Editing Ricardo Montalbán (section)

===''Fantasy Island'' and ''Star Trek II''===
[[File:Ricardo Montalban Herve Villechaize Fantasy Island 1977.JPG|thumb|upright|Ricardo Montalbán as Mr. Roarke and [[Hervé Villechaize]] as Tattoo in a publicity still for the television film ''Return to Fantasy Island'']]
Montalbán's best-known television role was that of Mr. Roarke on the television series ''[[Fantasy Island]]'', which he played from 1977 until 1984. For a while, the series was one of the most popular on television, and his character as well as that of his sidekick, Tattoo (played by [[Hervé Villechaize]]), became popular icons.

Another of his well-known roles was that of [[Khan Noonien Singh]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (1982), in which he reprised a role that he had originated in the episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' titled "[[Space Seed]]" (1967). Early rumors suggested Montalbán wore prosthetic muscles on his chest during filming of ''Star Trek II'' to appear more muscular. Director [[Nicholas Meyer]] replied that even in his sixties, Montalbán, who had a vigorous training regimen, was "one strong cookie", and that his real chest was seen on film. Khan's costume was specifically designed to display Montalbán's physique. 

His performance as Khan was widely praised. Critic [[Christopher Null]] called Khan the "greatest role of Montalbán's career".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/4a70265ecf80030388256e2500834f36/3f2427e0a8050d9b88256c05000e83e4?OpenDocument|title=''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''|author=Christopher Null|author-link=Christopher Null|date=July 28, 2002|publisher=[[Filmcritic.com]]|access-date=December 4, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630115543/http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/4a70265ecf80030388256e2500834f36/3f2427e0a8050d9b88256c05000e83e4?OpenDocument|archive-date=June 30, 2012}}</ref> ''New Yorker'' critic [[Pauline Kael]] said Montalbán's performance as Khan "was the only validation he has ever had of his power to command the big screen".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.metroactive.com/metro/01.14.09/film-moviesnews-0902.html|newspaper=Metroactive|first=Richard|last=von Busack|title=Ricardo Montalban Remembered|date=February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429080022/http://www.metroactive.com/metro/01.14.09/film-moviesnews-0902.html|archive-date=April 29, 2014|url-status=dead}}<!-- has full Kael quote --></ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' wrote how this type of film was "only as good as its villain" and Montalbán's decision to avoid [[overacting]] and instead play the character as motivated by "deeply wounded pride" inspired a measure of sympathy in the audience.<ref name="ebert-rev">{{cite web|author=Ebert, Roger|date=January 1, 1982|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19820101/REVIEWS/201010345/1023|title=Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|access-date=September 13, 2008|author-link=Roger Ebert|archive-date=September 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916105635/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19820101%2FREVIEWS%2F201010345%2F1023|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Montalbán agreed to take the role for a significant pay cut, since by his own admission, he relished reprising the role, and his only regret was that he and [[William Shatner]] never interacted – the characters never meet face to face, except through video communication – for their scenes were filmed several months apart to accommodate Montalbán's schedule for ''Fantasy Island''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Muñoz|first=Lorenza|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-montalban15-2009jan15,0,4099069,full.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119083551/http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-montalban15-2009jan15,0,4099069,full.story|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2009|access-date=April 18, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 15, 2009|title=Ricardo Montalban dies at 88; 'Fantasy Island' actor}}</ref> When, much later, Montalbán guest-starred in the ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode "[[McStroke]]" as a genetically engineered cow, his character made several references to his role as Khan, and similar references were made in his role as Armando Guitierrez on the animated series ''[[Freakazoid!]]''. After a cameo in ''[[Cannonball Run II]]'' (1984), Montalbán had a guest role in ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' which led to a regular role in its spin-off ''[[The Colbys]]''.

Montalbán played the villain in ''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!]]'' (1988) and guest-starred in ''[[B.L. Stryker]]''; ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''; ''[[Hearts Are Wild]]''; and ''[[The Golden Palace]]''.