Batman: All 10 Joker actors ranked from worst to best

5. Cesar Romero

Appeared in: Batman (1966 – 1968), Batman: The Movie (1966)

Cesar Romero put on that iconic smile for the 1966 Batman TV series – a role which he reprised a number of times throughout all three of the show’s seasons and its big-budget feature film – and delivered a performance that was nothing short of comedic gold.

An outlandish laugh-loving caricature, this Joker was downright harmless when you compare him to the mayhem-loving monster that he is today, but that right there complemented the tongue-in-cheek tone of the series to perfection. With his all-white make-up (which is caked on extra-hard around the mustache) and perfectly-outlined red lips, he was identical to his comic book counterpart in both appearance and personality and this ultimately allowed him to be as colorful as the series required him to be.

There’s something infectious about that laugh that just makes everything he does so enjoyable. In fact, just by watching his scenes, you can tell that Romero absolutely loved bringing the character to life – so it’s only fitting that his passionately funny performance ended up defining The Joker for an entire generation. And, if we based this list on laughs alone, the veteran performer would be right at the top (alongside a few others).

Colorful, charismatic and full of charm, this was The Joker that the world needed in the ’60s and Romero’s energetic turn played a huge part in shaping the character into the pop culture icon that he is today. “Legendary” doesn’t come close to describing him.