Black actor who was a stand in / double for Cesar Romero!
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Cesar Romero
msladysoul — 18 years ago(September 13, 2007 02:35 AM)
I was doing some research on a black actor by the name of Niles Welles or Wells. He was a very light-skinned, spanish looking black actor who was a stand-in for Cesar Romero in the 1930's in three films and a double for him in "The Spy" because of Niles features and resemblance to Cesar he was able to be a stand-in and double for Cesar. No one knew he was a black, he was an extra in over 70 films, but when it was found out he didn't get anymore work in Hollywood. I wonder do anyone here know about Niles Wells or heard of him?
I can't even find any credits on him or anything. His race and what happened probably explains why. -
msladysoul — 18 years ago(September 16, 2007 06:58 AM)
Well, I know Niles Wells wasn't Spanish, I was saying he was a light-skinned spanish looking black man. Are you surprised a black man was a stand in / double for Cesar or don't want to believe it? Black people can look white and Spanish too and come in various colors as web68ll. Anyways, I know what I'm talking about, I read his story in a black newspaper from the 1930's where he stated he was black but could pass and that's how he got the job by passing for white or Spanish. He was a mulatto.
If you want proof, here's the date of the article where you can look up the article on microfilm or somethingDecember 16. 1939 New York Amsterdam News titled "Peolas Behind The 8-Ball." It's an article on white looking black actors and actreses and their struggles to make it in the movie industry and theater and having to pass to succeed like Niles Wells.
Hispanics come in various colors too, from dark to white and have various features, like blacks, but I'm not talking about a Spanish person, I'm talking about a black actor.
I don't even know why you even replied you don't even know who I'm talking about, you just replied because you don't believe a black actor doubled for Romero and you think I'm mistaken.
Oh, another black actor by the name of Frank Silvera was playing other races too and no one knew he was black either. There were many people "passing" for another race back then in movies, Merle Oberon and Carol Channing to name a few. Niles got away with passing for a while because he could fool people like you who expect all blacks to have dark skin, big nose, big lips, kinky hair. Take a look at Fredi Washington, another white looking black actress who is famous for playing Peola, a girl who passes for white, in "Imitation of Life."
Research or think about what you're talking about before you type instead of talking out of your ass! -
rob-949 — 16 years ago(June 19, 2009 02:50 AM)
msladysoul:
It's possible, but keep in mind a stand is doesn't just have to match an actor in height, build, and sometimes a rough approximation of facial features, but also has to match in skin tone for the light meters. That's what a stand in does. They stand there where the actors will be while the crew sets up, checks light readings, camera angles, lights, and makes adjustments all very time consuming, and then when it's right the stand in leaves the set and the actor steps in and the scene is played before the camera(s).
If this man was a match for Mr. Romero's skin tone then there's absolutely no reason he couldn't have worked in the capacity you mention, but most stand ins are anonymous to the world.
The way to find out definitively would be to check the shooting records and contracts on file.