>performance and the character: Nicholson's Joker was
>out of his mind, but I liked the fact that he had a twisted,
>demented MEANS OF BEING AN ORGANIZED CRIMINAL. It was MUCH
>EASIER TO EXPLAIN HIS CRIMINAL EMPIRE

the goofy prankster who robs for fun died several decades ago

pretty much everything he's done since then is murder for fun, murder to make others insane, murder to make Batman chase him, and so on

believe it or not, Burton's Batman is not the source material