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What to Watch on Friday: ALMA Awards salute Ricardo Montalban

2009 ALMA Awards (8pm, ABC) - Eva Longoria-Parker and George Lopez host the 14th annual ALMA awards honoring Hispanic achievement in enterainment. Salma Hayak and Oscar De La Hoya receive special awards, and there's a special tribute to Ricardo Montalban by Rita Moreno.

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (8pm, Fox) - If Nobel laureate George Smoot isn't smarter than these 5th graders, this show is fixed.

Monk (9pm, USA) - Monk believes a critic (Dylan Baker) who slams Julie's performance in a play committed a murder on the same night as the play. 

Psych (10pm, USA) - An actor in a local Bollywood theater production believes he is cursed and takes a vow of celibacy after several of his girlfriends meet grim fates. Naturally, he hires Shawn and Gus to investigate. Sendhil Ramamurthy (at right, from "Heroes") guest stars. 

Ricardo Montalban - Mr. Roarke - dies

Ricardo Montalban, who will always be Mr. Roarke to those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s, has died.

If you spent six years of your Saturday nights watching Fantasy Island, this is sad news indeed. Montalban's Mr. Roarke, mysterious and unflappable in his crisp white suits, was Aaron Spelling's own Mexican Cary Grant: undeniably handsome and debonair. And that accent... I was only 9 years old when Fantasy Island first aired, but I was hooked instantly and never missed an episode. I especially liked the scary ones. And I am not ashamed to admit I had a bit of a crush on Mr. Roarke. It's impossible not to love this man:

Montalban did a lot of other stuff, but to me, he will always be Mr. Roarke. Mr. Roarke who on the side sold fancy cars with rich Corinthian leather. 

UPDATE: I love youtube. Here's part one of an interview Montalban did in 2002 with The Archive of American Television. When Montalban first came to Hollywood, they wanted him to change his name to Ricky Martin. And here is Montalban in Star Trek The Wrath of Khan. Are those pecs real!?! And finally, dancing with Cyd Charisse in the 1947 film Fiesta.

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