Two major loses in the film and television industry ... Patrick McGoohan, 80, star of the 1967 The Prisoner series died Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospital following a brief illness. Best known for his role as Number Six in the iconic British series The Prisoner, McGoohan not only played the lead but developed the concept and wrote and directed several episodes. The Prisoner ran for just one season with 17 episodes and later this year AMC will remake a miniseries based on the cult classic. During his career, McGoohan won two Emmy Awards, 16 years apart, guest starring in two episodes of Columbo in 1974 and 1990. He also made several memorable appearances in movies such as the warden in the 1979 film Escape From Alcatraz, King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Braveheart and as the judge in the 1996 drama A Time to Kill. McGoohan is survived by his wife, three daughters and five grandchildren. Ricardo Montalban, 88, died...
- 1/15/2009
- by cynthia@cynopsis.com
- Cynopsis.com/
Ricardo Montalban, the dashing Mexican actor who gained fame for two iconic television roles -- that of the vengeful Khan in Star Trek and the mysterious Mr. Roark in Fantasy Island -- died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles; he was 88. No cause of death was given, though it was known that Montalban had suffered from complications after undergoing 9 1/2 hours of spinal surgery in 1993 to alleviate an injury he suffered in 1951 while filming the western Across the Wide Missouri. The surgery, however, did not resolve his medical problems, and he found himself primarily confined to a wheelchair. A career in Mexican films led to Hollywood and an MGM contract in 1946, and he was cast in a number of Esther Williams films (his American feature debut was in 1946's Fiesta opposite the swimming star) as well as westerns and dramas opposite such stars as Lana Turner and Jane Powell.
After leaving MGM in the mid-fifties, Montalban appeared on numerous television shows, though it was his singular turn as the villainous Khan Noonien Singh, one of a group of genetically engineered "supermen" in the "Space Seed" episode of Star Trek for which he became most remembered, and he reprised that role in the 1982 box office hit Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. By the time that film was released, Montalban had also become famous to a new generation of television viewers as the enigmatic Mr. Rourke, the host of the ABC Saturday night staple Fantasy Island (1978-1984), where he would preside over cautionary tales of those who wished to have their most desired fantasies fulfilled. (Around the same time, Montalban did a number of commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba, where his exhortations of the cars "rich Corinthian leather" would become an affectionate pop culture reference.)
After his role as Khan, Montalban continued to appear in television (most notably on the Dynasty spin-off The Colbys) and in film (as the villain of the comedy The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!) until his surgery curtailed his acting career. Montalban continued to work, however, appearing in all three of the Spy Kids films and doing voice work for the television shows Kim Possible and Family Guy. Montalban's wife, Georgiana Young (the younger sister of actress Loretta Young) died in 2007; the two had been married since 1944 and had four children.
After leaving MGM in the mid-fifties, Montalban appeared on numerous television shows, though it was his singular turn as the villainous Khan Noonien Singh, one of a group of genetically engineered "supermen" in the "Space Seed" episode of Star Trek for which he became most remembered, and he reprised that role in the 1982 box office hit Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. By the time that film was released, Montalban had also become famous to a new generation of television viewers as the enigmatic Mr. Rourke, the host of the ABC Saturday night staple Fantasy Island (1978-1984), where he would preside over cautionary tales of those who wished to have their most desired fantasies fulfilled. (Around the same time, Montalban did a number of commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba, where his exhortations of the cars "rich Corinthian leather" would become an affectionate pop culture reference.)
After his role as Khan, Montalban continued to appear in television (most notably on the Dynasty spin-off The Colbys) and in film (as the villain of the comedy The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!) until his surgery curtailed his acting career. Montalban continued to work, however, appearing in all three of the Spy Kids films and doing voice work for the television shows Kim Possible and Family Guy. Montalban's wife, Georgiana Young (the younger sister of actress Loretta Young) died in 2007; the two had been married since 1944 and had four children.
- 1/14/2009
- IMDb News
Ricardo Montalban, who became a household name for his performance as the wish-granting Mr. Roarke on "Fantasy Island," died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. The actor was 88.
Montalban's death was announced at a meeting of the city council by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. Garcetti did not give a cause of death.
Although he was best known as the charming Roarke on ABC's 1978-84 hit series, Montalban was also a gifted character actor who won an Emmy for his portrayal of a Sioux chief in the miniseries "How the West Was Won."
Montalban's suave manner and patriarchal dignity became his trademarks, and for a period in his late career, he served as the TV pitchman for Chrysler. His dignified intonation -- "rich Corinthian leather" with his regal rolling of the "R's" -- caught viewers' favor and was widely repeated.
Montalban could also play the most dastardly villains,...
Montalban's death was announced at a meeting of the city council by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. Garcetti did not give a cause of death.
Although he was best known as the charming Roarke on ABC's 1978-84 hit series, Montalban was also a gifted character actor who won an Emmy for his portrayal of a Sioux chief in the miniseries "How the West Was Won."
Montalban's suave manner and patriarchal dignity became his trademarks, and for a period in his late career, he served as the TV pitchman for Chrysler. His dignified intonation -- "rich Corinthian leather" with his regal rolling of the "R's" -- caught viewers' favor and was widely repeated.
Montalban could also play the most dastardly villains,...
- 1/14/2009
- by By Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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