Ricardo Montalban

In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, Ricardo Montalban (1920-2008) talks about his desire to keep his name despite the Hollywood pressure to change it to "Ricky Martin." He recalls appearing in one of the "soundies" of the 1940s— "He's A Latin From Staten Island." He relates his early courting by Hollywood and his eventual signing with MGM. He discusses the Latin stereotype of the Hollywood era and how he wasn't cast in Mexican roles but rather more "exotic" South American "types." He describes touring the country to promote movies, in the studios' attempt to steer the public from television. He speaks about studying acting in the early 1940s with Stanislavsky disciple Seki Sano. He underscores the importance of his work with Sano, who taught him about truth in acting. He describes his appearances on several "live" dramatic television anthologies of the 1950s, including Climax! and The Loretta Young Show. He discusses his recreation of the role of Khan from the 1967 "Space Seed" episode of Star Trek to the 1982 feature film Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, which required him to review his earlier performance to recapture the spirit of the part. He speaks in great detail about the part with which he is most associated, "Mr. Roarke" on Fantasy Island. Regarding this series, he describes Aaron Spelling's concept, the use of "Roarke" in setting the stage for each episode and, the challenges of production. He looks back on his founding of Nosotros, an organization to promote opportunities for Hispanic actors and to help eradicate stereotypical images of them in Hollywood. He describes the organization's goals and how its founding caused him to be blacklisted temporarily from the industry. He also speaks about another of his well-known appearances on television— as spokesman for Chrysler Cordobas in commercials, forever associated with their "rich Corinthian leather." Karen Herman conducted the interview on August 13, 2002 in Century City, CA.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

Ricardo Montalban on the portrayal of Mexicans in film and television

04:09

Ricardo Montalban on his role of Khan in Star Trek and in the feature film Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

05:25

Ricardo Montlaban on his advice to aspiring actors

01:36

Ricardo Montalban on the founding of Nosotros

10:36

Ricardo Montalban on his Fantasy Island character "Mr. Roarke"

02:02

Ricardo Montalban on the way of doing exposition on Fantasy Island

01:16

Ricardo Montalban on his first live television appearance on Climax! in the teleplay "Island in the City"

01:21

Ricardo Montalban on training to fire a gun to synchronize with the shot in his live appearance on Climax! in the teleplay "The Mojave Kid"

04:15

Ricardo Montalban on one of his first television roles in the Climax teleplay "The Mojave Kid"

01:52

Ricardo Montalban on his disappointment on starring in The Colbys

02:21

Ricardo Montalban on his character "Zack Powers" on The Colbys

01:28

Ricardo Montalban on the way of doing exposition on Fantasy Island

01:16

Ricardo Montalban on the genesis of Fantasy Island

03:40

Ricardo Montalban on his Fantasy Island character "Mr. Roarke"

02:02

Ricardo Montalban on the character of "Mr. Roarke" and how Fantasy Island changed for him after the first season

02:41

Ricardo Montalban on the Fantasy Island character "Tattoo" and actor Herve Villechaize

02:18

Ricardo Montalban on Herve Villechaize's departure from Fantasy Island

04:59

Ricardo Montalban on the decision to end Fantasy Island after seven seasons

01:22

Ricardo Montalban on the production aspects of Fantasy Island

06:31

Ricardo Montalban on directing two episodes of Fantasy Island

03:21

Ricardo Montalban on the guest stars on Fantasy Island

06:06

Ricardo Montalban on location filming on Fantasy Island 

03:30

Ricardo Montalban on the last day of shooting Fantasy Island and the importance of the star in creating a good atmopshere on the set

03:30

Ricardo Montalban on the opening sequence of Fantasy Island

01:27

Ricardo Montalban on the Fantasy Island character "Tattoo" and actor Herve Villechaize

02:18

Ricardo Montalban on his ads for Chrysler's Cordoba

01:22

Ricardo Montalban on the opening sequence of Fantasy Island

01:27

Ricardo Montalban on his Emmy-winning performance as an American Indian in How the West was Won

03:54

Ricardo Montalban on playing his characters with dignity

01:12

Ricardo Montalban on the founding of Nosotros

10:36

Ricardo Montalban on the portrayal of Mexicans in film and television

04:09

Ricardo Montalban on Gene Lockhart's advice to him about maintaining an acting career

01:51

Ricardo Montalban on his Emmy-winning performance as an American Indian in How the West was Won

03:54

Ricardo Montalban on playing his characters with dignity

01:12

Ricardo Montalban on the founding of Nosotros

10:36

Ricardo Montalban on his acting training 

09:49

Ricardo Montalban on the way of doing exposition on Fantasy Island

01:16

Ricardo Montalban on Gene Lockhart's advice to him about maintaining an acting career

01:51

Ricardo Montalban on the last day of shooting Fantasy Island and the importance of the star in creating a good atmopshere on the set

02:22

Ricardo Montlaban on his advice to aspiring actors

01:36

Ricardo Montalban on the Fantasy Island character "Tattoo" and actor Herve Villechaize

02:18

Ricardo Montalban on Herve Villechaize's departure from Fantasy Island

04:59