Slashdot Log In
Ricardo Montalban Dead At 88
Posted by
samzenpus
on Wed Jan 14, 2009 07:05 PM
from the welcome-to-fantasy-island dept.
from the welcome-to-fantasy-island dept.
DesScorp writes "Ricardo Montalban, immortalized as Khan in the Star Trek franchise, is dead at age 88, passing at his Los Angeles home. Montalban had a long and successful career on television and film. The voice of Rich Corinthian Leather is silenced, but we still have the memories."
Related Stories
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Obligatory. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Obligatory. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Obligatory. (Score:5, Insightful)
At 60+, Mantalban was still built like a god with big slabs of muscle.
OTH, the pudgier Shatner has built a wonderful successful career of fine roles since star trek.
So it depends on how you are scoring.
Parent
Re:Obligatory. (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Obligatory. (Score:5, Informative)
The chest was not fake. Numerous anecdotes from Nicholas Meyer to Harve Bennet to the makeup guys will vouch for how cut that guy was.
Parent
Re:Obligatory. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Obligatory. (Score:5, Funny)
The story about Khan's chest is true. And by "true," I mean "false" - it's all lies. But they're entertaining lies. And in the end, isn't that the real truth?
The answer... is no. I'm Leonard Nimoy.
Parent
Re:Ricardo vs. Shatner (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, Kahn was a genetic superman.
Parent
PATRICK MCGOOHAN (Score:5, Informative)
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan [latimes.com]
Parent
Montalban! (Score:5, Funny)
From the day he took his white suit off
And left the midget far behind,
He started taking steroids
Froze himself in time.
Now he's slept the sleep of centuries,
A superman from the past
From hell's heart he will stab at thee
and get eugenic on your ass!
He'll put things in your body,
and lay your mind to waste.
Quote a line from Milton,
and never forget your face.
'Cuz he's a villain cruel as Vader
and as merciless as Ming.
He's as pissed off as a Predator
it's Khan Noonien Sing!
Phaser-fest, prosthetic chest
it's all I wanna see
Some may say it's fake,
but it looks real enough to me!
It began on episode 24
On a ship called Botany Bay
And they marooned him on Ceti Alpha 5
But we knew he'd be back someday
'Cuz he's too big for television
They knew it even then
So they put him in the movie Star Trek II,
And they should have brought him back for Star Trek X
Montalban! (Ricardo)
Montalban! (Ricardo)
Wrath of Khan (miamo)
Montalban!
Star ship fights. Parasites.
It's all I wanna see
You may call him Mr. Roarke,
but he's always Khan to me.
Montalban! (Ricardo)
Montalban! (Ricardo)
Wrath of Khan (miamo)
Montalban!
(From Warp 11.)
Parent
Re:Montalban! (Score:5, Informative)
Phaser-fest, prosthetic chest
Actually, according to Nimoy in "I am Spock", that wasn't a prosthetic, it was all Montalban.
Parent
He was a dancer (Score:4, Informative)
Montalban always prided himself on his physical conditioning. Even though his injury prevented him from continuing to dance full time he stayed in top shape.
Parent
Re:Montalban! (Score:5, Interesting)
Warp 11 is a real Trek parody band that has been around for many years, so yes, that's a real song you can buy. They're based out of my current city of residence, Sacramento, California.
Parent
Re:Montalban! (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:Obligatory. (Score:5, Funny)
http://khaaan.com/ [khaaan.com]
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
WTF?!?! It never ceases to amaze me that religious zealots will twist anything into propaganda for their zeitgeist. Guess what.... maybe your wrong too. Dont believe EVERYTHING you read.
From Hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.
Re:Good riddance. (Score:5, Funny)
From Hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.
Very, very apt. Well done.
(Though I have to confess my first thought was not "KHAAAAAN!" but "The plane, boss! The plane!" Does that mean I have to turn in my geek card?)
Parent
Re:Good riddance. (Score:5, Funny)
Nothing like a family tree with no branches!!!
Parent
Re:Good riddance. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That's awesome -- really awesome. If you ever wondered why such people are called trolls, you need only recall the parent posting. Who in his self-righteous mind hangs out on Slashdot? This guy must really have been living under a bridge, waiting for an opportunity like this.
Dude, I hope they have bridges in Hell.
