Adiós, Amigo

The world is down another leading man; Ricardo Montalbán, king of the rolling Rs and urbane affability, has headed toward that Very Special Love Boat Two-Parter in the sky.

Before he became a television staple (and check out his IMDb listing - that man worked!) he was of course a bona fide movie star - seen here in the obligatory Paramount wardrobe session with Edith Head. He had the kind of aura that could lead one to believe he actually did wear an evening suit to a costume fitting.

I've rarely seen him look more engaging than here, though, hands clasping the waist of the delectable Lena Horne during the Broadway run of Jamaica, the 1957 Harold Arlen musical in which they starred.

He seems to have been a thoroughly decent person, a hardworking actor, and he even survived more than a half-century of being Loretta Young's brother-in-law, which can't have been a picnic.