Rest in Peace: Ricardo Montalbán (1920-2009)

Ricardo Montalbán (November 25, 1920–January 14, 2009), a Mexican-born television, theatre, and film actor, has died. He had a career spanning decades. During the mid-to-late 1970s, he was the spokesperson in automobile advertisements for the Chrysler Cordoba (in which he famously extols the “soft Corinthian leather” used for its interior). From 1977 to 1984, he starred as Mr. Roarke in the television series Fantasy Island. He also played Khan Noonien Singh in both a 1967 episode “Space Seed” of the first season of the original Star Trek series, and the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Montalban won an Emmy Award in 1978, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 1993. Up until his 80s, he continued to perform, often providing voices for animated films and commercials.

Born Nov. 25, 1920, in Mexico City, Montalban was the youngest of four children of Castilian Spaniards who had immigrated there in 1906. Montalban’s father owned a dry goods store. Montalban came to Los Angeles as a teenager with his oldest brother, Carlos, who had lived in the city and worked for the studios.

Montalban wrote “Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds,” his 1980 autobiography.  Montalbán has stated that when he first arrived in Hollywood, studios wanted to change his name to Ricky Martin. He frequently portrayed Asian characters – mostly of Japanese background, as in Sayonara and the Hawaii Five-O episode “Samurai.” His first leading role was the 1949 film Border Incident, with actor George Murphy. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was one of only a handful of actively working Hispanic actors. Many of his early roles were in Westerns in which he played character parts, usually as an “Indian” or as a “Latin Lover.”

Montalbán’s best-known television role was that of Mr. Roarke in the television series Fantasy Island, which he played from 1978 until 1984. For a while, the series was one of the most popular on television, and his character as well as that of his sidekick, Tattoo (played by Hervé Villechaize), became pop icons.

Montalbán established the Nosotros Foundation, which attempted to highlight and recognize Latino participation in the arts and entertainment. In 1970, the foundation created the Golden Eagle Awards, an annual awards show that recognizes Latino stars,

KJ