Mmm, copypasta. (Score:5, Informative)
Hilarious to watch [blogspot.com]. Seriously, you can't come up with anything better than the guy whose catchphrases are "God hates fags", "God hates America", and "Priests rape boys"?
I thought Christianity was about love. This guy is all about hate.
The saddest part of this is that it's not even about Ricardo Montalban, It's about George Carlin. Montalban was a devout Roman catholic [catholicweb.com].
Parent
Re:Mmm, copypasta. (Score:5, Interesting)
Was wondering about that. That post was just out of nowhere. I remember infomercials where Montalban was extolling the virtues of some jewelry (cross) with a grain of sand from some place in the holy lands.
I too had always heard he was a devoutly, and humble, religious man. At least the Pope thought so as he was giving him the highest honor a non clergyman could get, the Knight Commander of St. Gregory.
That's what I appreciated about him. Deeply religious without a shred of Holier Than Thou Art(tm) crap. Walked the walk, but did not talk the talk. A rare gentleman with integrity, class, and a lot of charm.
The world did lose something special today. RIP.
Parent
Re:Mmm, copypasta. (Score:5, Funny)
Well, that settles it, doesn't it? Clearly the Pope agreed that Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan was the best of the Trek movies.
Parent
Re:Good riddance. (Score:4, Insightful)
Ah, but if you want to bible-thump, how do you judge Ricardo's eternal destiny? How do you know he did not receive Yeshua Hamaschiach (Jesus the Messiah) as his Lord and Savior with his gasping breath? Aren't you judging unrighteously when you state that Ricardo is now in Hell?
You remind me of Westboro Baptist Church (godhatesfags.com), where a message of hatred, works-based theology, and judgement is preached rather than Yeshua's (Jesus') message of redemption, love, and forgiveness.
I know you're only trolling, but who are you to judge someone's eternal destiny? For all we know, Adolf Hitler could be with Christ at this moment, if he repented with his dying breath. That scenario would not negate God's sovereignty and justice; after all, Yeshua (Jesus) paid for ALL sins when He was crucified. Adonai (the LORD) sent His only son to REDEEM the world, not judge it. (FWIW I suspect Hitler is pretty much past well done and well into the crispy stage at this point but it's not my place to say definitively that is the case -- after all, I am not God and neither are you)
Westboro Baptist Church is not a Christian congregation by any means. They twist scripture into a message of hatred, unrighteous judgement, works, and racism. It's the KKK under a different garb.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Not to mention Señor Senior, Sr. on Kim Possible.
Re:Obligatory. (Score:4, Interesting)
And the voice of a wizard in my kids' Dora the Explorer DVD's.
Parent
Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
It looks like (Score:3, Funny)
YEEAAAHHHH
But, but.... (Score:5, Funny)
...I'm not dead. See? I'm posting on Slashdot.
Re:But, but.... (Score:4, Funny)
They're not talking about you... they're talking about KHAAAAAAAAAN [slashdot.org], who obviously is dead:
Parent
Re:But, but.... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:But, but.... (Score:4, Funny)
...I'm not dead. See? I'm posting on Slashdot.
Yeah but like a poor marksman you keep... missing... the.... ... .... target.
Parent
Armando (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll always remember him as Armando from the third and fourth "Planet of the Apes" movies.
Also... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Also... (Score:4, Insightful)
I was a little taken aback that Montalban made the front page here, but McGoohan didn't. I advise everyone to go to the firehose and rememdy the situation.
Parent
Eulogy from the Pulpit in the Church of Star Trek (Score:5, Funny)
From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!
For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!
Priest: And thus spake the Great Devil Kahn at our saviour, The Kirk. Here endeth the lesson.
Congregation: More power to the engines!
Another big loss (Score:5, Funny)
DeForest Kelley: Dead. James Doohan: Dead. Majel Barret: Dead. And now him.
Yet we have to endure that sword of Damocles that Shatner just might sing again.
Probably the most significant Latino in Star Trek (Score:5, Interesting)
I remember, when The Wrath of Kahn came out, watching an interview with Mr. Montalban. He talked about how his success as an actor (he also had the very famous role as Mr. Roarke in Fantasy Island) made his role one of the first really successful Latino roles in Hollywood (There was also, before him, Desi Arnaz in I Love Lucy, whose success resulted in Desilu Productions who later on produced Star Trek). Of course, with such beautiful Latinas as Jessica Alba, Christina Aguilera, and Jennifer Lopez on the silver screen today, nobody thinks twice about a Latino having a title role, but it wasn't always that way.
