RIP, Ricardo Montalban



(image via onionzeta)

Suavish actor Ricardo Montalban, best known for playing the mysterious "Mr. Roarke" on "Fantasy Island," passed away today, preceding all of us into The Great Unknown. From Variety:

"Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's 'Fantasy Island,' died Wednesday morning at his home, a city councilman said. He was 88. Montalban's death was announced at a meeting of the city council by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. Garcetti did not give a cause of death.

"'The Ricardo Montalban Theatre in my Council District - where the next generations of performers participate in plays, musicals, and concerts - stands as a fitting tribute to this consummate performer,' Garcetti said later in a written statement."

As a kid The Corsair LOVED "Fantasy Island" for that creepy 1970s vibe, accented by a sober Mexican-American baritone -- always asking questions of Love and Death -- and a dark, twinkling about the eyes of Montalban. He was a man-of-his-times, perfectly cast in an era of urban decline and the sci-fi/fantasy escapism of 'Star Wars' and the original, ancient Egyption mythology-oriented "Battlestar Galactica." There was always an undefined spirituality about Montalban, whether mildly sinister in his vocation or intensely Catholic in his personal life.

There were, of course, missteps. If only we could all expire, gracefully and without, at the height of our artistic careers and personal achievement. There were, unfortunately, infomercials in Montalban's post-Fantasy Island career. The Chrysler Cordoba commercial, for example, that brought the term, "soft Cor-eenthian leather" into the pop-cultural consciousness, and not in a good way:

Link:

Khan, arguably, was a bit regressive as a role. The fraulein wig, the unflattering biceps, the scenery-chewing delivery of hammy lines -- all detract from his crisp, masterful Rourke. Still, don't ever try to tell a Trekkie that Khan's wrath wasn't the most exquisitely expressed in the history of science fiction.

May he rest in peace.