THE JOKER (CONRAD VEIDT) The #Joker was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. He made his first #appearance in 1940 in the #Batman #1 #comic. He may seem like such a #bizarre and #unique #character that he couldn’t possibly have been based on anybody #real, but he was actually based on #German #actor Conrad Veidt. More specifically, he was based on the #look of Veidt’s character, Gwynplaine, in the 1928 silent #horror #movie The Man Who #Laughs. The grim carnival #freak-like #grin on Veidt’s character’s face was what influenced Finger, Kane and Robinson to create Batman’s arch-enemy. Of course, on a related note, the movie #version of the Joker played by #Heath #Ledger in #Christopher #Nolan’s 2005-2012 #Dark #Knight #Trilogy took inspiration from #Tom #Waits – an #American #musician – in terms of his #unique #voice and mannerisms.