1940s Kwatta Trading Cards

In 1913, Belgians were introduced to the now famous Kwatta chocolate confections.  Now produced by the Heinz Company,  the brand of chocolate is so popular it has become a generic moniker for how chocolate is produced in Europe and is the source of the saying "All eyes on the Kwatta." 

During the 1940s,  Kwatta chocolate products contained a free prize: 3" by 1.75" trading cards of Hollywood actors and actresses.  Between 1947 and 1953, 384 different cards were available, and for 20 francs, an album to hold the cards was also sold from the Bois-d'Haine Kwatta factory. 

Demonstrative of his popularity in many nations, Ricardo Montalbán was featured on at least three cards.  The 1947 trading card, numbered 147, is a photo of Ricardo Montalbán as the character Ricardo Montez from On An Island With You.  Interestingly, the card was available about six months before the film premiered at theaters in May of 1948.  Card 222 is from 1948, and it is of the character of Mario Morales from 1947's Fiesta.  Card 311 is a MGM publicity image.  

Before the Internet era, photographs of celebrities were a valuable collectible for fans, and everything from trading cards to magazines touted images to collect and save.  The Kwatta trading cards of Ricardo Montalbán are symbols of his popularity around the globe, having built an audience first in Mexican films, and eventually becoming a Hollywood actor admired by fans of many different nations.

 

Martin Luther King Day

January 16, 2012 is the annual observance in the United States of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (his birthday was January 15, 1929).  A worthwhile trivia note about Dr. King is that he was a sociology major during his college days.  He was also a Star Trek fan, and helped convince actress Nichelle Nichols to keep playing the role of Nyota Uhura because of her important role in television history. 

From 1957 to 1959, Ricardo Montalbán starred with Lena Horne in the Broadway musical Jamaica at the New York Imperial Theater.  The play was controversial because it featured an interracial romance between Ricardo and Lena's characters.  In his autobiography Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds, Ricardo Montalbán details some of the letters of protest he received at the theater:

"Dear Judas,
How could you possible kiss a member of the black race on stage and then go home to your wife and your children? I used to enjoy your movies but I won't anymore.  Your Ex Fan"

In discussing the letters, Ricardo Montalbán wrote, "There is nothing you can do about such hate mail, nothing you can reply.  I could only wish that the writer could get to know those people in Jamaica.  The hate would have disappeared.  You can only love that which you know.  If people of other backgrounds would really get to know those of other colors, religions, and national origin, then the word prejudice would not exist in our vocabularies." 

Dr. King's ideas and the words of Ricardo Montalbán symbolize an important theory in sociology: Gordon W. Allport's Contact Hypothesis.  The more people in peer relationships interact with others who are from differing races, religions, ethnicities, or ideas, the less likely people are to stereotype and the more likely people are to define others as individuals. 

On June 13, 1958, civil rights leader Daisy Bates and the "Little Rock Nine" students from Arkansas whose actions helped integrate high schools met with the actors from Jamaica, including Ricardo Montalbán and Lena Horne.  Photo credit: Vintage Black Glamour.

Dr. King spoke frequently about love as the cure to social problems.  "Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it."

Ricardo Montalbán spoke of that lesson, also.  To celebrate the universal hope for respect that today represents, here is a quote from 2001 by Ricardo Montalbán when he was asked what he hopes to be remembered for:

"I think the salient, the most important thoughts that I've had, if I were going to do one thing, one quality, is love they neighbor as thyself.  No matter what religion, what race.  Love.  Love. Love. Love.  That's what Jesus Christ came to earth to tell us: Love, love, love.  The more you love, the more you receive.  It is only love that is going to help the world.  Respect one another: how beautiful that would be."  

TV Listings: Ricardo Montalbán

There are some iconic Ricardo Montalbán characters appearing on television these next few weeks, including Khan Noonien Singh and Armando.  All times are for the Eastern United States.  Please check local listings to confirm, and many times local or regional nostalgia networks, such as Antenna TV, will feature 1960s and 1970s television programs which guest starred Ricardo Montalbán, and it is good to consider those networks, also.  For example, last week Antenna TV scheduled an excellent episode of It Takes a Thief from 1968 with Ricardo Montalbán in a prominent role.  Enjoy!

