Tony Nominee and Fantasy Island Star Ricardo Montalbán Dies at 88

Actor Ricardo Montalbán, best known as the star of TV’s Fantasy Island and a Tony nominee for the 1957 musical Jamaica, “died peacefully” at his Los Angeles home on January 14, according to his son-in-law Gilbert Smith, who did not specify a cause of death. He was 88.

L.A. City Council president Eric Garcetti issued a written statement saying in part, “The Ricardo Montalbán 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.” The landmark 1,200-seat house, founded as Vine Street Theatre in 1926 and known in more recent years as the Doolittle, was renamed for Montalbán in 2004.

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, on November 25, 1920, Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán Merino moved to Hollywood as a teenager and found his first break when cast in Her Cardboard Lover, a 1941 play starring Tallulah Bankhead. After starring in 13 Spanish-language films in Mexico, Montalbán made his American feature film debut in 1947 in Fiesta. he found success in the MGM stable of stars, often cast as the Latin lover, a stereotype he fought throughout his career.

Montalbán made his Broadway debut in the short-lived 1955 musical Seventh Heaven, co-starring with Gloria DeHaven, Kurt Kasznar and Beatrice Arthur. He played the romantic lead opposite Lena Horne in Jamaica, which featured songs by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, earning a 1958 Best Actor Tony nomination. His only other Broadway appearance was in the title role of the short-lived 1973 revival of Don Juan in Hell co-starring Agnes Moorehead, Edward Mulhare and Paul Henreid.

Onscreen, Montalbán was best known for two roles: the evil Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek, first on TV and then in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Mr. Roarke, the suave and mysterious host figure in the long-running TV series Fantasy Island. In recent years, he had provided voices for animated series such as Dora the Explorer and Kim Possible and played the grandfather in two Spy Kids movies.

For almost 20 years, Montalbán served as president of Nosotros, an organization he founded for the advancement of Hispanics in the entertainment industry. At the 2004 ceremony renaming the Doolittle Theater in his honor, Montalbán said, "Brothers and sisters, love thy neighbor as thyself. And this theater, 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."

Montalbán was married for 63 years to actress Georgiana Young, who died in November 2007; they had four children.