Ricardo Montalbán

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Montalbán and the second or maternal family name is Merino.
Ricardo Montalbán

Montalbán as Mario Morales in Fiesta (1947)
Born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino
(1920-11-25)November 25, 1920
Mexico City, Mexico
Died January 14, 2009(2009-01-14) (aged 88)[1][2][3]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1941–2009
Spouse(s) Georgiana Belzer (1944–2007; her death)
Children 4
Relatives Carlos Montalbán (brother)
Awards Emmy Award (1978)
Screen Actors Guild (1993)
Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (/ˌmɒntəlˈbɑːn/; Spanish pronunciation: [montalˈβan]; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009), was a Mexican actor. His career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for many different roles. During the 1970s, he was a spokesman in automobile advertisements for Chrysler, including those in which he extolled the "soft Corinthian leather" used for the Cordoba's interior.[4]

From 1977 to 1984, Montalbán played Mr. Roarke on the television series Fantasy Island. He played Khan Noonien Singh on the original Star Trek series and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). He won an Emmy Award for his role in the miniseries How the West Was Won (1978),[5] and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 1993. In his eighties, he provided voices for animated films and commercials, and later he appeared as Grandfather Valentin in the Spy Kids franchise.

Early life

Montalbán was born on November 25, 1920 in Mexico City and grew up in Torreón,[6] the son of Spanish immigrants Ricarda Merino Jiménez and Genaro Balbino Montalbán Busano, a store manager.[7] who raised him as a Roman Catholic.[8][9] He was born with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in his spine.[10] Montalbán had a sister, Carmen, and two brothers, Pedro and Carlos.[11] As a teenager, he moved to Los Angeles to live with Carlos. They moved to New York City in 1940, and Montalbán earned a minor role in the play Her Cardboard Lover.[12]

Career

In 1941, Montalbán appeared in three-minute musicals produced for the Soundies film jukeboxes. He appeared in many of the New York–produced Soundies as an extra or as a member of a singing chorus (usually billed as Men and Maids of Melody), although he had the lead role in He's a Latin from Staten Island (1941), in which he (billed simply as "Ricardo") played the title role of a guitar-strumming gigolo, accompanied by an offscreen vocal by Gus Van.[13] Late in 1941, Montalbán returned to Mexico after learning that his mother was dying. There, he acted in a dozen Spanish-language films and became a star in his homeland.[14]

Montalbán recalled that when he arrived in Hollywood in 1943, studios wanted to change his name to Ricky Martin.[15] His first leading role was in the film noir Border Incident (1949) with actor George Murphy. He was the first Hispanic actor to appear on the front cover of Life magazine on November 21, 1949.

Many of his early roles were in Westerns in which he played character roles, usually as Native Americans or as Latin Lovers, but he was cast against type in the film noir Mystery Street (1950), playing a Cape Cod police officer. From 1957 to 1959, he starred in the Broadway musical Jamaica, singing several light-hearted calypso numbers opposite Lena Horne.

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.

Montalbán also starred in radio, such as on the internationally syndicated program "Lobo del Mar" (Seawolf), in which he was cast as the captain of a vessel which became part of some adventure at each port it visited. This 30-minute weekly show aired in many Spanish-speaking countries until the early 1970s. In 1972, Montalbán co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minority Committee with actors Carmen Zapata, Henry Darrow and Edith Diaz. 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" (he did describe the leather as "rich" for later ads for the Chrysler New Yorker), became famous and was much parodied, and Montalbán subsequently became a favorite subject of impersonators. For example, Eugene Levy frequently impersonated him on SCTV. In 1986, he was featured in a magazine advertisement for the new Chrysler New Yorker.

