Ricardo Montalbán

Ricardo Montalbán (frequently credited without the accent mark) was a Mexican actor who in Hollywood played romantic roles before moving mainly to television, playing Khan in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" (and in the 1982 film Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan) and starring as Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island (with Hervé Villechaize).
Montalbán acted in Mexican cinema before he was signed by MGM to play a bullfighter in Fiesta (1947, with Esther Williams). He reteamed with her twice and was an MGM contract player through 1953, usually as the stereotyped Latin lover. After a few lower budget films with other studios, Montalbán shifted to television, playing starring one-shot roles on dramatic anthologies (including Alfred Hitchcock Presents) and major guest parts on series, in addition to Star Trek, including Zorro, Bonanza, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Mission: Impossible.
In 1970, Montalbán founded Nosotros to advocate for better roles and portrayals for Latino actors on screen. Later credits included suavely villainous turns (Columbo, a pre-Lynda Carter Wonder Woman pilot movie), commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba, voice work (Freakazoid!, Kim Possible, and others), and playing the Cortez family grandfather in two Spy Kids sequels.
==References==
*Sesame Street featured Ricardo Monsterban, a spoof of the actor who stars (or would have without the counting) in the "Monsterpiece Theater" outing "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves." According to a 2005 profile of Montalbán, "the actor chuckles at the honor."Los Angeles Times. "No world of fantasy for him." August 28, 2005.
==Sources==
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Category:Celebrity References