KHAAAAANNN!!! GONNNE? (Ricardo Montalban) [Archive]

Stephe96

01-14-2009, 03:21 PM

Queen Bruin

01-14-2009, 03:23 PM

Patrick McGoohan AND Ricardo Montalban? What a shitty day in Los Angeles.

My little nerd heart hurts. :(

Wile E

01-14-2009, 03:25 PM

From the AP:

A LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCILMAN SAYS RICARDO MONTALBAN HAS DIED. HE WAS 88.
THE MEXICAN-BORN ACTOR, WHO BECAME A STAR IN SPLASHY MGM MUSICALS AND LATER THE WISH-FULFILLING MR. ROARKE IN TV'S ``FANTASY ISLAND,'' DIED AT HIS HOME IN LOS ANGELES, CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT ERIC GARCETTI (GAR-SET'-TI) SAID WEDNESDAY.
MONTALBAN LIVED IN GARCETTI'S DISTRICT IN LOS ANGELES.

It sounds bad but I am a little relieved there is some other confirmation. I just happened across the article looking for something else and it seems to have been so recent there were no other reports and I was afraid I might have fallen for a hoax.

Perhaps a moderator could change my question mark in the title to another exclamation point?

runner pat

01-14-2009, 03:25 PM

:(, everyone, :(

Pushkin

01-14-2009, 03:32 PM

Damn, Patrick McGoohan too.

Ah, KHAAAAAAAAAN's been done.

cochrane

01-14-2009, 03:52 PM

I just saw this report (http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/01/fantasy-island-star-ricardo-montalban-dead.php)of Ricardo Montalban's passing but I haven't seen it reported anywhere else.

He had a very long and interesting career. If he has indeed passed may he rest in peace.

Do you suppose his coffin will be lined with rich Corinthian leather?
[Obligatory Nitpick] soft Corinthian leather [/ON]

Da plane has finally landed for Mr. Roarke.

Archergal

01-14-2009, 03:55 PM

Aw crap. :(

Ann Onimous

01-14-2009, 03:58 PM

:( Now I need a broom... cause my heart just broke.

Tuckerfan

01-14-2009, 04:02 PM

I have but one automotive need: Cordoba! (http://se.youtube.com/watch?v=vIL3fbGbU2o)

Infovore

01-14-2009, 04:07 PM

Awww, damn. :(

I knew he was getting up in years and figured he wouldn't last forever, but I've liked him ever since his Fantasy Island days. A genuine Hollywood class act.

FriarTed

01-14-2009, 04:09 PM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28661103/

Confirmed- Vaya con Dios, Ricardo.

Tuckerfan

01-14-2009, 04:15 PM

His last role (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001544/) was "The Cow" on Family Guy You can watch it on Hulu. (http://www.hulu.com/watch/6134/family-guy-mcstroke#x-0,vepisode,1)

kunilou

01-14-2009, 04:29 PM

Did anyone else know he starred with (swam with?) Esther Williams in three MGM musicals?

ouryL

01-14-2009, 04:29 PM

He had been married to one of the Young sisters, Georgina. You may have known her sisters better: Polly Ann Young, Sally Blaine and Loretta Young.

Bob Ducca

01-14-2009, 04:33 PM

I loved him as Frank Drebin's nemesis in The Naked Gun.

He will be greatly missed.

BrainGlutton

01-14-2009, 04:54 PM

I have but one automotive need: Cordoba! (http://se.youtube.com/watch?v=vIL3fbGbU2o)

Hm! I thought I remembered him plugging the Volare. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Volar%C3%A9)

ouryL

01-14-2009, 05:26 PM

Did anyone else know he starred with (swam with?) Esther Williams in three MGM musicals?

Yes, I did. Montalban told Johnny Carson that he hated doing those movies. He didn't want to be known as Mr. Esther Williams.

ivylass

01-14-2009, 06:09 PM

Did he keep his fine WOK physique?

RIP, Khan.

