# Ricardo Montalban as Khan, real chest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2005, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355 "2005-11-30T11:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/1 "2005-11-30T11:03:20Z")
I always assumed (when asked) some sort of prosthetic was used to make Khan look super buff. But apparantly on the Special Edition Wrath of Khan commentary, mention is made of how Montalban’s chest was as it appears on the big screen and his costume designed to make the most of it. True? I can’t find my SE disc at the moment to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/2 "2005-11-30T13:18:23Z")
It was real. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/3 "2005-11-30T14:37:55Z")
And spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/4 "2005-11-30T14:54:05Z")
One wonders if the technology of 1981 would have even been good enough to give Montalban a phony chest that wouldn’t look phony. No, it was him. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/5 "2005-11-30T15:34:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > One wonders if the technology of 1981 would have even been good enough to give Montalban a phony chest that wouldn’t look phony. No, it was him. I actually thought his necklace was a borderline between his real wrinkled neck and fake fit chest. But posting on another board a picture of Khan I noticed his tendons stretching down below the necklace which debunked any theories I’d heard. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/6 "2005-11-30T15:47:20Z")
Montalban’s a big guy; I never had any doubt. I’m more curious why the rest of the Ceti Alpha survivors looked like people in their twenties and thirties, decades younger than Khan. Also, why they didn’t dump their Mad Max fashions for more conventional clothes when they took over the _Reliant_. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/7 "2005-11-30T16:18:37Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Also, why they didn’t dump their Mad Max fashions for more conventional clothes when they took over the _Reliant_. I’ve heard the high collared white tops were mighty itchy and warm in the heat, better the Mad Max outfits. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/8 "2005-11-30T21:14:47Z")
Better go back to his first appearance on TOS. Impressive then, too. I was just watching that episode, the part where he does these exaggerated calisthenics upon waking up. I told my wife it looked like he was doing “go-ga”. Which is yoga where you’re really psyching yourself up for something. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/9 "2005-11-30T22:28:19Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > I’ve heard the high collared white tops were mighty itchy and warm in the heat, better the Mad Max outfits. They weren’t conformists before, why be conformists now? Beyond that, I’ve got to say, you kick ass Ricardo. I’m impressed. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/10 "2005-11-30T22:31:58Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Montalban’s a big guy; I never had any doubt. I’m more curious why the rest of the Ceti Alpha survivors looked like people in their twenties and thirties, decades younger than Khan. [fanwank] Khan was among the first generation of genetically engineered persons; Joachim & the others were from Superhuman Mark II, which included the “slower than usual aging” gene. Thus he aged normally while most of his followers did not. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/11 "2005-11-30T23:51:10Z")
Khaaaaaaaaaan! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/12 "2005-11-30T23:57:58Z")
[As you can see](http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/ricardomontalban.html), Ricardo was quite a babe, from way back. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/13 "2005-12-01T00:02:55Z")
He would’ve been a great Zorro. I wonder why he was never cast as him. In fact, if he had been a little younger and healthier and had the use of his legs, he probably would’ve done a more convincing job in Anthony Hopkins’s role in _The Mask of Zorro_ alongside Antonio Banderas. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/14 "2005-12-01T02:20:42Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > He would’ve been a great Zorro. I wonder why he was never cast as him. > > In fact, if he had been a little younger and healthier and had the use of his legs, he probably would’ve done a more convincing job in Anthony Hopkins’s role in _The Mask of Zorro_ alongside Antonio Banderas. While I haven’t seen the _Zorro_ film, I have to say that a decent screenwriter could have written the part so that Montalban could do the role. Certainly, Montalban’s a talented enough actor. Nicholas Meyer in his commentary for the film (besides saying, “That is Ricardo Montalban’s real chest.”) laments the fact that Montalban was never given very many good roles. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/15 "2005-12-01T06:12:14Z")
> [@Fabulous Creature](#): > > [fanwank] > Khan was among the first generation of genetically engineered persons; Joachim & the others were from Superhuman Mark II, which included the “slower than usual aging” gene. Thus he aged normally while most of his followers did not. I’ve heard this theory. Among its other effects, the genetic modification increases the risk of choosing a really bad agent. The original “Space Seed” bunch were ethnically diverse, too. Oddly, all the survivors look Nordic. Either they pale gradually or the Ceti eels prefer dark meat. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/16 "2005-12-01T07:26:35Z")
It’s his real chest but a bad makeup job. Sometimes you can tell it’s [natural](http://www.stephenl.ndtilda.co.uk/Khan.jpg), other times it’s oiled and reflecting the [light](http://www.starwrecked.faketrix.com/contents/celebs/large-pics/Ricardo-Montalban-as-Khan-Noonian-Singh.jpg) making it look prosthetic. It’s particularly impressive considering he was over 60 when shooting began. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/17 "2005-12-01T09:42:20Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > It’s his real chest but a bad makeup job. Sometimes you can tell it’s [natural](http://www.stephenl.ndtilda.co.uk/Khan.jpg), other times it’s oiled and reflecting the [light](http://www.starwrecked.faketrix.com/contents/celebs/large-pics/Ricardo-Montalban-as-Khan-Noonian-Singh.jpg) making it look prosthetic Yeah, I guess the real question is why I thought it was a prosthetic in the first place. Its taken me long enough to discard the image of Roddenberry as a humanist who wasn’t in it at all for the money and was actually a yes-please-can-I-have-my-girlfriend-in-a-lead-role kind of guy 😛 Besides, I was just happy with Montalban’s performance. On a Trek message board he was rated one of only three actors/characters who would be as fantastic outside of Trek as in 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/18 "2005-12-01T10:43:23Z")
I have it on good authority that his chest wasn’t real… it was made from rich Corinthian leather. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/19 "2005-12-01T14:29:29Z")
Montalban made two big mistakes in his career: that much-paradied Chrysler commercial and, um, Fantasy Island. Her certainly had the chops to do a great drama, but I can’t recall anything mainstream that he appeared in, other than Star Trek. Re TOS: yep, the man had quite the chest. Lucky bastid. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355/20 "2005-12-01T19:38:21Z")
> [@Squee](#): > > … it was made from rich Corinthian leather. 🙂 Dammit, you stole my line! 🆒 Another interesting tidbit from the DVD commentary: After the lukewarm success of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Paramount was eager to start a sequel but only if it had, umm, a plot. The writers brainstormed and finally came up with the idea of revisiting Khan from the Original Series. Everyone loved the idea, the film was greenlit, pre-production began…only then did they realize that, with all the excitement, nobody had actually _asked_ Montalban if he wanted to be in Star Trek again! Luckily, Ricardo loved the project and signed on immediately. And all was good in the world…(until movie #5, but that’s another story.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricardo-montalban-as-khan-real-chest/333355.md?page=2)