Mexican-born actor Ricardo Montalban, star of Fantasy Island and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, died on Wednesday. (Nick Ut/Associated Press)Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who starred in TV series Fantasy Island and played Khan in the Star Trek film The Wrath of Khan, has died. He was 88.

Montalban died Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home, according to Eric Garcetti, a member of Los Angeles city council.

"What you saw on the screen and on television and on talk shows — this very courtly, modest, dignified individual — that's exactly who he was," said Montalban's longtime friend and publicist David Brokaw.

Born Nov. 25, 1920, in Mexico City, Montalban was a Mexican stage, TV and film actor until MGM brought him to Hollywood in 1946.

He was cast opposite Esther Williams in Fiesta, On an Island with You and Neptune's Daughter.

He also frequently played Asian characters, such as in Sayonara and in TV series Hawaii 5-O, and later had a string of roles as an Indian in western movies.

He spent two years on Broadway as star of the musical Jamaica, playing opposite Lena Horne, and was nominated for a Tony Award.

'Through the fantasies, you learn to appreciate your own realities.'— Ricardo Montalban

TV viewers may also remember him describing the "soft Corinthian leather" of the Chrysler Cordoba, a car he did spots for in the 1970s.

From 1978 to 1984, he played Mr. Roarke, the mysterious white-suited host of Fantasy Island, where people came to live out their fantasies, often with unintended consequences.

"What is appealing is the idea of attaining the unattainable and learning from it," he said in a 1978 interview.

Director Hugo Fregonese discusses a love scene with Ricardo Montalban, right, and Cyd Charisse during the filming of the movie The Mark Of The Renegade. (Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Getty Images)

"Once you obtain a fantasy it becomes a reality, and that reality is not as exciting as your fantasy. Through the fantasies, you learn to appreciate your own realities."

Montalban had a series of TV roles throughout his career, including on Dynasty, The Colbys, Freakazoid and Dora the Explorer.

He was memorable as Khan Noonien Singh in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a character he originally created for a Star Trek episode in 1967.

He also appeared in The Naked Gun and Spy Kids series.

More recently, Montalban did voice work for films such as Buzz Lightyear, The Ant Bully and TV series Family Guy.

He is survived by his four children. His wife, Georgiana Young, died two years ago.

With files from the Associated Press