Trekkies will always remember him as Khan in arguably the best “Star Trek” movie “The Wrath of Khan” while “Fantasy Island” fans will forever bear in mind the image of actor Ricardo Monthalban as Mr. Roarke. For younger audiences he will remain Grandpa Cortez in the “Spy Kids” films.

One of the first Mexican-born actors to achieve success in Hollywood, Ricardo Montalban died of natural causes early Wednesday morning at the age of 88. Speaking warmly of the actor’s loss, a Los Angeles city councilman confirmed that the L.A. resident passed away at his Hollywood Hills home.

In a statement for People magazine, his son-in-law Gilbert Smith said that Montalban had been in declining health for months, identifying the cause of death as “complications of advancing age.”

”He was in peace,” said Smith, adding that the actor was surrounded by his children and grandchildren, “He will be missed.”

In 2003, the actor lost his wife of 63 years, Gorgiana Young, who was the younger sister of his frequent co-star Loretta Young.

” [She is] the only love of my life,” the actor said in a 2004 interview. The two were married in 1944 when Montalban was just starting his Hollywood acting career.

Montalban had been mostly confined to a wheel chair after he a spinal surgery in 1993 due to an injury he suffered in a horseback accident while making 1951’s “Across the Wide Missouri.” 

Born on November 25, 1920, in Mexico City, Ricardo Montalban was already a leading man of the Mexican cinema when he arrived in Hollywood at the age of 26 making his American feature film debut in 1947 in “Fiesta” with Esther Williams. His movie career spanned over 60 years and comprises more than 160 roles.

His early roles were in such MGM musicals as “On An Island With You” and “Neptune's Daughter.” Although he continued in lighter fare at MGM, he also acted in several first-rate dramas, including William Wellman’s “Battleground” (1949) as a soldier in the Battle of the Bulge, and “Border Incident” (1949) and “Mystery Street” (1950) as law enforcement officials.

Years later he became known worldwide for his role as the eccentric Mr. Roarke on the ABC hit series “Fantasy Island.” The series started airing in 1978, the same year Montalban won an Emmy for his role in the James Arness series “How the West Was Won,” and ended its run in 1984 but reruns still air to this day.

Television scholar Robert Thompson said the show’s casting of Montalban as Mr. Roarke and the diminutive Herve Villechaize as his sidekick Tattoo was significant “in an era when you did not see a lot of people of different ethnic groups and colors on television.”

Montalban achieved cult status in pop culture and among “Star Trek fans” for his portrayal of Captain Kirk’s nemesis Khan Noonien Singh in 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” a follow-up to a beloved 1967 "Star Trek" television episode that also featured Montalban.

A great loss for the entertainment industry, Montalban was widely respected for his efforts to create opportunities for Latinos, regardless of the influence that had on his career. He founded the nonprofit Nosotros Foundation in 1970 to improve the image and increase employment of Latinos in Hollywood.