Ricardo Montalban Ricardo Montalban was an Emmy Award - winning , Tony Award - nominated Mexican actor who enjoyed a long career in television and film . He is best known to " Star Trek " fans for his role as the genetically - engineered Khan Noonien Singh , a role he originated in the episode . He reprised the role in the film . Montalban filmed his scenes for " Space Seed " between Friday and Thursday at Desilu Stage 9 and Stage 10 . An almost stereotypical " Latin Lover " type , Montalban is perhaps best known to the general public as the enigmatic Mr . Roarke from the television series " Fantasy Island " ( 1978 - 84 ) . Others may remember him as the Chrysler pitchman who touted the Cordoba , with its " soft , Corinthian leather " . Since the early 1940s , Montalban had worked on over 200 film and television projects , in addition to numerous stage credits . Before achieving pop culture status with his roles as Khan and Mr . Roarke , Montalban was known for his performances in musicals for MGM and on the Broadway stage during the 1940s and 1950s . He continued to work until his death in 2009 , despite having been confined to a wheelchair since 1993 , the result of an injury he suffered in ( and had been concealing since ) 1951 . In 1993 , he was given a Life Achievement Award by the Screen Actors Guild . He and Brock Peters are the only two " Star Trek " alumni to have received this honor to date . Montalban also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood , California , is named in his honor . Personal life . Montalban was born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino in Mexico City , Mexico . As a teenager , he moved to Los Angeles to live with his older brother , Carlos , who was pursuing a career in show business . Montalban returned to Mexico in 1941 upon learning that his mother was dying . In 1944 , he married Georgiana Young , the half - sister of famed actress Loretta Young ; they had four children , two daughters and two sons . The marriage lasted for 63 years , until her death on 14 November 2007 , at the age of 84 . He returned to Los Angeles in 1947 to continue pursuing his Hollywood career . While shooting the Western film " Across the Wide Missouri " with Clark Gable in 1951 , Montalban suffered a back injury that would plague him for the rest of his life . According to " Wrath of Khan " director Nicholas Meyer , Montalban suffered the injury after a horse rode over the actor during production , which also left him with a limp that he concealed for the rest of his professional career . ( Meyer made no reference to Montalban ' s back , only that the actor suffered a leg injury . ) Despite his injury , Montalban continued to work in film and television as well as in theater throughout the next several decades . By 1993 , the injury Montalban sustained in the 1950s had grown to the point at which Montalban required 9½ hours of spinal surgery . Unfortunately , the surgery left him in constant pain , unable to walk , and confined to a wheelchair . Nonetheless , he continued to work , albeit primarily in voiceover roles and the occasional role that could be filmed around his disability . Coincidentally , Montalban ' s co - star and love interest in " Space Seed , " Madlyn Rhue ( who played Marla McGivers in the episode ) had also been confined to a wheelchair due to health issues - - in her case , multiple sclerosis . Also like Montalban , Rhue continued to work despite her predicament , which included an appearance with Montalban on " Fantasy Island " in 1982 . She died in 2003 , from complications of multiple sclerosis . Montalban died at his home in Los Angeles , California , on 14 January 2009 at 6 : 30 pm local time . He was 88 years old . According to his son - in - law , Montalban died " from complications of advancing age . " His cause of death was later revealed to be congestive heart failure . He is buried next to his wife at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City , California . He was among the industry talents who were honored at the " In Memoriam " film at the 81st Annual Academy Awards on , which was accompanied by ' s performance of " I ' ll Be Seeing You " . A tribute film to Ricardo Montalban is included on the remastered Blu - ray release of " " and the " Star Trek : Motion Picture Trilogy " and sets , released in 2009 . Career . 