Re:Probably the most significant Latino in Star Tr (Score:5, Informative)
Mr. Montalban was probably the most significant Latino in Star Trek
Well, there was Robert Beltran [wikipedia.org] whose parents were first generation Mexican immigrants. Of course I like to pretend that Voyager never existed so I'm going to agree with you that Montalban was the most significant Latino.
nobody thinks twice about a Latino having a title role, but it wasn't always that way.
Very true.
Parent
A sad day (Score:5, Informative)
Very Suspicious (Score:5, Funny)
Ricardo Montalban dies. Steve Jobs takes leave of absence.
Hmmm... has anyone ever seen them together?
Re:Very Suspicious (Score:5, Funny)
Ricardo Montalban dies. Steve Jobs takes leave of absence.
Hmmm... has anyone ever seen them together?
Yes, and the photos have made me millions in blackmail money.
Parent
Just some Wrath of Khan trivia (Score:5, Interesting)
(from wiki)
Kirk and Khan never confront each other face-to-face during the film; all of their interactions are over a viewscreen or through communicators, and the their scenes were filmed four months apart.
Montalban enjoyed making the film, and counted the role as a career highlight. His major complaint was that he was never face-to-face with Shatner for a scene. "I had to do my lines with the script girl, who, as you might imagine, sounded nothing like Bill [Shatner]," he explained.
He's dead, Jim. (Score:4, Informative)
Had to be said.
Patrick McGoohan Dead at 80 (Score:4, Informative)
I'm stunned that no one has posted about the passing of Patrick McGoohan, star of TV's Danger Man (Secret Agent in the U.S.), and the massive cult hit The Prisoner [wikipedia.org], which he also conceived, produced, wrote, and directed. I remember watching both of these series as a kid in the 60's, and I remain surprised that The Prisoner ran for only 17 episodes (it was conceived as a miniseries), and that the entirety of the series consists of the attempts of McGoohan's character, Number Six, to escape the Village; ascertain the identity of the mysterious Number 1, the person in charge; and above all, to retain his individuality and sanity. ("I am not a number - I am a free man!")
The Prisoneris considered one of the most groundbreaking original TV series of all time, and it's weird, mind-bending tales with elements of science fiction and allegory have had a profound influence. Patrick McGoohan died at his Los Angeles home after a short illness on the same day as Ricardo Montalbán.
Bit of trivia: McGoohan became the highest paid actor in the U.K after Danger Man became a hit, and was subsequently offered, and turned down, the roles of both James Bond and Simon Templar (The Saint). Said roles kick-started the careers of both Sean Connery and Roger Moore.
What about Planet of the Apes? (Score:5, Informative)
I am surprised everybody goes about Star Trek and forgets about his role in Planet of the Apes.
He plays an heroic character that dies defending the weak. I am sure he was very pleased about that since Latino actors didn't get positive roles in Hollywood for many years.
Re:No more Khan (Score:5, Funny)
And here we were thinking he'd return in a later sequel
That'd be pretty neat seeing as how they killed him off during his last appearance. I suppose they could go the Lucas route and write a prequel. Given the quality of entertainment these days I'd wager on Khan foiling Kirk's attempt to kill him by hiding in a fridge.
Parent
Re:No more Khan (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah but Spock got to transfer his katra first and actually had a body. Khan didn't have this ability and vaporized himself in an act of sheer spite.
I can't believe I'm arguing this point..... ;)
Parent
Re:Terrible news. (Score:4, Informative)
There, fixed that for you. Señor Montalbán was proud to be a Mexican and a Latino, and never applied for U.S. citizenship. He created the Nosotros Foundation in order to highlight the contributions of Latinos to the arts and entertainment and was active in Hispanic affairs throughout his life. I was saddened to learn that since 1993 he had been more or less confined to a wheelchair because of an old spinal injury which worsened as he aged (he had been thrown from a horse and trampled while filming in 1951). Both he and Patrick McGoohan will be sorely missed.
Parent