For a moment to acknowledge the passing of Ricardo Montalban, who was SonomaLass’ all-time favorite male chest, she says, here’s some very snazzy, very sultry dancing from Sr. Montalban.
[Thank you to Brandi for the link.]
And, advice for the aspiring actor. Or writer. Or anyone who wants to break into a tough industry where so much of yourself is at stake.
“Smiles, everyone… smiles.”
Isn’t it sad that he never got the ‘big’ roles? Some would argue that he had a tv series but he was more a host then anything else on that. There certainly wasn’t an abundance of Mexican actors when he was in his prime and he always appeared so classy and elegant and sophisticated … did I mention sexy?
Thanks for the tribute from the SBs…. and doesn’t that sound like Sarah interviewing him in the last clip?!
He was the hotness. And I love that last clip. Someone said the very same thing to me about the law.
The greatest moment of my mother’s life in terms of meeting a celebrity was meeting Ricardo Montalban. Back when our city had a USFL team (The Tampa Bay Bandits, which was owned by Burt Reynolds, in part) she had a chance to go up to the owner’s box. I think Burt was there, but she never even noticed because Ricardo was there and she got to speak to him. She still melts whenever she talks about him and I could always see the appeal. He was a great actor and a great man. And of course, he was Kahn, which was WAY better than being Mr. Rourke. That chest was real, people. God bless him.
Thanks to Star Trek, I became a lifelong fan, even putting up with some truly dreadful Fantasy Island eps. to get a glimpse of him being a class act unto himself. (I had to stop watching after they did a rip on Charlie’s Angels, because that was when they finally jumped the shark for me.)
I recall a convention where George Takei answered questions concerning Wrath of Khan, and a very young fan asked “Was that Khan’s real hair or was he wearing a wig?”
George, being a class act as well, patiently replied that yes, the hair was a wig, but, “His chest is the real thing. No make-up there. He’‘s REALLY built like that!”
Woof.
Not to share too much, but Montalban was the object of my very first—um—fantasy when I was a teen.
Of course in MY fantasy I was of legal age and he was unattached!
I totally give him props for his lasting marriage—63 years with the same lady. You don’t hear about stuff like that much—especially in Hollywood.
I’m totally missing him. Thank you for those vids. They’re a wonderful reminder of his talent.
Now I have to go look for a Red Skelton comedy where R. M. spent some time with his shirt off. Fabio’s got nothing on HIM.
WOOF!
I loved Ricardo Montalban. He was elegant, smart, sophisticated, witty—a refreshing and much needed antidote to the stereotypes of Latinos as uneducated, superstitious, primitive. Of course, he often played the Latin lover, but he did it in a delightful way, always in control of the character.
Montalban won the first Easter Seals annual award for his charity work and created the Nosotros Foundation to promote and support Latinos in the film and tv biz.
I was also so happy that this gorgeous, talented, and wonderful man was out there representing.
Here’s a clip of him teaching Lana Turner to dance and saying some deliciously suggestive things…about dancing of course!
This news has made me so very sad.
Here is with love, Mr Montalbán, for the wonderful example of class you’ve given us all.
I was going to mention Ricardo’s incredible and tireless job with the Nostros Foundation, but I see that Marta Acosta beat me to it. Plus, the man was married for 63 years to the same woman in Hollywood… He was someone to be proud of and admired. He’ll be missed!
The charm and the hint of menance when he welcomed guests to Fantasy Island was spot on.
The world is poorer without his rich Corinthian leather.
you could bounce a quarter off those glutes. Holy cow.
Thanks, Marta Acosta, for that link!
Not a lot of people were aware that he had a limp after a riding fall in 1951 gave him a spinal injury.
The Turner film was in 1953, and unless you know to look you’d not know about it. He was that good.
Of course, I had trouble viewing that clip cause my glasses kept steaming up.
That man was AWESOME.
Class act indeed.
I wish I had been aware he existed when he was alive, but at least I can go follow his films. It always speaks well when an audience has such good things to say about you.