Baker

01-14-2009, 06:16 PM

I saw some old movie once and, to my surprise, I recognized the young shirtless guy in the field as Montalban. Hubba, hubba, that guy had a bod!

kaylasdad99

01-14-2009, 06:21 PM

Did anyone else know he starred with (swam with?) Esther Williams in three MGM musicals?I didn't know he did three of them, but I did know that he duetted "Baby, it's Cold Outside" with her in Neptune's Daughter, which didn't strike me as a Christmas movie.

As for McGoohan, color me knocked over with a feather. I believed I had read of his death years ago.

Chimera

01-14-2009, 06:25 PM

I look forward to seeing William "Glory Hog" Shatner whining in the press about not being invited to give Mr. Montalban's eulogy.

ivylass

01-14-2009, 06:30 PM

He's another one with a long Hollywood marriage. He was married to Georgiana for more than 50 years, until her death in 2007. And he only wanted $100k for playing KHAN in WOK.

Marley23

01-14-2009, 06:40 PM

I actually did yell "GONNNNNNE!" when I heard the news- I hope I wasn't the only one geeky enough to do that. (I was alone.) ((And the guys on PTI used the word "gone" repeatedly in mentioning him.))

I wasn't around in Montalban's heyday but I'll still remember him as Mr. Guitierrez in addition to Khan. That guy could say anything and make it sound suave.

WarmNPrickly

01-14-2009, 06:47 PM

I know its not original at all, but the sum total of the message I left on my sisters answering machine just now was "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN is dead".

RIP I knew it was coming, I just didn't know when. Way too old to be worth any real points in the death pool. :(

mobo85

01-14-2009, 06:53 PM

I look forward to seeing William "Glory Hog" Shatner whining in the press about not being invited to give Mr. Montalban's eulogy.

I think eulogies are usually supposed to be longer than a single word.

I am amazed looking at some of Montalban's credits- he was in a freakin' Dora the Explorer. But probably his most notable cartoon voice work was as Kim Possible's wonderfully-named nemeisis Señor Senior, Sr.

Sampiro

01-14-2009, 06:57 PM

I'm sorry he's gone, but 88 is a very long life, and in addition to the infirmities of old age he had a lot of major back problems for the last few years that left him confined to a wheelchair, so while the man himself is no more at least at last he's free of

wait for it

wait for it

da PAIN! Da Pain!

RIP Ricardo.

Incidentally, he's one of the few celebrities I don't believe I ever read a bad word about. People absolutely loved him- apparently an all around great guy.

And here's a weird "only in the 60s" clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snOsxN7prXA) of him and washed-up-Bama-born-Disney-star-turned-born-again-circuit-entertainer Dean Jones in "pajamas" (and introduced by Minnie Pearl [?!]) singing a Sammy Davis Jr. song (though not to diminish Ricardo's legacy, Sammy and Guinness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OjkEOdZj3A) did it better).

Koxinga

01-14-2009, 06:59 PM

He played a Japanese man, opposite Marlon Brando, in 1957's Sayonara (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050933/).

rocking chair

01-14-2009, 07:06 PM

i had just seen the bio of him on biography channel on sunday. quite the interesting life.

his back problems came about due to a bad fall in the movies.

he also got frito lay to stop using the frito bandito in commercials.

Sampiro

01-14-2009, 07:13 PM

Tuckerfan

01-14-2009, 07:22 PM

Whoa! (http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_01_14.html#016521)Ricardo liked what we came up with and twenty minutes later, it was all taped and done. Before he left the stage, he made a special effort to seek out the writers and to thank us. I thanked him for being so cooperative and I said something like, "I guess we made you look a little vain in the sketch..."

"Oh no," he said. "That is not a problem. I just did not want people to think I would ever cheat on my wife. I don't mind if they think I am a conceited asshole but I would not want them to think I would ever cheat on my wife."That, ladies and gentlemen, is class.

