Acclaimed actor Ricardo Montalbán was born on November 25, 1920 in Mexico City, Mexico. Though audiences may best remember him as Mr. Roarke from the hit show Fantasy Island (1977-1984), his career spanned seven decades.

Montalban was in constant pain for the rest of his life and unable to walk without a severe limp. His physical limitations often were masked by directors not showing him moving about during a scene.

Injury and later career During the filming of the film Across the Wide Missouri (1951), Montalbán was thrown from his horse, knocked unconscious, and trampled by another horse, which aggravated his arteriovenous malformation and resulted in a traumatic back injury that never healed.

Mr. Roarke's actual age is never made clear. In the pilot film, he comments how the guests who come to his island are "so mortal" and there are hints throughout the series that suggest Roarke may be immortal. In "Elizabeth", a woman from Roarke's past appears, but it is revealed that she died over 300 years ago.