My first exposure to mantitty (of the beefcake or cheesecake variety) was the spectacularly bizarre chest (I’m still not convinced it wasn’t fake) Montalban sported in STII: Wrath of Khan. Thank you, Sir!
Yer welcome, PN (and you’d be very welcome if you ever wanted to be a guest on my Vampire Wire blog!).
Ricardo M. frequently appeared on talk shows, too, and he was always really charming and funny. I remember hearing him tell a story about talking to a pretty girl in high school. He had a cold and was searching for the right English word to describe his condition—and he couldn’t understand her reaction when he told her that he was very constipated!
Damn—this was sad—but watching him dance in the earlier clips—WOW. That sort of magnetism and class are hard to come by and, thanks to celluloid, really are immortal.
Spider—The great man’s mantitty…factory originals.
Check ‘em out.
http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/ricardomontalban.html
Now I have to go faint.
Thanks, SB Sarah, for this tribute! It’s nice to know there are other R.M. fans out there in SmartBitchLandia.
One of my best friends in college was a complete squeeing Montalban fan-girl. I still remember when we saw Wrath of Khan for the first time. We went back to my house, and she was sighing and nearly swooning, and my mother said “I felt the same way about him when I was your age.” That was a shock; but yes, he was 15 years older than my mom.
And OMG JaneyD, thanks for the link to all those buff pictures! I am now quite weak at the knees!!
THIS is my kind of hero—gorgeous, sexy, built, kind, charitable, romantic and faithful. It’s nice to be reminded that they do exist IRL.
Man, it’s a shame that my generation never really got to see him pre-Fantasy Island (unless we watched old Star Trek reruns). That there is some hot Mexican man-meat! XD
I will, however, take a moment to bitch about the clearly Caucasian women we are expected to accept as Mexican/Hispanic in those old movies, where you only see brown people in the background. Man does that chap my half-Mexican hide! Must be akin to the way my Asian friends feel about cross-ethnic casting – i.e., Korean for Japanese, etc. Grrr.
language68 – At 68, my grandfather was appalled that I learned the Japanese language instead of Spanish. ;P
Ankoku-jin, it chaps my hide, too, but back then movies featuring any ethnicity were either not made or shoved to the back of the production line.
We cringe now at how they were done, but at least there were a few out there breaking ground.
The Spanish version of Dracula—which I have and it IS better done than the Lugosi version—was shot on the same set but after Todd Browning’s lot went home for the night.
This same stuff played out again and again throughout the years. There was a whole separate Black Hollywood going on at the same time, making feature films for release to Black theaters.
Seeing the Nicholas Brothers dancing with Gene Kelly in The Pirate was the exception in those days.
I remember seeing one of Ricardo Montalban’s “consciousness raising” commercials on TV. (Back then it was called a public service announcement.) He talked about Mexican stereotypes, illustrated by drawings of people with droopy moustaches, big hats and serapes. The examples looked like extras from The Magnificent Seven.
I was a little kid, but it scored a deep impression. It certainly made me understand that things like the “Frito Bandito” and “Speedy Gonzalas” weren’t funny.
I recall first reading of the big stink about Lucy and Desi having a “mixed” marriage. It made me wonder if there was a problem about men marrying red-haired women! (Being a redhead, it was of some concern.)
I was too young to understand prejudice. These days I STILL don’t understand it!
And that is a good thing for us all to have.
Thanks for honoring Mr. Montalban. This is the first I’ve heard of his passing. Sounds like a thoughtful, dedicated man, and an all-around class act.
Ahhhhh, Ricardo
The villian who twice stole away the spotlight from “Captain Kirk”.
(makes low purring, temptress type noises)
Could anyone tell me the name of the movies in those two clips? I’d love to watch them sometime.
I was very sad to hear of his passing. There are so few of the orginal stars of Hollywood left. Are there any left?
I had forgotten about The Singing Nun. I haven’t seen that one in years.
And OMG The Wrath of Khan. Mmmmmmantitty.
Ev – both those clips come from Fiesta (1947). His partner is Cyd Charisse.
What was not to love about this delicious man? He had the looks, the dance moves, the accent … yum. I’m sorry to read that he’s gone.