Kahn’s Wrath Ends

Another sudden passing of another acting legend.

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.

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.”

R.I.P. Montalban. You will forever be remembered as The Greatest Villain of The Final Frontier.