Ricardo Montalbán as Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as Tattoo in a publicity still for the television movie Return to Fantasy Island

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".[16]

New Yorker critic Pauline Kael said Montalbán's performance as Khan "was the only validation he has ever had of his power to command the big screen".[17] Montalbán agreed to take the role for a significant pay cut, since by his own admission, he relished reprising the role, and his only regret was that he and William Shatner never interacted – the characters never meet face to face, except through video communication – as their scenes were filmed several months apart in order to accommodate Montalbán's schedule for Fantasy Island.[18] When Montalbán guest-starred in the Family Guy episode "McStroke" as a genetically engineered cow, his character made several references to his role as Khan, and similar references were made in his role as Guitierrez on the animated series Freakazoid.

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. In addition, he appeared in various musicals, such as The Singing Nun (1966), also starring Debbie Reynolds. Over the course of his long career, he played lead roles or guest-starred in dozens of television series. Montalbán also narrated several historical documentaries including the Spanish version of the National Park Service's history of Pecos Pueblo for Pecos National Historical Park.

Prior to his death in January 2009, Montalbán recorded the voice for a guest character in an episode of the animated series American Dad!, in which main character Roger becomes the dictator of a South American country. According to executive producer Mike Barker, it was his last role.[19]

Injury

During the filming of the film Across the Wide Missouri (1951), Montalbán was thrown from his horse, knocked unconscious, and trampled by another horse, which aggravated his arteriovenous malformation[10] and resulted in a traumatic back injury that never healed. The pain increased as he aged, and in 1993, he underwent over nine hours of spinal surgery that left him paralysed below the waist and requiring the use of a wheelchair. Despite constant pain, he continued to perform, providing voices for animated films and supporting his Nosotros foundation. Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez created a role in his Spy Kids film series specifically for Montalbán, which included the use of a jet-propelled wheelchair.[20][21][22]

Personal life

Montalbán married actress and model Georgiana Young (born Georgiana Paula Belzer; September 10, 1924 – November 13, 2007) in 1944. Georgiana was the half-sister of actresses Sally Blane, Polly Ann Young and Loretta Young. After 63 years of marriage, Young died from undisclosed causes on November 13, 2007. She was 83 years old. Her death preceded Montalbán's by one year and two months. They had four children together: Laura, Mark, Anita and Victor.[6][23]

Montalbán was a practicing Roman Catholic, once claiming that his religion was the most important thing in his life.[24]

He was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.[25] In 1998, Pope John Paul II made him a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KSG),[26] the highest honor a Roman Catholic lay person can receive from the Church.[9] He recorded a public service announcement, celebrating America's generosity and hospitality to him as a foreign-born actor, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.[27]

Although Montalbán spent most of his life in the United States, he remained a citizen of Mexico and never applied for American citizenship.[28] However, in a 2002 interview, he stated that he was "honored to be an American".[29] His autobiography, Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds, was published in January 1980 by Doubleday.[30]

Nosotros Foundation and Montalbán Theatre

The way he was asked to portray Mexicans disturbed him, so Montalbán, along with Richard Hernandez, Val de Vargas, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Carlos Rivas, Tony de Marco and Henry Darrow[31] established the Nosotros ("We") Foundation in 1970 to advocate for Latinos in the movie and television industry.[32] He served as its first president and was quoted as saying: "I received tremendous support, but there also were some negative repercussions. I was accused of being a militant, and as a result I lost jobs."[14]

The foundation created the Golden Eagle Awards, an annual awards show that highlights Latino actors. The awards are presented in conjunction with the Nosotros American Latino Film Festival (NALFF), held at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood.[31]

Ricardo Montalbán Hollywood Walk of Fame Star shortly after his death

The Nosotros Foundation and the Ricardo Montalbán Foundation agreed to purchase the Doolittle Theatre in 1999 from UCLA.[33] The theater was owned by Howard Hughes in the early 1930s then later renamed the Huntington Hartford Theater when purchased in 1954 by philanthropist Huntington Hartford,[34] the Doolittle Theater and then the Ricardo Montalban Theatre. The process from agreement to opening took over four years. The facility in Hollywood was officially renamed the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in a May 11, 2004 ceremony. The event was attended by numerous celebrities, including Ed Begley Jr., representing the Screen Actors Guild (SAG); Valerie Harper, Loni Anderson, Hector Elizondo and Robert Goulet.[35]