1942 - 1967 . During his first visit to the United States in the early 1940s , Montalban landed a small role in ' s 1942 romantic comedy " Her Cardboard Lover " . This was followed by a role in a low budget movie called " Five Were Chosen " , also released in 1942 . He then starred in many films in his native Mexico throughout the 1940s , after which he landed a contract with MGM and returned to the US . Montalban ' s first major American film appearance came in 1947 , with a supporting role opposite Esther Williams in the musical " Fiesta " . His next musical , also with Esther Williams , was 1948 ' s " On an Island with You " . He again worked with Williams on the 1949 musical " Neptune ' s Daughter " , giving one of the first public performances of " " . In 1949 , he had his first starring role , playing a Mexican federal agent in the MGM " noir " drama " Border Incident " , which co - starred fellow TOS guest performer Arnold Moss . He also appeared in the war drama " Battleground " that same year . He followed this in 1950 with a starring role in the film noir " Mystery Street " ( with John Crawford and Frank Overton ) and a supporting role in the John Sturges drama " Right Cross " ( with Kenneth Tobey and John Crawford ) . He then played the male lead in the musical " Two Weeks with Love " . Following his injury on the set of " Ride the Wide Missouri " in 1951 , Montalban continued working with MGM on such films as the musical " Sombrero " ( in which he again played the lead ) and the comedy " Latin Lovers " , opposite Lana Turner . His contract with MGM ended in 1953 . Montalban then co - starred with Michael Ansara in the 1954 adventure film " The Saracen Blade " . They would later work together in two more films : 1968 ' s " Sol Madrid " ( also with Perry Lopez ) and in 1977 ' s " Mission to Glory : A True Story " ( also with Anthony Caruso ) . In 1955 , Montalban made his Broadway debut , portraying Chico in the musical " Seventh Heaven " , which ran for 44 performances . Afterward , Montalban was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the lead role of Koki in the Broadway musical " Jamaica " , which ran for 555 performances from October 1957 through April 1959 . Montalban placed third as Top Male Supporting Performance at the Laurel Awards for his performance in the Academy Award - winning 1957 film " Sayonara " . He was beat out by Arthur Kennedy ( for " Peyton Place " ) and Red Buttons ( also for " Sayonara " ) . His subsequent film credits included " Let No Man Write My Epitaph " ( 1960 , with James Darren and Roy Jenson ) , " Hemingway ' s Adventures of a Young Man " ( 1962 , co - starring Richard Beymer , Whit Bissell , Michael J . Pollard , and Peter Brocco ) , and the John Ford western " Cheyenne Autumn " ( 1964 , with Charles Seel ) . Montalban was active on television during this time , as well . Years prior to taking on the role of Khan on TOS , Montalban starred in another science fiction script written by " Star Trek " creator Gene Roddenberry called " The Secret Defense of 117 " . This episode , which aired on the " Chevron Hall of Stars " ( aka " Chevron Theater " ) in March 1956 , was Roddenberry ' s first science fiction sale to television . In addition , six years before they co - starred as potential lovers on " Star Trek " , Montalban and actress Madlyn Rhue played husband and wife in an episode of " Bonanza " entitled " Day of Reckoning " . Montalban later made guest appearances on such programs as " The Lieutenant " ( created and produced by Gene Roddenberry , written by Art Wallace , starring Gary Lockwood and featuring Ted Knight ) , " The Untouchables " ( with Phillip Pine ) , " The Man from U . N . C . L . E . " ( including one episode directed by Joseph Sargent and co - starring Nancy Kovack , George Sawaya , and John Winston ) , and " The Wild Wild West " ( with Davis Roberts ) . In 1966 , Montalban played the recurring role of Damon West on the NBC medical drama " Dr . Kildare " . 