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Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán Merino (born November 25 , 1920 in Mexico City ) is a suave United States-based Mexican Television , Theatre and Film Actor . EARLY LIFE His elder brother, Carlos Montalbán , was instrumental in bringing Ricardo to the United States. Also an actor, Carlos is best-known for portraying El Exigente ('''The Demanding One'''), a coffee export agent, in a series of television commercial for Savarin Coffee in the 1960s and 1970s. When Montalbán first arrived in Los Angeles, California , he had no knowledge of the English Language , and was initially rejected from Fairfax High School in West Hollywood, California . He attended Belmont High School in downtown Los Angeles and studied English intensely for hours each day after school. Four months later, Montalbán was accepted to the "more academically challenging" Fairfax High School and carried on the development of his language skills. It was at Fairfax High that Montalbán was first discovered by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives while he was playing the lead role in the school play, '' Tovarich ''. CAREER RISE Montalbán's first major role was the 1949 film '' Border Incident '', with George Murphy . During the 1950s and 1960s he was one of the few working Hispanic actors. Many of his early roles were in Westerns in which he played character parts, usually as an Indian or the Latin lover. In 1950, he was cast against type, playing a Barnstable Cape Cod cop in the Film Noir '' Mystery Street ''. INTERNATIONAL FAME In 1975, he was chosen as the television spokesman for the new '' Chrysler Cordoba ''. The car was successful and heavily advertised; his mellifluous delivery of a line praising its "rich Corinthian Leather " upholstery became famous and was much parodied. One of his most well-known roles was that of Mr. Roarke in the television series '''' called '' Space Seed ''. Aside from '' Fantasy Island '', Montalbán is probably best remembered for his portrayals of Khan in Star Trek television and film works. He has appeared in many diverse films including '' The Naked Gun '' and two films from the '' Planet Of The Apes '' series. He also appeared in the second '' Spy Kids '' film in 2002, and the third one in 2003, as the kids' grandfather. Over the course of his long career, he has played roles or guest starred in dozens of television series. In several interviews and public speeches, Montalbán has described "the five stages of the actor", which are as follows:
From 1993 - 1994, Montalbán was confined to a wheelchair and lives in constant pain. Reports differ as to the exact cause; one source says it is the result of nine and a half hours of spinal surgery to repair an injury he received making '' Across The Wide Missouri '' in 1951, while another says he was left immobilized by partial paralysis after three operations for a congenital condition affecting his spine. He married Georgiana Young (née Georgiana Belzer), youngest half-sister of the late film stars Polly Ann Young , Sally Blane , and the more famous Loretta Young . Loretta died at the Montalbáns' home in Santa Monica, California in 2000 after a bout with cancer. He and his wife married in 1944 , and they have 4 children. They are devout, Christ-centered Catholics. In October, 2003, Montalbán received a lifetime achievement award from Catholic Media Associates for his "tenacity and faith" that Montalbán said "has seen me through my many years in entertainment." Ricardo Montalbán has retained his Mexican citizenship, and is a permanent resident of the United States only. FILMOGRAPHY episode ''Space Seed''.]] film ''''.]] ''.]]
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