Ricardo Montalban Biography
Andrew Vasquez
Updated on May 22, 2026
QUICK FACTS
Activity Actor
Real name Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino
Nationality USA
Birth November 25, 1920 (Mexico City – Mexico)
Death January 14, 2009
BIOGRAPHY
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, known simply as Ricardo Montalbán, was a Mexican actor, born on November 25, 1920, in Mexico City. Son of Genaro Montalbán and Ricarda Merino, Spanish immigrants, Ricardo grew up in Torreón, Coahuila, where he studied at the Treviño Commercial School. While studying commerce, Ricardo was attracted to the arts and acting, because his older brother, Carlos, had decided to venture into this art. It would be Carlos who would convince him to travel to Mexico City to try his luck in the movies. Although he started as an extra, without speaking parts, little by little he began to attract the attention of producers, who offered him slightly more relevant roles in films such as Naval Cadets, La casa de la zorra, Pepita Jiménez and Santa.
When he achieved prestige in Mexican cinema, Ricardo decided to move to the United States, to perfect his English and try to make his way in North American cinema. There he would meet Georgiana Young, with whom he married, had four children and with whom he remained until her death in 2007. In the United States, Ricardo signed a contract with MGM, appearing in films such as Party, On an Island with You and Neptune’s Daughter . One of his most notable roles was in the film Let No Man Write My Epitaph , in addition to appearing in the films Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972).
Despite his long career in cinema, the actor’s greatest successes were in theater and television, where he participated in series such as The Untouchables, Jim West, Mission Impossible and Star Trek , a production in which he gave life to the fearsome villain Khan.
Recognized worldwide as one of the most talented and charismatic actors, Ricardo died on January 14, 2009, at the age of 88, as a result of complications from lymphatic cancer.
