by Shannonn Kelly

Ricardo Montalbán, one of the first successful Latino leading male actors, died Wednesday January 14, 2009 in Los Angeles, CA. He was 88.

Born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino in Mexico City on November 25, 1920, Montalbán moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to live with his older brother Carlos, who was already in show business. In 1940 both Montalbán and his brother made their way to New York City because they both landed small roles "Her Cardboard Lover," a play starring Tallulah Bankhead.

In 1941 Montalbán returned to Mexico, to be by his dying mother’s side. While there he made his name widely known by starring  in numerous Spanish-language films.

Montalbán then returned to make his name in the USA, making  his Hollywood debut in 1947 in "Fiesta," a musical in which he was cast as a Toreador who had a twin sister, played by the movie’s star, Esther Williams. They also starred together a year later in "On An Island With You."  The next year he was signed as a contract player for MGM.

Montalbán specialized in Latin-lover roles, perfecting the stereotype. He played opposite Cyd Charisse in "Mark of the Renegade", Shelley Winters in "My Man and I", and Pier Angeli in "Sombrero", and Lana Turner in 1953 in a film called "Latin Lovers."

Montalbán also played other ethnic characters including: American Indians, where he was cast as a Blackfoot war chief in "Across the Wide Missouri. As well as an ancient Babylonian in "The Queen of Babylon", a Japanese Kabuki actor in "Sayonara." In the Broadway musical "Jamaica," set on a mythical Caribbean island, he starred opposite Lena Horne in a cast that was, aside from himself, entirely African-American. He was nominated for a Tony in 1958 for his role.

In 1967, during the first season of "Star Trek," he was perfectly cast as Khan Noonien Singh, a tyrannical villain; a role he reprised in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in 1982.

In 1971, troubled by the way he was asked to portray Mexicans; he helped found Nosotros, an advocacy group for Latinos working in the movie and television industry. As president of the organization, he later said: "I received tremendous support, but there were also some negative repercussions. I was accused of being a militant, and as a result I lost jobs."

Cashing in on his suave and debonair comportment, 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 "rich Corinthian leather," became famous and was much parodied, and Montalbán subsequently became a favorite subject of impersonators. Eugene Levy, for example, frequently impersonated him on SCTV.
In 1986, he was featured in a magazine advertisement for the new Chrysler New Yorker.

From 1978 to 1984 on ABC, television viewers got to watch a planeload of A to D-list actors debark from a plane on "Fantasy Island," to have their every wish fulfilled by a warm and welcoming Mister Roarke, played by Montalbán, and his assistant, Tattoo, played by Hervé Villechaize. They were known as one of TV’s most celebrated odd couples.

In recent years Montalbán worked in children’s entertainment, with a surprisingly well-fitted role in the "Spy Kids" movies. He also did voice-overs for the television series "Dora the Explorer" and in the 2006 film "The Ant Bully," in which he plays the leader of an ant colony’s ant council.

He married actress Georgiana Young, in 1944. She was half-sister of the actresses Sally Blane, Polly Ann Young, and Loretta Young, who nicknamed her "Georgie". After 63 years of marriage, Georgiana Young de Montalbán died on November 13, 2007, at the age of 84. They had four children.

He was named a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by the Vatican in 1998.[6] He remained a Mexican citizen by choice, having never applied for United States citizenship, though he lived there for most of his adult life.

Showing his great sense of humor, he’s been quoted to say about himself and Hollywood:

1. Who is Ricardo Montalbán?
2. Get me Ricardo Montalbán.
3. Get me a Ricardo Montalbán type.
4. Get me a young Ricardo Montalbán.