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Ricardo Montalban dies at 88; 'Fantasy Island' actor


Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times


Montalban suffered from a painful spinal condition in his old age, but remained active in trying to raise the profile of Latinos in Hollywood.


He was often cast -- and stereotyped -- as a Latin lover and later was best known as Mr. Roarke of 'Fantasy Island.' He was respected for his work to improve the roles and image of other Latino actors.


By Lorenza Muñoz January 15, 2009


Ricardo Montalban, the suave leading man who was one of the first Mexican-born actors to make it big in Hollywood and who was best known for his role as Mr. Roarke on TV's "Fantasy Island," has died. He was 88.Montalban died Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home of complications related to old age, said his son-in-law, Gilbert Smith.


Within the entertainment industry, Montalban was widely respected for his efforts to create opportunities for Latinos, although he and others believed that his activism hurt his career. In 1970, he founded the nonprofit Nosotros Foundation to improve the image and increase employment of Latinos in Hollywood."He paved the way for being outspoken about the images and roles that Latinos were playing in movies," said Luis Reyes, co-author of "Hispanics in Hollywood" (2000).On Wednesday, actor Edward James Olmos called Montalban "one of the true giants of arts and culture."


"He was a stellar artist and a consummate person and performer with a tremendous understanding of culture . . . and the ability to express it in his work," Olmos told The Times.



Montalban was already a star of Mexican movies in the 1940s when MGM cast him as a bullfighter opposite Esther Williams in "Fiesta" and put him under contract. He would go on to appear alongside such movie greats as Clark Gable and Lana Turner.



When major film roles dried up for him in the 1970s, he turned to stage and eventually TV, where he was familiar to millions as the mysterious host whose signature line, “Welcome to Fantasy Island,” opened the hit ABC show that aired from 1978 to 1984.



While "Fantasy Island" was renewing Montalban's career and giving him financial stability, he also won an Emmy for his performance as Chief Satangkai in the 1978 ABC miniseries "How the West Was Won."



In the 1970s and '80s, Montalban was also familiar to TV viewers as a commercial spokesman for Chrysler. He was later widely spoofed for his silky allusion to the “soft Corinthian leather” of the Chrysler Cordoba, although no such leather existed.



While making "Fantasy Island," Montalban also gave one of his best movie performances -- as Khan Noonien Singh in the “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982), a follow-up to a beloved 1967 “Star Trek” television episode that also featured Montalban.



New Yorker magazine critic Pauline Kael said Montalban's performance as Khan "was the only validation he has ever had of his power to command the big screen."



Born Nov. 25, 1920, in Mexico City, Montalban was the youngest of four children of Castilian Spaniards who had immigrated in 1906 to the city, where Montalban's father owned a dry goods store.Montalban came to Los Angeles as a teenager with his oldest brother, Carlos, who had lived in the city and worked for the studios.



"I felt as if I knew California already, because of the movies," Montalban said in "Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds," the 1980 autobiography he wrote with Bob Thomas.Montalban studied English at Fairfax High School, where an MGM talent scout noticed him in a student play. He was offered a screen test, but his brother advised him against taking it and took him on a business trip to New York City.The handsome Montalban soon found himself the star of a short film that was made to play on a screen atop a jukebox. That three-minute movie, which debuted at the Hurricane Bar in midtown Manhattan, led to small roles in plays.



When his mother's illness took him back to Mexico, Montalban got a one-line role in a parody of "The Three Musketeers," starring Cantinflas. Around that time, he also met Georgiana Belzer, a model and Loretta Young's sister, whom he married in 1944. She died in 2007.



Montalban intended to stay in Mexico, where his film career was taking off, but MGM wanted him for "Fiesta." In the 1947 musical, he had a memorable dance scene with a young Cyd Charisse."



Fiesta" led to a contract at MGM, where he had a friendly rivalry with Fernando Lamas -- later Williams' husband off-screen -- as the studio's resident "Latin lovers." Bill Murray immortalized the duel between the two men with his classic "Saturday Night Live" skit, "Quien es mas macho, Fernando Lamas o Ricardo Montalban?"

David "Fathead" Newman(February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009)

David “Fathead" Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24, 1933. His family soon moved to Dallas, where they settled and David stayed through graduating Lincoln High School.