Sampiro

01-14-2009, 07:22 PM

Some trivia: he got the "Corinthian leather" commercials by being in the right place at the right time, the place being in an L.A. theater and the time being when Agnes Moorehead was undergoing agressive cancer treatment. He and Moorehead were starring in the play Don Juan in Hell (she had top billing as she was by far the bigger star even though he was Don Juan) and she had just agreed to do the commercials in a quasi 'Endora elegant' persona, but her increasing illness forced her to drop out pretty much at the last minute. E'er the professional, when she called her agent to say she couldn't do it Ricardo was standing close by so she suggested him as she knew he needed work, and she loved his voice. Those commercials his own admission saved him from near destitution as the '70s weren't a great time: he worked steadily but had a large family/college age kids/Hollywood lifestyle/D-list paychecks, but in addition to the coin they brought in the visibility led to his biggest payday as Mr. Roarke.

One of his "biggest fans" was his niece by marriage Judy Davis, the adopted daughter of Loretta Young (whose sister was married to Ricardo) and in fact the illegitimate biological daughter of Young and Clark Gable. She was pretty much disowned by her mother when she went forward with the story of her true parentage and said (on an interview show) that Montalban and his wife were the only conduit she had to her mother and that they were responsible for the reconciliation (what there was of it- Young never fully forgave her it seems [something of a Norma Desmond who never quite realized how forgotten she was, she was mortified at her squeaky clean reputation being ruined by the [quite true] news she had an out of wedlock child by a married superstar getting out). Young lived with the Montalbans for most of her final illness as she needed constant care and didn't want to enter a nursing home.

Sampiro

01-14-2009, 07:30 PM

Whoa! (http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_01_14.html#016521)That, ladies and gentlemen, is class.

What really speaks of a man who's secure in himself was his suggestion

He said, "I understand that to get a joke, you need to make fun of something about me and that is fine. Make fun of my age or my hair or my clothes or whatever you want. I trust you will make it funny."

Most actors- most men- would be 300x more comfortable doing a scene in which a gorgeous woman wants to have sex with them than they would doing one that made fun of their age or style.

KneadToKnow

01-14-2009, 07:37 PM

At least he got Caesar to safety before he went.

RIP, Armando.

Baker

01-14-2009, 07:54 PM

At least he got Caesar to safety before he went.

RIP, Armando.

How geeky am I that I know what movie you're talking about? Sheesh, I saw them all in one day. The theater sold bananas in the lobby.

Anaamika

01-14-2009, 08:13 PM

I actually feel a bit teary-eyed. Rest in peace, Mr. Montalban.

DirkGntly

01-14-2009, 08:21 PM

Methinks the world is now lit a little less brightly...

SpazCat

01-14-2009, 08:21 PM

There's a Ricardo Montalban Theatre (http://ricardomontalbantheatre.info/)in Hollywood. I'm not sure whether

1- it was named in his honor
2- he endowed it
3- it's named for another Ricardo Montalban

but assuming 1 or 2, either way it's a nice legacy.

This is what it says on the website:

Ricardo Montalbán Foundation - Founded in 1999 by Ricardo Montalbán create opportunities for young and diverse talent emerging into the entertainment industry. We are currently engaged in a capital improvement campaign. Please join our fellow members of our community and enrich our foundation with your participation and contributions.

Wheeljack

01-14-2009, 09:01 PM

Only because no one's posted it yet... Youtube: The USS Cordoba (http://se.youtube.com/watch?v=HVELhUyLZGk&feature=related)

Atomicflea

01-14-2009, 09:22 PM

A real class act and a wonderful role model for our youth to aspire to. Dios me lo guarde, Sr. Montalban.

Sampiro

01-14-2009, 11:00 PM

And since it comes up from time to time... according to Ricardo himself, Shatner, Nimoy, and others, that was not a prosthetic chest (http://startrekreview.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/ricardomontalban9.jpg) in WRATH OF KHAAAAAAANNN, but he did shave it (and in fact I'm guessing he used his own wardrobe as well).

