| Carlos Montalbán | |
| Birth Name: | Carlos Montalbán y Merino |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1904 |
| Birth Place: | Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1932–1971 |
| Relations: | Ricardo Montalbán (brother) |
Carlos Montalbán y Merino (June 5, 1904March 28, 1991) was a Mexican character actor.
Montalbán was born in Torreón in Coahuila, Mexico, the son of Ricarda Merino Jiménez and Genaro Balbino Montalbán Busano, a store manager.[1] [2] His parents were Spanish.
Montalbán was the older brother of actor Ricardo Montalbán and is remembered for portraying two different characters named "Vargas" in well-remembered films; The Out-of-Towners (1970) starring Jack Lemmon, and Woody Allen's Bananas (1971). His best remembered role is likely in the American boxing drama The Harder They Fall (1956), where he plays the sympathetic manager of a heavyweight contender.[3]
He appeared as "El Exigente" in a series of coffee advertisements for Savarin Coffee in the 1960s and 1970s. Montalbán was also a renowned voice-over actor and announcer, best known as the official Spanish language voice for Marlboro cigarettes worldwide. He also provided translated Spanish narration for documentaries produced by the US Information Agency in the 1960s.[4]
Montalbán died on March 28, 1991, in his Manhattan home in New York City of cardiovascular disease and was survived by his wife Mary, a New Yorker, two brothers, Pedro and the actor Ricardo Montalbán, and a sister, Carmen, also from Torreon, Mexico.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Flying Down to Rio | |||
| 1934 | La cruz y la espada | Esteban | ||
| 1934 | Un capitan de Cosacos | Uncredited | ||
| 1934 | Dos más uno dos | Ronald | ||
| 1934 | Sadie McKee | Pedro | ||
| 1935 | Under the Pampas Moon | Dancer | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | Rosa de Francia | Uncredited | ||
| 1936 | The Adventures of Frank Merriwell | Rurale Captain | Serial, Uncredited | |
| 1936 | El Crimen De Media Noche | Johnny | ||
| 1936 | A Message to Garcia | Spanish Gunner | Uncredited with Barbara Stanwyck | |
| 1936 | El carnaval del diablo | Uncredited | ||
| 1937 | When You're in Love | Minor Role | Uncredited with Grace Moore and Cary Grant | |
| 1937 | Love Under Fire | Staff Officer | Uncredited | |
| 1939 | Bachelor Father | Esteban | ||
| 1939 | El rancho del pinar | José | ||
| 1939 | Cuando Canta La Ley | |||
| 1943 | La guerra la gano yo | |||
| 1943 | El espejo | |||
| 1955 | Producers Showcase | Episode: "Yellow Jack" with Lorne Greene | ||
| 1956 | The Harder They Fall | Luís Agrandi | with Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger | |
| 1956 | Crowded Paradise | with Mario Alcalde and Nancy Kelly | ||
| 1957 | The Mysterians | 1959 English version co-director, with Peter Riethof | ||
| 1959 | Flor De Mayo | Nacho | with Jack Palance | |
| 1960 | Pepe | Rodriguez | with Shirley Jones and Bing Crosby | |
| 1961 | Go Naked in the World | Maitre d' | Uncredited | |
| 1965 | Love Has Many Faces | Don Julian | with Lana Turner, Cliff Robertson, and Stephanie Powers | |
| 1965-1967 | The FBI | Gen. Rafael Romero | 2 episodes | |
| 1970 | The Out-of-Towners | Cuban Diplomat | with Jack Lemmon | |
| 1971 | Bananas | General Emilio M. Vargas | with Woody Allen (final film role) | |
| TBA | The March of Time | Narrator |