1967 - 2009 . After playing Khan for the first time in " Star Trek " s " Space Seed , " Montalban made guest appearances on such television programs as " Mission : Impossible " ( with Steven Marlo ) , " Ironside " ( with Barbara Anderson , Gene Lyons , Phillip Pine , and " Space Seed " co - star Blaisdell Makee ) , " Gunsmoke " ( directed by Vincent McEveety ) , and even " The Carol Burnett Show " . He continued landing roles in feature films , as well , notably as Vittorio Vidal in the 1969 musical " Sweet Charity " , co - starring Ben Vereen . Montalban later appeared as Armando in two " Planet of the Apes " movies : " Escape from the Planet of the Apes " in 1971 ( with William Windom , Jason Evers , James B . Sikking and Janos Prohaska ) and " Conquest of the Planet of the Apes " in 1972 ( with Paul Comi ) . In 1977 , Montalban took on the role of the mysterious Mr . Roarke for the TV movie pilot for " Fantasy Island " . It was picked up as a series the following year . guest star Wendy Schaal became a regular on the program in 1980 . Interestingly , Montalban ' s character was later played by actor Malcolm McDowell in the 1998 revival of the series . Co - starring Mädchen Amick , this revival only lasted one season . Montalban won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Satangkai on the epic 1978 Western mini - series " How the West Was Won " . Also appearing in this series were fellow " Star Trek " alumnus Robert DoQui , Fionnula Flanagan , Brian Keith , Ed Lauter , Gregg Palmer , Robert Phillips , George D . Wallace , Morgan Woodward , Harris Yulin , and Montalban ' s " Space Seed " and " Wrath of Khan " co - star William Shatner . In 1981 , Montalban agreed to reprise the role of Khan in " Star Trek II " for only $ 100 , 000 , reportedly because he loved the role and was thrilled to play the character again . Six years later , he played another villainous role , that of Vincent Ludwig , in " The Naked Gun : From the Files of Police Squad ! " In this film , Raye Birk played the bad guy who hired Montalban ' s character to assassinate the Queen of England , while Tiny Ron played Al , a tall police lab technician . Following the end of " Fantasy Island " in 1984 , Montalban starred as Zach Powers in the primetime soap opera " The Colbys " from 1985 through 1987 . For his performance on this program , Montalban was nominated for two Soap Opera Digest Award as Outstanding Villain in a Prime Time Serial . He also portrayed Powers in two episodes of " Dynasty " , from which " The Colbys " was spun - off . In 1994 , Montalban starred in Aaron Spelling ' s short - lived syndicated series " Heaven Help Us " , in which he played an angel who helps a recently deceased newlywed couple , played by Melinda Clarke and John Schneider . Also in the 1990s , Montalban voiced eye - patched villain Armondo Guitierrez on the animated series " Freakazoid ! " ; fellow " Star Trek " film actors John Schuck and David Warner voiced villains on this program , as well . Montalban parodied himself in an episode in which his character with confused quotations of the second " Star Trek " film . Montalban entertained a whole new generation of audiences with his portrayal of high - tech wheelchair - bound grandfather in two of the " Spy Kids " films , beginning with " Spy Kids 2 : Island of Lost Dreams " in 2002 ( with Christopher McDonald ) and followed by " Spy Kids 3 - D : Game Over " in 2003 . He also continued to do voice work for various cartoons and animated films . He voiced the role of Señor Senior , Sr . on the Disney series " Kim Possible " , appearing in five episodes , two of which also featured Stephen Root ; Earl Boen voiced the character in four additional episodes when Montalban was not available . Montalban ' s final roles were characters on two of the animated shows created by " Star Trek " fan Seth MacFarlane . The first was the role of a cow in an episode of " Family Guy " , in which he parodies his Khan role by paraphrasing some of his lines from " Star Trek II " . His very last role was that of General Pequeno in an episode of " American Dad ! " , which also featured the voice of " Star Trek : The Next Generation " star Patrick Stewart . The episode , " Moon Over Isla Island , " aired in October 2009 – nine months after Montalban ' s death . In 2011 , archive footage of Montalban and Shatner from " Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan " appeared at the beginning of the " Family Guy " episode " Lottery Fever " , which had additional voice work by Tara Strong . Other " Trek " connections . Additional projects in which Montalban has worked with other " Star Trek " performers include :