The Mexican-born actor was best-known for his roles as Mr. Roarke on 70s TV series "Fantasy Island" and as the villainous Khan in 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”. In addition, there’s this so-bad-it’s-good 1975 commercial for the Chrysler Cordoba:
Yet Montalban was also a pioneering actor and activist who tried to portray a more positive image of Latinos on the silver screen:
After starring in 13 Spanish-language films in Mexico, Montalban made his American feature film debut in 1947 in "Fiesta."…Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CNN, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, YouTube
It was during this early stage in his career that Montalban dedicated himself to changing Hollywood's stereotypes of Latinos.
"When I first came to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under contract in 1945, that's when the image was at its worst," Montalban said. "They didn't realize that by trying to be colorful, they were very insulting"…
Montalban never tired of fighting for the rights of Latinos in Hollywood. For almost 20 years, he served as president of Nosotros, an organization he founded for the advancement of Hispanics in the entertainment industry.
"The ideals of Nosotros continue. As our community of Latinos in show business increases, so will our participation in all of the many aspects of our industry," he said in 1987.
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