Early life

Montalbán was born on November 25, 1920 in Mexico City and grew up in Torreón, the son of Spanish immigrants Ricarda Merino Jiménez and Genaro Balbino Montalbán Busano, a store manager. who raised him as a Roman Catholic. He was born with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in his spine. Montalbán had a sister, Carmen, and two brothers, Pedro and Carlos. 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.

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. 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.

Montalbán recalled that when he arrived in Hollywood in 1943, studios wanted to change his name to Ricky Martin. His first leading role was in the film 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 parts, usually as an "Indian" or as a "Latin Lover", but he was cast against type in the film 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 1963 comedy Love Is a Ball, 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. Eugene Levy, for example, frequently impersonated him on SCTV. In 1986, he was featured in a magazine advertisement for the new Chrysler New Yorker.

Montalbán's best-known television role was that of Mr. Roarke in 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 pop icons.

Another of his well-known roles was that of Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, 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 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".

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." 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. 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 in the cartoon series Freakazoid.

Montalbán appeared in many diverse films including The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 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 TV 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.

Injury

During the filming of the 1951 film, Across the Wide Missouri, Montalbán was thrown from his horse, knocked unconscious, and trampled by another horse, which aggravated his arteriovenous malformation 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.

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.

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

He was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California. In 1998, Pope John Paul II made him a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KSG), the highest honor a Roman Catholic lay person can receive from the Church. 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.

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

Nosotros Foundation & 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 established the Nosotros ("We") Foundation in 1970 to advocate for Latinos in the movie and television industry. 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."

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.

The Nosotros Foundation and the Ricardo Montalbán Foundation agreed to purchase the Doolittle Theatre in 1999 from UCLA. 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, 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.

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:

• Who is Ricardo Montalbán?
• Get me Ricardo Montalbán.
• Get me a Ricardo Montalbán type.
• Get me a young Ricardo Montalbán.
• Who is Ricardo Montalbán?

He then jokingly added two more stages:

• "Wait a minute—isn't that What's-his-name?", referring to his role in the Spy Kids movies
• "Who the hell is that?", believing that to be the reaction of people seeing his name on the theater marquee. Contrary to his assertions, a young generation is somewhat familiar with him through his voice as Señor Senior, Sr., in five Kim Possible television episodes from 2002-2007 and as the grandfather in the movies Spy Kids 2 and Spy Kids 3.

Montalbán spoke about the goal of the Nosotros organization:

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, aged 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. He is buried next to Georgiana Young, his wife of 63 years, who predeceased him, at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

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 1962	Rage of the buccaneers.nErnest 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
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
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	Valentin Avellan
2003	Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over	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	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	The Big Deal, season 1 episode 4
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	Col. 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" (53)
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 (TV series)	Mr. Shepherd
1995-1996	Freakazoid!	Armando Gutierrez	Voice 4 episodes
1997	Chicago Hope	Col. 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"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]