Actor Ricardo Montalbán has passed away today at the age of 88. In the LOUIE LOUIE circles, he is best known for the role of Vincent Ludwig in the 1988 movie “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”, playing an evil villain that died after being shot by Leslie Nielson, falling from the bleachers of a sports arena, only to be flattened by a stream roller, then walked over by a marching band that performs a wonderful rendition of “LOUIE LOUIE.”
I can’t think anyone else that had such a spectacular cinematic death involving the song “LOUIE LOUIE.” Ricardo Montalbán had no other peers in this particular category.
Here’s a little refresher for those of that forgot about his iconic film sequence..
Ricardo Montalbán was best known as Mr. Roarke on the TV show “Fantasy Island.” He also played one of the most popular villains in the “Star Trek” universe, playing the role of Khan Noonien Singh in a 1967 televison episode, reprising the role for the highly successful 1982 motion picture “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”
Within the entertainment industry, Montalban was widely respected for his efforts to create opportunities for Latinos, although he and others believed that his activism hurt his career. In 1970, he founded the nonprofit Nosotros Foundation to improve the image and increase employment of Latinos in Hollywood.
Today, I discovered that Montalban also had an acting role in the 1966 motion picture “The Singing Nun“, starring Debbie Reynolds. That film was loosely based on the life of Jeanine Deckers, who had a number one hit with the song “Dominique,” which by some very strange coincidence was the very song that stood in the way of the Kingsmen‘s rendition of LOUIE LOUIE becoming a number one hit record in 1963.
How’s that for a strange tie-in to the LOUIE universe?
You can read more about the career of Ricardo Montalbán by visiting the Wikpedia entry at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Montalban