Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (/ˌmɒntəlˈbɑːn/ MON-təl-BAHN; Spanish: [montalˈβan]; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Montalbán was a spokesman for Chrysler for thirteen years, featured in their automotive commercials and advertisements, notably those in which he extolled the "rich Corinthian leather" used in the Cordoba's interior.

Montalbán was professionally active into his eighties, providing voices for animated films and commercials, and appearing as Grandfather Valentin in the Spy Kids franchise.

Montalban had the star role in Cadetes de la naval, Nosotros, and The Hour of Truth (all 1945), the latter a bullfighting drama also directed by Foster.

He had a dance number in the Frank Sinatra musical The Kissing Bandit (1948), then did a third film with Williams, Neptune's Daughter (1949), in which they dueted on "Baby It's Cold Outside".

[14] Montalbán's first leading role was in the film noir Border Incident (1949) with actor George Murphy, directed by Anthony Mann.

[14] The studio teamed him and Shelley Winters in My Man and I (1952) where he played a laborer under the direction of Wellman; it didn't sell well at the box office.

Montalbán returned to Italy for Desert Warrior (1957), then had his first role in an "A" Hollywood film for a number of years in Sayonara (1957), in which he played a Japanese dancer.

"[13] From 1957 to 1959, Montalbán starred in the Broadway musical Jamaica, singing several light-hearted calypso numbers opposite Lena Horne, which ran for 555 performances.

Montalbán could also be seen in Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960); the TV remake of Rashomon (1960) directed by Sidney Lumet; Rage of the Buccaneers (1961), an Italian swashbuckler in which Montalbán had a lead role alongside Vincent Price; Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962); The Reluctant Saint (1963) with Maximillian Schell; and Love is a Ball (1963) with Glenn Ford, playing a French duke.

He was the Native American leader Little Wolf in Cheyenne Autumn (1964) directed by John Ford, did the TV version of The Fantasticks (1964), and returned to Mexico to make ¡Buenas noches, año nuevo!

[23] He was mostly seen, though, on television in Alcoa Premiere, The Dick Powell Theatre, Ben Casey, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Lieutenant, The Great Adventure, Slattery's People, The Defenders, The Rogues, Burke's Law, Dr. Kildare, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..[24] Montalbán had supporting roles in The Money Trap (1965) with Ford, directed by Burt Kennedy, Madame X (1966) with Turner for producer Ross Hunter, and The Singing Nun (1966) with Debbie Reynolds at MGM.

"[17] Montalbán also starred in radio, such as on the internationally syndicated program Lobo del Mar (Seawolf), in which he was cast as the captain of a vessel that became part of some adventure at each port it visited.

He did the TV movies The Pigeon (1969), The Desperate Mission (1969) (playing Joaquin Murrieta), and Black Water Gold (1970), and had a supporting role in the big screen film version of Sweet Charity (1969).

The car became a successful model, and over the following several years, was heavily advertised; his mellifluous delivery of a line praising the "soft" or "rich Corinthian leather" upholstery of the car's interior, often misquoted as "fine Corinthian leather,” became famous and was much parodied, and Montalbán subsequently became a favorite subject of impersonators.

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.

[31] 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".

[32] 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.

[33] 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 in order to accommodate Montalbán's schedule for Fantasy Island.

The pain increased as he aged, and in 1993, he underwent over nine hours of spinal surgery that left his body below the waist impaired and requiring the use of mobility aids.

At one point during the development of the Disney animated film Lilo & Stitch (2002), Montalbán recorded voice lines for an alien member of a gang led by Stitch, then made to be an adult, naturally-born alien gang leader, using his performance as Khan in Star Trek II as basis.

After a story meeting in which the film's gang elements were entirely cut due to being perceived as superfluous to the plot, Montalbán's character and all his already-recorded voice lines were removed.

Minardos similarly became outspoken, and according to his agent and others, it cost him a recurring role as a Mexican mayor in an episode of Alias Smith and Jones.

The awards are presented in conjunction with the Nosotros American Latino Film Festival, held at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood.

The event was attended by numerous celebrities, including Ed Begley Jr. representing the Screen Actors Guild, Valerie Harper, Loni Anderson, Hector Elizondo, and Robert Goulet.

[49] In 1998, Pope John Paul II made him a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KSG),[50] the highest honor a Roman Catholic lay person can receive from the Church.

[7] In 1986, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, he recorded a public service announcement celebrating the United States' generosity and hospitality to him as a foreign-born actor.

After the release of The Wrath of Khan, director Nicholas Meyer was quick to quell any rumors of Montalbán's using prosthetics during filming.

On May 13, 2023, Montalbán was posthumously awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from UNM, which was received by his granddaughter Lydia Martinez.