Ricardo Montalban
Actor
About This Interview
Ricardo Montalban (1920-2008) was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Century City, CA. Montalban talked about his desire to keep his name despite the Hollywood pressure to change it to "Ricky Martin". He talked about appearing in one of the "soundies" of the 1940s— He's A Latin From Staten Island. He related his early courting by Hollywood and his eventual signing with MGM. He discussed the Latin stereotype of the Hollywood era and how he wasn't cast in Mexican roles but rather more "exotic" South American "types." He described touring the country to promote movies, in the studios' attempt to steer the public from television. He spoke about studying acting in the early 1940s with Stanislavsky disciple Seki Sano. He underscored the importance of his work with Sano, who taught him about truth in acting. He described his appearances on several "live" dramatic television anthologies of the 1950s, including Climax! and The Loretta Young Show. He discussed 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 spoke in great detail about the part for which he is most associated, "Mr. Roarke" on Fantasy Island. For this series, he described Aaron Spelling's concept, the use of Roarke in setting the stage for each episode, and the challenges of production. He looked 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 described the organizations goals and how its founding caused him to be blacklisted temporarily from the industry. He also spoke about another of his well-known appearances on television— as spokesman for Chrysler Cordobas in commercials, forever associated with their "rich Corinthian leather." The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on August 13, 2002.
Related To This Video
Featured Content
Video clip: Ricardo Montalban appears on I've Got a Secret where he acts out American idioms for the panel (airdate: August 7, 1957)
YouTube video player - HTML5 compatible.
Highlights
Ricardo Montalban on the portrayal of Mexicans in film and television
Clip begins at: 18:41, Duration: 04m 09s
Ricardo Montalban on his role of Khan in Star Trek and in the feature film Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
Clip begins at: 20:37, Duration: 05m 25s
Ricardo Montalban on his Fantasy Island character "Mr. Roarke"
Clip begins at: 20:59, Duration: 02m 02s
Ricardo Montalban on the founding of Nosotros
Clip begins at: 12:30, Duration: 10m 36s
Ricardo Montlaban on his advice to aspiring actors
Clip begins at: 23:10, Duration: 01m 36s
Interview
- Part 1
- On his early years growing up in Mexico
Clip begins at: 0:21 - On discovering his passion for theater; coming to the United States, and being signed to a contract at MGM
Clip begins at: 05:22 - On working exclusively in films and, after his contract at MGM was over, going into television
Clip begins at: 12:26 - On his first work in television; the portrayal of Mexicans in film and television; and some of his early live television roles on Climax and Playhouse 90
Clip begins at: 17:11 - Part 2
- On losing his contract at MGM and his first work in live television
Clip begins at: 0:23 - On his acting training with Seki Sano and his approach to the craft
Clip begins at: 03:59 - On substituting for his sister-in-law Loretta Young on The Loretta Young Show
Clip begins at: 13:48 - On co-starring in the feature film Fiesta
Clip begins at: 18:52 - On his role of Khan in Star Trek and in the feature film Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
Clip begins at: 20:26 - On the difficulty of exposition (using an example from Fantasy Island); advice he received from Gene Lockhart
Clip begins at: 26:44 - Part 3
- On his roles in a Here's Lucy episode, Hallmark Hall of Fame's The Fantasticks, and Alice Through the Looking Glass
Clip begins at: 0:31 - On his Emmy-winning role as an American Indian in How the West was Won
Clip begins at: 05:02 - On guest-starring on The Defenders
Clip begins at: 10:17 - On guest-starring on Bonanza and the need to bring dignity to his characters
Clip begins at: 12:24 - On starring in Fantasy Island, the genesis of the series, his conception of "Mr. Roarke", and working with Herve Villechaize
Clip begins at: 17:12 - Part 4
- On Herve Villechaize's departure from Fantasy Island and ending the show after seven seasons
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On the production aspects of Fantasy Island
Clip begins at: 06:37 - On directing two episodes of Fantasy Island
Clip begins at: 13:19 - On the guest stars of Fantasy Island, the locations where the show was filmed, his favorite episodes, the shooting of the final episode, and a star's role in creating a good atmosphere on the set
Clip begins at: 16:40 - Part 5
- On the opening sequence of Fantasy Island
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On his role of "Zach Powers" on The Colbys
Clip begins at: 02:05 - On his roles in Heaven Help Us and Chicago Hope; and the difficulty of getting parts later in his career
Clip begins at: 06:04 - On his ads for Chrysler's Cordoba
Clip begins at: 20:45 - On the founding of Nosotros; his ads for the Chrysler Cordoba
Clip begins at: 12:30 - On his advice to aspiring actors and his thoughts on fame
Clip begins at: 23:10


Not just a great actor, but a true gentleman. They don't make them like this anymore, sadly.
A wonderful interview.
Fantastic actor and genuine man. Thank you for interviewing him and making it available to us.
Ricardo M was a groundbreaker and a legend in entertainment. Thanks to you for interviewing him before he died.
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