Ricardo Montalbán (born November 25, 1920), was a Mexican actor. whose career spanned seven decades.
Birth Name: Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'
Nickname: "The Latin Lover"
Quote: "Through the fantasies, you learn to appreciate your own realities."
Though his first leading role was in the film noir Border Incident (1949) with actor George Murphy, many of his early roles were in Westerns in which he played character roles, usually as Native Americans or as Latin Lovers. He was cast against type in the film noir Mystery Street (1950), playing a Cape Cod police officer.
During the 1950s and 1960s, he was one of only a handful of actively working Hispanic actors in Hollywood, although he portrayed several ethnicities – occasionally of Japanese background, as in with the character of Nakamura in the film Sayonara (1957), and as Tokura in the Hawaii Five-O episode "Samurai" (1968). In the romance comedy Love Is a Ball (1963), he played a naive, penniless French duke being groomed as a potential husband for a rich American woman.
In 1975, he was chosen as the television spokesman for the new Chrysler Cordoba. The car became a successful model, and over the following several years, was heavily advertised; his mellifluous delivery of a line praising the "soft Corinthian leather" upholstery of the car's interior, often misquoted as "fine" or "rich Corinthian leather" , became famous and was much parodied, and Montalbán subsequently became a favorite subject of impersonators.
Montalbán's best-known television role was that of Mr. Roarke on the television series Fantasy Island, which he played from 1977 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 popular icons.
Another of his well-known roles was that of Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), in which he reprised a role that he had originated in the 1967 episode of Star Trek titled "Space Seed". Early rumors suggested Montalbán wore prosthetic muscles on his chest during filming of Star Trek II to appear more muscular. Director Nicholas Meyer replied that even in his sixties Montalbán, who had a vigorous training regimen, was "one strong cookie", and that his real chest was seen on film. Khan's costume was specifically designed to display Montalbán's physique. Critic Christopher Null called Khan the "greatest role of Montalbán's career".
Montalbán appeared in many diverse films including The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) as well as two films from both the Planet of the Apes and Spy Kids series.
On January 14, 2009, Montalbán died at his home in Los Angeles at age 88 of congestive heart failure.
Birth Name: Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'
Nickname: "The Latin Lover"
Quote: "Through the fantasies, you learn to appreciate your own realities."
Though his first leading role was in the film noir Border Incident (1949) with actor George Murphy, many of his early roles were in Westerns in which he played character roles, usually as Native Americans or as Latin Lovers. He was cast against type in the film noir Mystery Street (1950), playing a Cape Cod police officer.
During the 1950s and 1960s, he was one of only a handful of actively working Hispanic actors in Hollywood, although he portrayed several ethnicities – occasionally of Japanese background, as in with the character of Nakamura in the film Sayonara (1957), and as Tokura in the Hawaii Five-O episode "Samurai" (1968). In the romance comedy Love Is a Ball (1963), he played a naive, penniless French duke being groomed as a potential husband for a rich American woman.
In 1975, he was chosen as the television spokesman for the new Chrysler Cordoba. The car became a successful model, and over the following several years, was heavily advertised; his mellifluous delivery of a line praising the "soft Corinthian leather" upholstery of the car's interior, often misquoted as "fine" or "rich Corinthian leather" , became famous and was much parodied, and Montalbán subsequently became a favorite subject of impersonators.
Montalbán's best-known television role was that of Mr. Roarke on the television series Fantasy Island, which he played from 1977 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 popular icons.
Another of his well-known roles was that of Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), in which he reprised a role that he had originated in the 1967 episode of Star Trek titled "Space Seed". Early rumors suggested Montalbán wore prosthetic muscles on his chest during filming of Star Trek II to appear more muscular. Director Nicholas Meyer replied that even in his sixties Montalbán, who had a vigorous training regimen, was "one strong cookie", and that his real chest was seen on film. Khan's costume was specifically designed to display Montalbán's physique. Critic Christopher Null called Khan the "greatest role of Montalbán's career".
Montalbán appeared in many diverse films including The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) as well as two films from both the Planet of the Apes and Spy Kids series.
On January 14, 2009, Montalbán died at his home in Los Angeles at age 88 of congestive heart failure.
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