When Montalbán rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, he repeated "the five stages of the actor" (originally coined by Jack Elam) that he famously stated in several interviews and public speeches:

He then jokingly added two more stages:

Montalbán spoke about the goal of the Nosotros organization:[35]

Mexico is my mother; the United States the best friend I will ever have. And so I dream of the day when my mother will say, 'Ricardo, you have chosen a wonderful friend.' And the day when the friend will say, 'Ricardo, you have a sensational mother.' That is why it is very important to bring us together. Brothers and sisters, love thy neighbor as thyself. And this theatre, I think, can be a little grain of sand towards that end. Here we have opened the doors not only for the opportunity of young talent to develop—writers, directors, actors—but also in coming together as a group in this society in which we live. Let's open a hand of friendship and love and brotherhood. That is my dream. I'll never see it complete while I'm still alive, but I think this is the beginning, and that is what makes me so happy to see this come to fruition.

Death

On January 14, 2009, Montalbán died at his home in Los Angeles at age 88. According to his son-in-law, Gilbert Smith, he died of "complications from advancing age". The precise cause of death was later revealed to be congestive heart failure.[37][38] He is buried next to Georgiana Young, his wife of 63 years, who predeceased him, at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.[39]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1941 Soundies Musical Shorts Chorus Member
Crowd Extra
1943 Santa Jarameño
1944 The Escape Teniente
1944 Cadetes de la Naval Cadet Ricardo Almagro
1947 Fiesta Mario Morales
1948 On an Island with You Ricardo Montez
1948 The Kissing Bandit Fiesta Specialty Dancer
1949 Neptune's Daughter José O'Rourke
1949 Border Incident Pablo Rodriguez
1949 Battleground Rodriguez
1950 Mystery Street Lieutenant Peter Morales
1950 Two Weeks With Love Demi Armendez
1950 Right Cross Johnny Monterez
1951 Across the Wide Missouri Ironshirt
1951 The Mark of the Renegade Marcos Zappa
1952 My Man and I Chu Chu Ramirez
1953 Sombrero Pepe Gonzales
1953 Latin Lovers Roberto Santos
1954 The Saracen Blade Pietro Donati
1954 Queen of Babylon Amal
1955 A Life in the Balance Antonio Gómez
1956 Three for Jamie Dawn George Lorenz
1957 Desert Warrior Prince Said
1957 Sayonara Nakamura
1960 Let No Man Write My Epitaph Louie Ramponi
1961 Rage of the Buccaneers Captain Gordon
1962 Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man Major Padula
1962 The Reluctant Saint Father Raspi
1963 Love Is a Ball Duke Gaspard Ducluzeau
1964 Cheyenne Autumn Little Wolf
1964 The Fantasticks El Gallo
1965 The Money Trap Pete Delanos
1966 Madame X Phil Benton
1966 The Singing Nun Father Clementi
1967 The Longest Hundred Miles Father Sanchez
1968 Sol Madrid Jalisco
1969 Sweet Charity Vittorio Vitale
1969 Desperate Mission Joaquin Murrieta
1971 The Deserter Natachai
1971 Escape from the Planet of the Apes Armando
1972 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Armando
1973 The Train Robbers The Pinkerton Man
1974 The Mark of Zorro Captain Esteban
1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood Silent Film Star
1977 Captains Courageous Manuel
1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Khan Noonien Singh
