Ricardo Montalbán

Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG ( Spanish pronunciation: [montalˈβan]; 25 November 1920 – 14 January 2009) was a Mexican actor. His career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for many performances in a variety of genres, from crime and drama to musicals and comedy. Among his notable roles was Armando in the Planet of the Apes film series from the early 1970s, wherein he starred in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). Ricardo Montalbán played Mr. Roarke on the television series Fantasy Island (1977–1984), and Khan Noonien Singh in both the original Star Trek series (1967) and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). He won an Emmy Award for his role in the miniseries How the West Was Won (1978), and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 1993. Montalbán was professionally active into his 80s, when he provided voices for animated films and commercials, and appeared as Grandfather Valentin in the Spy Kids franchise. During the 1970s and '80s he was a spokesman in automobile advertisements for Chrysler, including those in which he extolled the "rich Corinthian leather" used for the Cordoba's interior.