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Not ready to say goodbye to Ricardo Montalban

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  • Mike Forman •
  • Originally published January 17, 2009 at 11:14 p.m., updated January 17, 2009 at 11:14 p.m.

"Ah, Kirk, my old friend, do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish best served cold? It is very cold in space."

In an acting career that spanned about 60 years, Ricardo Montalban created many memorable characters and made them his own.

A lot of folks hold him dear for his portrayal of "Mr. Roarke" in the TV classic series "Fantasy Island." Dressed in his white dinner jacket, a toast glass in his hand, he would weekly greet his guests with, "I am your host, Mr. Roarke. Welcome to Fantasy Island."

Then he'd proceed to use whatever angelic magic it was that he had to somehow grant his guests their fondest desires.

There were the timeless commercials he made for - I think it was the Chrysler LeBaron automobile. He'd talk smoothly, as only he could, about the car's luxury features, including the seats of "rich Corinthian leather."

But what I'll always remember him for was his portrayal of the villainous Khan in the second Star Trek movie. His hatred for Capt. Kirk of the starship Enterprise was so convincing, I could feel it in my bones.

"He tasks me," he told his top lieutenant among the genetically engineered super people he led, "He tasks me and I shall have him."

Even when Kirk bested him in a fight featuring phasers and photon torpedoes, he wouldn't give up. He brought out a super weapon sure to blow up the enterprise. "From Hell's heart I stab at thee," he quoted from Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. "For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

Of course, Kirk and the Enterprise crew escaped, but the reason I believe that movie was the best of the entire Star Trek series of films is because of Ricardo Montalban's performance.

Mr. Montalban, who made a name in Mexican movies before being brought to Hollywood back in the 1940s, passed away Wednesday at the age of 88. A horse-riding accident had left him in constant pain with a spinal injury for years before his death.

Yet he continued to act, in serious roles and in comedy, like "Naked Gun," which gave him a chance to laugh at himself.

Secretly, I always hoped there would be another Star Trek movie with Khan, explaining that he had somehow escaped at the end of Star Trek II. But no such film was to be.

Too bad, too. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Khan.

And I bet many of us weren't ready to say goodbye to a gifted actor named Ricardo Montalban.

Jim Bishop is a senior editor for the Advocate. Leave him a message at 361-574-1210 or jbishop@vicad.com.



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