1984 Cannonball Run II King
1988 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Vincent Ludwig
2002 Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams Grandpa Valentin Avellan
2003 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over Grandpa Valentin Avellan
2006 The Ant Bully The Head of Council Voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1956 General Electric Theater Esteban 1 episode
1957 Wagon Train Jean LeBec 1 episode
1958 Frances Farmer Presents Tio 1 episode
1959 Adventures in Paradise Henri Privaux 1 episode
1959 Riverboat Lt. Andre B. Devereaux Episode: "A Night at Trapper's Landing"
1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Tony "Pepe" Lorca Episode: "Outlaw in Town"
1960 Death Valley Days Joaquin Murietta 1 episode
1960 Bonanza Matsou 1 episode
1961 The Dinah Shore Chevy Show Karl Steiner 1 episode
1961 Hamlet Claudius[40] Television film
1961 The Untouchables Frank Makouris Episode: "Stranglehold"
1962 Cain's Hundred Vincent Pavanne 1 episode
1962 The Lloyd Bridges Show Navarro Episode: "War Song"
1962 The Virginian Enrique Cuellar Episode: "The Big Deal"
1963 Ben Casey Henry Davis 1 episode
1964 The Defenders "Spanish John" Espejo 1 episode
1964 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Satine 1 episode
1966 The Wild Wild West Colonel Noel Bartley Vautrain Episode: "The Night of the Lord of Limbo"
1966 Dr. Kildare Damon West 4 episodes
1966 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Delgado 1 episode
1966 Daniel Boone Count Alfonso De Borba Episode: "The Symbol"
1966 I Spy General Vera Episode: "Magic Mirror"
1967 Star Trek Khan Noonien Singh Episode: "Space Seed"
1967 Mission: Impossible Gerard Sefra Episode: "Snowball in Hell"
1967 Combat! Barbu 1 episode
1968 Ironside Sgt. Al Cervantes 1 episode
1968 The High Chaparral El Tigre Episode: "Tiger by the Tail"
1968 It Takes a Thief Nick Grobbo 2 episodes
1968 Hawaii Five-O Tokura Episode: "Samurai"
1968 The High Chaparral Padre Sanchez Episode: "Our Lady of Guadalupe"
1970 Gunsmoke Chato 1 episode
1970 Marcus Welby, M.D. Rick Rivera 1 episode
1972 Here's Lucy Prince Phillip Gregory Hennepin of Montalbania 1 episode
1972 Hawaii Five-O Alex Pareno Episode: "Death Wish on Tantalus Mountain"
1973 Griff Episode: "Countdown to Terror"
1974 Wonder Woman Abner Smith Pilot
1975 Switch Jean-Paul 1 episode
1976 Columbo Luis Montoya Episode: "A Matter of Honor"
1977 Police Story Major Sergio Flores 1 episode
1978 How the West Was Won Satangkai 4 episodes
1978–1984 Fantasy Island Mr. Roarke 124 episodes
1985–1987 The Colbys Zachary "Zach" Powers 48 episodes
1986 Dynasty Zachary "Zach" Powers 2 episodes
1990 B.L. Stryker Victor Costanza 1 episode
1990 Murder, She Wrote Vaacclav Maryska 1 episode
1991 Dream On Alejandro Goldman 1 episode
1993 The Golden Palace Lawrence Gentry 1 episode
1994 Heaven Help Us Mr. Shepherd 13 episodes
1995–1996 Freakazoid! Armando Gutierrez Voice
4 episodes
1997 Chicago Hope Colonel Martin Nieves 1 episode
1998 The Love Boat: The Next Wave Manuel Kaire 1 episode
2000 Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Vartkes 1 episode
2001 Titans Mr. Sanchez 1 episode
2002 Dora the Explorer El Encantador 1 episode
2002–2007 Kim Possible Señor Senior Sr. 5 episodes
2008 Family Guy The Cow Voice
Episode: "McStroke"
2009 American Dad! General Juanito Pequeño Voice
Episode: "Moon Over Isla Island"