Bonanza (1960)
January  18, 3:00PM, TVLand network

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
January 20, 4:30AM, Cinemax network

My Man and I (1952)
January 30, 10:30AM, Turner Classic Movies network

The Naked Gun (1988)
January 17, 7:00PM, Cinemax network

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
January 21, 7:35AM, Cinemax network

Cantaré, Cantarás

Ricardo Montalbán utilized his celebrity in service of others, from helping form Nosotros to his work with Easter Seals.  He also lent his voice to serve as narrator and chorus singer on the 1985 charity anthem “Cantaré, Cantarás.”  Travel back with us to the 1980s and learn more about the song, the cause, and how Ricardo Montalbán helped.  

Hermanos (Brothers and Sisters)'s Executive Director Luis Media, UNICEF, and song writers Albert Hammond, Anahi Van Zandweghe , and Juan Carlos Calderon united to create the song "Cantaré, Cantarás" with the goal of bringing awareness and resources to the poor of all nations, especially those in Latin America and Africa.

Recorded in April of 1985 in Los Angeles, "Cantaré, Cantarás" included the participation of many Latino and Latina entertainers, including Jose Jose, Julio Inglesia, Cheech Marin, Sérgio Mendes, The Miami Sound Machine, Apollonia, José Feliciano, José Luis Rodríguez, Lalo Schifrin, Placido Domingo, Roberto Carlos, Menudo and a young Ricky Martin, and of course, Ricardo Montalbán.  The song was available on the radio, CD, audio tape, and a music video was made.  There was also the "Cantaré, Cantarás" Television Special which was hosted by Ricardo Montalbán that was shown on Spanish speaking networks in many nations. 

Please enjoy these videos of "Cantaré, Cantarás." This first music video is from Musica Peru Vision and features Ricardo Montalbán singing with the chorus.

This video, posted by YouTube's Yoryi1960, is about the making of the song and features Ricardo Montalbán throughout, and him offering words of hope for imaging a better world at time index 4:44 minutes.

Ricardo Montalbán's service to others continues to inspire, and more than 25 years after "Cantaré, Cantarás," UNICEF continues its mission of bringing hope and resources to those who need help.

Connections: Ricardo Montalbán, Wonder Woman, and Superman

The characters Ricardo Montalbán played, and his real life experiences, had many connections to Superman, both the Shaw and DC Comics versions.     

Wonder Woman
Ricardo Montalbán played the role of charming villain Abner Smith in a television movie Wonder Woman starring Cathy Lee Crosby that premiered March 12, 1974.  Of course, Wonder Woman is an ally and friend of Superman.  The 1974 movie was a precursor to the weekly television program with Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, who was one of the first Latina actresses to play a superhero. Interestingly, Ricardo Montalbán is obscured for much of the movie, not revealing his face behind his voice until the second half of the adventure.  Coincidental, Abner Smith wears an all white suit of very similar styling as that worn three years later by Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island.  

Don Juan in Hell

In 1953, Ricardo Montalbán learned that MGM was not renewing his contract with the studio that had been his home for the previous eight years.  The movie industry was beginning to feel the pressures of the ubiquity of television as a competitor, among other social and cultural evolutions that had changed the studio business paradigm.  Ricardo Montalbán wrote about his feelings after being informed of the news by MGM President Dore Schary in his biography Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds: "As I got into my car, I felt numb.  The full force of the news didn't hit me until I was driving home along the boulevard on my usual route from the studio into my home." 

His wife Georgiana was, as always, supportive, telling him, ""We'll manage.  We'll do whatever has to be done.  We can sell the house and move to a smaller house....We can handle it.  No problem.""  It was a few hours later that fellow actor Tony Martin, an acquaintance more than a friend, called to tell Ricardo that the same thing had happened to him previously and that something better would happen because of his talents. Ricardo Montalbán called the act of kindness by Martin, "a warm, lovely moment in my life." 

