Without "Star Trek" and "Fantasy Island," Richardo Montalban would have had an impressive resume.
From what I have read and heard, everybody seemed to have liked Ricardo Montalban. Even though Montalban's Kahn Noonian Sighn was Captain Kirk's best rival in "Star Trek," in real life, the cast and crew seemed to have preferred working with Montalbano over William Shatner.
In 1998, Pope John Paul II made him a Knight Commander of St. Gregory, the highest honor bestowed upon non-clergy in the Roman Catholic Church. He married Loretta Young's sister and was happily married for 63 years until her death last year.
Despite the fact that he never obtained citizenship, Ricardo Montalbano is an American icon.