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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
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