Montalban was born on Nov. 25, 1920, he was the youngest of four children of Castilian Spaniards who had immigrated to Mexico City in 1906 where Montalban’s father owned a dry goods store. When he was 5, the family moved to the arid northern city of Torreon.

After graduating from high school, Montalban was taken to Los Angeles by his oldest brother who had lived here and had gotten work in the Hollywood studios.

Montalban studied English at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where an MGM talent scout noticed him in a student play.

From 1965 to 1970, Montalban was vice president of the Screen Actors Guild, which gave him a life achievement award in 1993.

Beginning in the 1940s, Mr. Montalban starred in dozens of films with some of the greatest names in movies, including Clark Gable and Lana Turner. When major film roles dried up for him in the 1970s, he turned to stage and eventually TV, where he became familiar to millions as the mysterious host whose signature line, “Welcome to Fantasy Island,” opened the hit show that ran from 1978 to 1984.

Within the entertainment industry, Montalban was widely respected for his efforts to create opportunities for Latinos.

Montalban is survived by two daughters, two sons and six grandchildren.

R.I.P.

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