Mexico City born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán Merino passed away yesterday in Los Angeles. Known to U.S. audiences from his role Fantasy Island, his unforgettable accent that he never tried to hide or change. Nor did he change his name, something many Latino actors did when he started acting in Hollywood in the 1940′s. He started acting in Mexican movies and continued to do so even after he made his Hollywood debut in 1947 in “Fiesta.”

That’s not to say that he wasn’t stereotyped, in fact I would argue that his accent and style made him ripe for the Latin lover stereotype who could make even Corinthian leather sound sssssexy.

One thing that set Montalban apart was that instead of trying to assimilate or give up, he fought, and even advocated for other Latinos in the industry.

In 1970, Montalban organized fellow Latino actors into an organization called Nosotros (”We”), and he became the first president. Their aim: to improve the image of Spanish-speaking Americans on the screen; to assure that Latin-American actors were not discriminated against; to stimulate Latino actors to study their profession.

Via / Lossip, The Mex Files, The Latin Americanist, NYT