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14th Annual Kansas Silent Film Festival - Feb. 26 & 27
Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 2 on DVD
Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 1 on DVD
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy on DVD

TCM REMEMBERS RICARDO MONTALBAN

Ricardo Montalban, the sauve, incisive, Mexican-American actor who was as a popular leading man of colorful MGM spectacles, and would achieve lasting cult fame as Mr. Roarke on the long running series Fantasy Island, died on January 14, 2009 at his Los Angeles from natural causes. He was 88.
He was born on November 25, 1920, in Mexico City, Mexico. Montalban was the youngest of four children of Castilian Spaniards, who emigrated to Mexico City years earlier, where the family business was a dry goods store. Montalban was just a teenager when he ventured to Los Angeles on an invite from his brother Carlos, who was working in the film industry, to stay and attend Fairfax High School, where Montalban studied English and drama.

Despite being recognized by a talent scout early on, Montalban chose to return to his native Mexico where he starred in a number of Mexican films until the call of Hollywood came beckoning again. This time he was cast opposite Esther Williams as a bullfighter in the colorful MGM musical Fiesta (1947) and Montalban, with his fine voice and classically handsome face, was offered a contract at the studio for a series of productions for the next several years.

While it’s true the quality of his films at MGM did vary, Montalban showed his versatility in no less than three hit film in 1949: his leading man charm in the splashy Esther Williams vehicle Neptune’s Daughter, his tough, action hero for the stark immigration thriller Border Incident, and his strong dramatic chomps in the sprawling ensemble piece Battleground. Even when the material wasn’t stellar, Montalban often was - just watch him in the noir-like forensic drama Mystery Street (1950), or as a native American chief in Mark of the Renegade (1951), or as a dashing romantic lead opposite Lana Turner in the formulaic Latin Lovers (1953); his charisma and finesse were just the stuff of a talented actor.

Montalban was dropped by MGM in 1953 and found work in the theater, wining a Tony award in 1958 for the musical Jamacia that co-starred Lena Horne. By the ‘60s, like most film stars of his generation, he found work in television, guest starring in such programs as The Untouchables, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Bonanza. In the mid-’60s, he found more work on the big screen (a crooked cop in The Money Trap [1965], and Debbie’s Reynolds sympathetic superior in The Singing Nun [1966] were notable exceptions), but the small screen was where he was finding most of his employment, including amemorable turn as Khan, a genetic superman in a 1967 episode, “Space Seed,” of Star Trek.

For all his successess, it wasn’t until Aaron Spelling cast him as the mysterious man in white - Mr. Rourke - in the Telefilm Fantasy Island (1977) and the subsequent six year run as a series on ABC (1978-84) established Montalban as a houshold name. Welcoming guests to live out their fantasies week after week on a remote island, it was much to Montalban’s credit that he made his character more charasmatic than campy.

Montalban returned to the cinema with a bang when he resurrected his role as Khan Noonien Singh for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and he showed a great touch for farcical comedy when he played an evil business tyrant out to stop Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun (1988). He also returned to Spelling’s fold when he played the enigmatic patriarch Zach Powers in the Dynasty spinoff The Colbys (1985-87).

Hampered by a spinal condition, Montalban spent his final years doing mostly voice work for the Disney Channel, notably for the hit show Kim Possible, and was fairly active until his passing last week. Montalban was married to Georgiana Belzer, half-sister of Loretta Young, from 1944 until her death in 2007. He is survived by his sons, Mark and Victor; daughters Laura and Anita Smith; and six grandchildren.

by Michael T. Toole