References

  1. ↑ "Ricardo Montalbán's death announced in Los Angeles"
  2. ↑ "Ricardo Montalbán dies at 88; 'Fantasy Island' actor", Los Angeles Times, Thursday, January 15, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Ricardo Montalbán, Star of 'Fantasy Island,' Dies at 88," The New York Times, Thursday, January 15, 2009.
  4. ↑ "1975 Chrysler Cordoba Commercial featuring Montalbán". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  5. ↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2003). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. p. 1429. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  6. 1 2 Munoz, Lorenza (January 15, 2009). "Suave actor Ricardo Montalban dies". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ↑ "Ricardo Montalban profile at". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  8. ↑ Dillon, Nancy (January 14, 2009). "'Fantasy Island' actor Ricardo Montalban dies at 88". Daily News. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  9. 1 2 Muñoz, Lorenza (January 15, 2009). "Ricardo Montalban dies at 88; 'Fantasy Island' actor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  10. 1 2 "Ricardo Montalban tribute" YouTube, acceptance speech video of Easter Seals Lifetime Achievement Award
  11. ↑ "Ricardo Montalban Biography - Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  12. ↑ "'Fantasy Island' actor Ricardo Montalban dead at 88". CNN. 14 January 2009.
  13. ↑ "Topic: Ricardo Montalban". UPI. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  14. 1 2 Dederer, Claire; Weber, Bruce (January 15, 2009). "Ricardo Montalban, early Latino leading man, dies". International Herald Tribune.
  15. ↑ "2002 Archive Interview of Ricardo Montalbán, Part 1 of 5". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  16. ↑ Christopher Null (July 28, 2002). "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". Filmcritic.com. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
  17. ↑ von Busack, Richard (February 2009). "Ricardo Montalban Remembered". Metroactive. Archived from the original on 2012-04-18.
  18. ↑ Muñoz, Lorenza (January 15, 2009). "Ricardo Montalban dies at 88; 'Fantasy Island' actor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  19. ↑ TV Guide; September 14, 2009; p. 63
  20. ↑ Brennan, Sandra. "Ricardo Montalban". All Movie Guide.
  21. ↑ "Mahalo Answers: Ricardo Montalban". Mahalo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  22. ↑ "Ricardo Montalban". NNDB. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  23. ↑ Evanier, Mark. "Wednesday January 14, 2009 - Ricardo Montalban, R.I.P.". News From Me Archives.
  24. ↑ "Ricardo Montalbán receives first Spirit of Angelus Award at student film festival". CatholicWeb.com. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  25. ↑ Church of the Good Shepherd: Our History
  26. ↑ Worley, Lloyd (January 1998). "Gallantry Magazine Online". The Religious and Military Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 2004-08-24. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  27. ↑ "AOL.com Video". Video.aol.com. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  28. ↑ "Fantasy Island's mysterious Mr Roarke actor Ricardo Montalban dies aged 88". Daily Mail. London, UK. January 15, 2009.
  29. ↑ "Ricardo Montalban - Archive Interview Part 3 of 5". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  30. ↑ Montalbán, Ricardo; Thomas, Bob (1980). Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-12878-0.
  31. 1 2 "Ricardo Montalbán presents the Nosotros American Latino Film Festival". Latin Heat Online. June 16, 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-08-26. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  32. ↑ Muñoz, Lorenza (January 15, 2009). "Ricardo Montalban dies at 88; 'Fantasy Island' star". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  33. ↑ Montalban Theater
  34. ↑ Suzanna Andrews. "Hostage to Fortune". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  35. 1 2 "Star Trek website: May 8, 2004-Crowds Gather to Inaugurate Montalbán Theatre". Startrek.com. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  36. ↑ "Crowds Gather to Inaugurate Montalbán Theatre". www.startrek.com. 5 November 2004. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
  37. ↑ "Mexican-American actor Ricardo Montalbán dies at 88". New York Daily News. January 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  38. ↑ Dederer, Claire; Weber, Bruce (January 15, 2009). "Ricardo Montalban, early Latino leading man, dies". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  39. ↑ findagrave.com (January 14, 2009). "Ricardo Montalban (1920-2009) profile". Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  40. ↑ "Ricardo Montalban (see Hamlet (TV movie) 1961)". IMDB.

Further reading

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