Trivia: his grandson, Victor John Montalban, is a musician who (did not inherit looks and) goes by the stage name "Ritardo" Montalban. (His Noisy MySpace (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=390101837)- I wonder if he gave it to himself or just adapted it after the 4009th time he was called that in 3rd grade [as it was a schoolyard taunt even in Alabama before FANTASY ISLAND.) His grandson grew up in Puerto Rico, though Montalban was originally Mexican and had lived in California for almost 70 years. I've wondered if the children of people like Montalban (i.e. children of affluent Meso-Americans who have lived in the U.S. for most if not all of their lives) identify as Hispanic.

Sampiro

01-14-2009, 11:08 PM

One last one: his daughter Laura (http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/i/partypictures/04_25_08/hearst/CIMG5377.jpg) (left [at least I hope]) is a successful designer/decorator/executive.

dropzone

01-14-2009, 11:13 PM

Whoa! (http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_01_14.html#016521)That, ladies and gentlemen, is class.As I understand it, he was ever thus. There are few Hollywood actors I admire, but coming up through the ranks and racism as he did, Montalban was one.

kaylasdad99

01-14-2009, 11:27 PM

One last one: his daughter Laura (http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/i/partypictures/04_25_08/hearst/CIMG5377.jpg) (left [at least I hope]) is a successful designer/decorator/executive.Did she design that gentleman's coat? :eek:

Siam Sam

01-14-2009, 11:28 PM

RIP, Boss.

cochrane

01-14-2009, 11:58 PM

Hm! I thought I remembered him plugging the Volare. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Volar%C3%A9)
If you meant the man singing in the commercials, no, that was Sergio Franchi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Volar%C3%A9#Marketing), an Italian tenor who died in 1990.

...singer Sergio Franchi was the spokesman for the Volaré and sang the song of the same name in TV and radio commercials with altered lyrics.

I couldn't find a video of the commercials, but I did find one of Franchi performing on the Ed Sullivan Show. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l54MY_TgTYQ)

Sampiro

01-15-2009, 02:57 AM

Did she design that gentleman's coat? :eek:

I think it was specially designed for him when he was keynote speaker at the Play-dough convention.

He was on an episode of the late and not particularly lamented HBO show Dream On (this was before HBO was synonymous with must see original shows) in 1990 as a philandering sleazy director attending a function with his wife, played by Yvonne DeCarlo. If you ever saw the show you know that every episode was constantly interspliced with clips from old movies and TV shows, but the cool thing about that particular episode was that scenes of him and Yvonne together were spliced with clips from previous times they'd worked together (a 1953 movie called Sombrero and a couple of TV guest shots in the 60s and 70s) to give flashbacks of a long but unhappy marriage.

Carl Corey

01-15-2009, 08:55 AM

Is it bad that my second thought upon reading about this was:

"Quien es mas muerto? Fernando Lamas o Ricardo Montalban?"

(Old SNL sketch)

RIP, Mr. Montalban.

Frylock

01-15-2009, 09:10 AM

Whoa! (http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_01_14.html#016521)That, ladies and gentlemen, is class.

I am also impressed by the writing in that blog entry. I can practically hear Ricardo Montalban's voice itself when I read the account of the conversation with him.

I take it the blogger is a screenwriter or something, so it makes sense he'd be able to do that kind of thing.

I want to learn how to do that.

-FrL-

What Exit?

01-15-2009, 10:00 AM

I'll miss Mr. Roarke and Khan. I was watching "When the Lions Roared" on TMC this week and he was one of the actors interviewed for it.

HelloKitty

01-15-2009, 10:43 AM

It was really strange to hear that he had died yesterday...my husband and I had just watched ST:TWOK on Tuesday evening and were wondering how Montalban was doing, how old he was now and such. And then on Wednesday morning I was flipping channels and ran across Armando in "Conquest of POA"...then when I turned on the news I heard about his death. Weird.

Sad that he is gone, but what a rich and interesting life he led.

Kizarvexius

01-15-2009, 10:59 AM

Vaya con Dios, Señor Montalban. Baby, it's just that much colder outside. :(

melodyharmonius

01-15-2009, 11:14 AM

So few actors today can take themselves so lightly and yet their professionalism so sincerely. He was, as many have pointed out, truly a class act.

