The Little Princess" with Shirley Temple, and "Happy Landing" and "Wintertime" with Sonja Henie.

by CNB