Patrick McGoohan has died

Jan 14, 2009, 01:29 PM | by Ken Tucker

Categories: '60s mind-blowing, Television

Patrick McGoohan, the man who embodied hope over despair in the coolest way imaginable in the 1960s cult TV classic The Prisoner, has died--he was 80 years old.

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The Prisoner was a British TV series that aired in America starting in 1967. Only 17 episodes long, The Prisoner was a strikingly original show about a former British spy who wakes one morning to find himself in a psychedelic fantasy-land that's not all candy and sunshine--it's a combination British village/futuristic prison, and McGoohan's character was stripped of his identity and known only as "Number Six." McGoohan (who'd starred in an earlier spy show, Danger Man, which was titled Secret Agent in the U.S.) had the rugged good looks and clipped accent that leant The Prisoner a gravity its giddy alternate-worldliness might otherwise have lacked. Number Six's famous cry, "I am not a number, I am a free man!" became both a counterculture catchphrase as well as an anguished plea for freedom. The Prisoner was James Bond for acid-heads, and McGoohan's straitlaced image made his small-screen version of a hip spy all the more appealing.

McGoohan also appeared in many films, from Ice Station Zebra to Braveheart, but for TV fans, he'll always be The Prisoner.

And then Khan Noonian Singh

‘Fantasy Island’ star Ricardo Montalban dies

Mexican-born actor, 88, became a star in splashy MGM musicals

updated 3:34 p.m. CT, Wed., Jan. 14, 2009

LOS ANGELES - Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV’s “Fantasy Island,” died Wednesday morning at his home, his family said. He was 88.

Montalban’s death was first announced at a city council meeting by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. He died “from complications of advancing age,” his son-in-law, Gilbert Smith, later said.

“He was so gracious, and Aaron was always humbled by Ricardo’s gratitude for ’Fantasy Island,” said Candy Spelling, wife of the

Montalban had been a star in Mexican movies when MGM brought him to Hollywood in 1946. He was cast in the leading role opposite Esther Williams in “Fiesta,” and starred again with the swimming beauty in “On an Island with You” and “Neptune’s Daughter.”

But Montalban was best known as the faintly mysterious, white-suited Mr. Roarke, who presided over a tropical island resort where visitors fulfilled their lifelong dreams — usually at the unexpected expense of a difficult life lesson. “I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island,” he told arriving guests.

Montalban had already coined a cultural catchphrase before the show, which ran from 1978 to 1984. As the celebrity spokesman for mid-1970s models of the Chrysler Cordoba, Montalban unwittingly opened himself up to endless imitation when he described the car’s optional seats as being “available in soft, Corinthian leather.”

More recently, he appeared as villains in two hits of the 1980s: “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” and — in line with his always-apparent sense of humor about himself — the farcical “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad.”

‘He was just a marvelous human being’
Montalban’s longtime friend and publicist David Brokaw said the actor was “exactly how you’d imagine him to be” off camera. “What you saw on the screen and on television and on talk shows, this very courtly, modest, dignified individual, that’s exactly who he was,” Brokaw said.

Raul Yzaguirre, longtime president of National Council of La Raza, called Montalban “a hero” and noted the actor’s contributions to his community. Montalban helped found the ALMA Awards, which honor and encourage fair portrayals of Latinos in entertainment.

“He was just a marvelous human being and an inspiration to be around,” Yzaguirre said. “I hope his spirit pervades more of Hollywood — the spirit of humility and excellence and giving back to the community and just plain decency.”

Between movie and TV roles, Montalban was active in the theater. He starred on Broadway in the 1957 musical “Jamaica” opposite Lena Horne, picking up a Tony nomination for best actor in a musical.

Montalban also toured in Shaw’s “Don Juan in Hell,” playing Don Juan, a performance critic John Simon later recalled as “irresistible.” In 1965 he appeared on tour in the Yul Brynner role in “The King and I.”

“Fantasy Island” received high ratings for most of its run on ABC, and still appears in reruns. Mr. Roarke and his sidekick, Tattoo, played by the 3-foot, 11-inch Herve Villechaize, reached the state of TV icons. Villechaize died in 1993.

Gregg DeGuire / Getty Images file

Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as Mr. Roarke in TV's "Fantasy Island," died Wednesday morning at age 88.

Patrick McGoohan has died

‘Fantasy Island’ star Ricardo Montalban dies

Mexican-born actor, 88, became a star in splashy MGM musicals

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If you came into this profession for the money or prestige, Leave it now! You are in it for all of the wrong reasons. Go become a plumber instead.

Don’t forget the real reason for your calling.

Be compassionate, be honest, and take the other person’s feelings into consideration. Remember, they are a person just as much as you are, and not just a piece of meat to be prodded without compassion.

Thank you,

May God continue to guide your hands, give you wisdom and may your blessings be many.

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