No matter what he did, he seemed to always do it to the ultimate of his ability.

Wile E

01-15-2009, 11:22 AM

I keep hearing older actors such as Montalban and Newman being called "class acts" or genuine nice guys and I started to wonder how many of today's actors would get those labels. Anyone?

What Exit?

01-15-2009, 11:30 AM

I keep hearing older actors such as Montalban and Newman being called "class acts" or genuine nice guys and I started to wonder how many of today's actors would get those labels. Anyone?

I suspect you'll hear it about Tom Hanks and probably Michael J. Fox among others.

melodyharmonius

01-15-2009, 11:54 AM

I keep hearing older actors such as Montalban and Newman being called "class acts" or genuine nice guys and I started to wonder how many of today's actors would get those labels. Anyone?

sounds like a good separate thread from this memorial one :)

Wile E

01-15-2009, 11:59 AM

sounds like a good separate thread from this memorial one :)

Yeah, but I have to get to work. Anyone else is welcome to start it.

Sampiro

01-15-2009, 01:05 PM

I suspect you'll hear it about Tom Hanks and probably Michael J. Fox among others.

Sissy Spacek (not exactly a kid, but not in Montalban's age range) is up there as well- super nice and genuine person.

What Exit?

01-15-2009, 01:13 PM

I started the thread: Which of today's actors are "class acts" or genuine nice guys? (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10697854#post10697854)

I included Sampiro's suggestion with mine.

Khan

01-15-2009, 11:40 PM

With all the ways Ricardo Montalban's roles impacted our culture, his passing is bittersweet: he's gone, but it's comforting that he as an individual will be immortal in his legacy as an entertainer.

Godspeed, your excellency. :(

Nars Glinley

01-16-2009, 12:50 PM

[Obligatory Nitpick] soft Corinthian leather [/ON]

Wow. I would have bet my next 5 paychecks that it was rich Corinthian leather.

FriarTed

01-16-2009, 01:20 PM

Wow. I would have bet my next 5 paychecks that it was rich Corinthian leather.

And I also. AND I've seen several websites where the debate continues which makes me wonder- could it have been both?

"Soft Corinthian leather" just does not sound right to me. I can hear the alliteration in my head of RM's voice rolling the "rrrich Corrrinthian
leather".

Tuckerfan

01-16-2009, 01:27 PM

And I also. AND I've seen several websites where the debate continues which makes me wonder- could it have been both?

"Soft Corinthian leather" just does not sound right to me. I can hear the alliteration in my head of RM's voice rolling the "rrrich Corrrinthian
leather".It sort of is. In one of the ads he says, "Rich, soft, Corinthian leather."

FriarTed

01-16-2009, 01:29 PM

I googled the two thusly:

+"ricardo"+"rich corinthian leather" got 35,000+ results.

+"ricardo"+"soft corinthian leather" got 5,000+ results.

So what the hell? Too many people have that in their heads. I will say that most of the links I clicked in that first batch (first page only) mentioned that it was really "soft". Where the heck did "rich" come from?

FriarTed

01-16-2009, 01:42 PM

It sort of is. In one of the ads he says, "Rich, soft, Corinthian leather."

I'd love to see it. I've gone through the ads on youtube and only heard "soft Corinthian leather".

Who are we gonna believe? Our memories or those lyin' video tapes?!?:D

Tuckerfan

01-16-2009, 01:48 PM

I'd love to see it. I've gone through the ads on youtube and only heard "soft Corinthian leather".

Who are we gonna believe? Our memories or those lyin' video tapes?!?:D

The ad I linked to upthread has him saying it. You can barely make out the "Rich" because of the crappy audio quality. There's probably an SNL skit or two out there that makes fun of the commercials, and that maybe where people picked up on the "rich" part. (If not SNL, some other sketch show, where it was spoofed. I can remember seeing it, but can't think of who did it, or who the actors were.)