Then, actress and director Agnes Moorehead (who would eventually costar with Ricardo Montalbán in The Singing Nun) telephoned with an offer to play the challenging role of Don Juan in Don Juan in Hell.  True to Martin's advice, something better did happen and not only was the play very successful, it allowed Ricardo Montalbán to play a great role that he mentions he could not have played had he been at MGM.  He would be associated with various versions of the play after the 1953 production. 

Now, what does this have to do with Superman?  Don Juan in Hell is the third act of the 1903 four act play Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw.  The play introduced and popularized the word "superman" and likely influenced Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the amazing creators of the world's first superhero.  The premiere episode of Smallville, the longest running Superman television program, features Lana Lang asking Clark Kent, whether he is "man or Superman" while he is reading Shaw's play.

This experience also demonstrates why Ricardo Montalbán's life has many worthwhile lessons.  When facing adversity, he did allow despair to define him.  His wife and his friends had given him good advice.  Something better always happens! 

Describing Khan

Ricardo Montalbán's most famous role of Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek is almost always described as a "genetic superman" referencing the Shaw play and the DC Comics character.  Googling "Khan" results in an amazing similarity of authors using "genetic superman" when discussing the science fiction icon.  

Admiration for Christopher Reeve

Arguably the most popular version of Superman was as he was portrayed in the four Christopher Reeve movies.  In real life, Reeve was a symbol of hope as battled against the wheelchair that confined him after an equestrian accident.  Ricardo Montalbán, too, was in a wheelchair for the last years of his life and had suffered great pain for decades because of his arteriovenous malformation.  Christopher Reeve was an inspiration to Ricardo Montalbán.  Speaking about his own back pain, Ricardo Montalbán said, "And yet I think of Christopher Reeve who said he would pay two million dollars to be able to feel pain again.  What a courageous man!  So I have to think that pain is a blessing."  Another great lesson from both men, or should we say, Supermen.

Campaign for a Ricardo Montalbán USPS Stamp

The year 2020 is a mere eight years away and it represents the centennial anniversary of Ricardo Montalbán's birth.  The Ricardo Montalbán Foundation has begun a Facebook campaign to celebrate Ricardo Montalbán with a United States Postal Service "Forever" stamp.  The timing makes it possible to have a stamp issued on or before what would have been his 100th birthday if the USPS agrees to the proposal.  Previous Latino entertainers featured on USPS stamps include Tito Puente, Carmen Miranda, Carlos Gardel, Selena, and Celia Cruz. 

Ricardo Montalbán's nearly 70 year acting career and his inspirational activism for a variety of causes and charities are the themes of our blog.  We agree that his extraordinary character and concern for all groups deserves remembrance.  There are few who have done more than Ricardo Montalbán.  As the Facebook campaign mentions, "It is time to celebrate Ricardo Montalbán for his extraordinary life and legendary career as an actor and an activist with a USPS postage stamp."

A Ricardo Montalbán stamp would appeal to a variety of audiences including film aficionados, TV and nostalgia collectors, Latino heritage groups, and of course, Star Trek fans.  From his MGM musicals to the Spy Kids films, Ricardo Montalbán has fans of all ages.   

For all the details and rules, please check the USPS and the Facebook campaign. 

Collectibles: Donruss Americana Trading Cards

The company Donruss, now Panini America, premiered the second collection of its popular culture trading cards known as Americana on July 16, 2008.  The collection included regular and autographed trading cards, and "celebrity cuts" which are swatches of fabric worn by various celebrities.  Some of the trading cards were very limited, some that were 1 of 1.  Unlike most entertainment trading cards, the Americana cards usually featured the celebrities in photographs of their everyday experiences, not as their television or film characters.    

Ricardo Montalbán was featured in the 2008 and 2009 Americana sets on all three types of cards: regular, autograph, and "celebrity cuts."  There were also limited edition William Shatner/Ricardo Montalbán dual trading cards offered because of their Star Trek connection.  The signed trading cards represent some of the last authenticated autographed items signed by Ricardo Montalbán before his passing.  It was nice that those items celebrated the real person, and not only his reel characters.  The Donruss Americana cards are available mostly by auction.