MGM's Latin Lover Pt. 1 "Ricardo Montalban"

Suave, romantic leading man who successfully combined an easy, relaxed warmth with virile charisma and genuine acting talent. After a five-year career in Mexican movies in the early 1940s, Montalban spent the next seven at MGM in smooth Latin Lover roles or as swimming star Esther Williams co-star in musicals. Montalban did attempt a few other ambitious dramatic characterizations in which his character's Hispanic ethnicity played a part in the drama, but neither his embittered boxer in "Right Cross" (1950) nor his victimized fruit picker in "My Man and I" (1952) were enmeshed in dramas worthy of the actor's efforts. Montalban did better as a Mexican government agent Anthony Mann's potent film noir about the exploitation of illegal aliens, "Border Incident" (1949).

In 2002, he was cast as Grandpa Cortex in the family adventure feature "Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams," directed by Robert Rodriguez--a role Montalban reprised in the third sequel, "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" (2003).