After school, David found gigs in local bands. He received a scholarship to Jarvis Christian College where he studied theology and music. After two years of college, David decided to go on the road full time with Buster Smith (Charlie Parker's mentor). The band played lots of one-nighters and dance halls, touring Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and sometimes California. On one of those tours, David met Ray Charles. Ray was working as a sideman with another group on the night's roster. They immediately bonded, both musically and as friends. When Ray started his own band, he called on David to be part of his group. In 1954, David began a twelve year association with the Ray Charles Band. David began as the baritone player and soon became the star tenor soloist.

In 1959, David recorded his first album as a leader titled, “Fathead: Ray Charles Presents 'Fathead'" on Atlantic records. It included Newman's dramatic and now famous rendition of Hard Times. He returned to Dallas for a short time and led his own bands. Then he moved to New York City where his career took off in many directions. Newman recorded many albums for Atlantic records, as well as Warner Brothers and Prestige. During this time in NYC, David gigged with Lee Morgan, Kenny Drew Sr., Billy Higgins, Kenny Dorham and so many other of the great jazz musicians hanging out on the New York scene. He gigged around the East Coast with his own quartet and soon began touring Europe and Japan as a leader.

As a studio musician he was very busy working on lots of recording projects with the likes of Herbie Mann, Aretha Franklin, Hank Crawford, Aaron Neville, to name a few. After meeting at a studio session, David joined forces with Herbie Mann during “The Family of Mann" era. Cal Tjader (later Roy Ayres) were part of this outstanding group. It was now time for David Newman to focus on his personal choices and let the public know more about the music that he chose to play. In 1980, Newman, determined to pursue his own musical identity, recorded several mainstream jazz albums for the Muse label.

Artists such as Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, Louis Hayes, and other fine NY musicians, helped round out the rhythm sections. David returned to Atlantic Records in the late eighties to record several albums. One of he recordings was done live at the Village Vanguard in NYC, featuring Stanley Turrentine and Hank Crawford. Newman's next recordings were on the Kokopelli label. This was a new label owned by Herbie Mann. David recorded a beautiful CD in tribute to Duke Ellington, titled Mr. Gentle, Mr. Cool. David produced the next one on Kokopelli, titled Under A Woodstock Moon. The late 1990's brought David to the High Note label where he has recorded six successful CDs. The most recent, I Remember Brother Ray, was released in January 2005 and became the #1 Most Played Jazz Album nationwide. In 2004, the academy Award-winning biopic "Ray" featured Newman as a key figure in Ray Charles' life. ...Actor Bokeem Woodbine portrayed Newman in the film.

David Newman has appeared on many television shows including Saturday Night Live, David Sanborn's Night Music, David Letterman, and various featured news segments. David appeared in Robert Altman's film Kansas City and did a national tour with the Kansas City Orchestra, for Verve Records. David “Fathead” Newman succumbed to pancreatic cancer yesterday, Tuesday January 20, 2009. He was 75.

From the Los Angeles Times PASSINGS

January 21, 2009 Russell Zink Father in 'Hardy Boys'

Russell Zink, 95, who under the stage name Russ Conway appeared in scores of films and television shows in the 1950s, '60s and '70s but was perhaps best known for playing Fenton Hardy, the father of Frank and Joe Hardy on "The Hardy Boys," which was part of Walt Disney's "The Mickey Mouse Club" TV program, died Jan 12 in Laguna Woods, family members said.

Zink was born April 25, 1913, in Brandon, Canada. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1937 at UCLA. Years later, he earned a master's in theater arts from UCLA and a teaching credential. During World War II, he was in an Army special services unit. For several months, he was entertainment director at Ft. Ord before serving in the Philippines and, at the end of the war, in Japan, where he worked as a producer and announcer for Armed Forces Radio.

He started acting in Hollywood in 1947. His film appearances included "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949), "War of the Worlds" (1953), "Love Me Tender" (1956) and "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" (1962). His television guest spots included roles on "The Fugitive," "Mod Squad," "Barnaby Jones," "Mission Impossible," "Sea Hunt" and "The Untouchables." The Hardy Boys series, which ran on "The Mickey Mouse Club" in 1956 and 1957, featured Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk as the sleuthing teenage brothers and was based on the series of novels aimed at youths.