Ricardo Montez (born Levy Isaac Attias; 20 September 1923 – 26 October 2010) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

best known for his role as the Spanish bartender Juan Cervantes, a student in Jeremy Brown's EFL class in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

comedy series ''

Mind Your Language ''Mind Your Language'' is a British sitcom that premiered on ITV in 1977. It was produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stuart Allen. Three series were made by the London Weekend Television between 1977 and 1979 and briefly reviv ...

'' and one of four students (along with Giovanni Cupello, Anna Schmidt, and Ranjeet Singh) to appear in all four series.

Life and career

Born Levy Isaac Attias on 23 September 1923 in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents, he and his family were evacuated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On returning home, he worked in different jobs, including as an extra in films shot in Gibraltar. While appearing in the British film ''

Wonderful Things! ''Wonderful Things!'' is a 1958 British comedy romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Frankie Vaughan, Jocelyn Lane and Wilfrid Hyde-White. It was written by Jack Trevor Story. The screenplay concerns two fishermen brothers who cla ...

'' (1958), the actor

Frankie Vaughan Frankie Vaughan (born Frank Fruim Abelson; 3 February 1928 – 17 September 1999) was an English singer and actor who recorded more than 80 easy listening and traditional pop singles in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after his ...

persuaded him to travel to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and become an actor, which he did in 1962, changing his name at Vaughan's suggestion to Ricardo Montez. He appeared primarily in television programmes, including ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'', ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'', '' Doctor at Sea'' and '' Don't Drink the Water'', in which he usually played Spanish characters, before being cast in his best known role as Juan Cervantes, the Spanish bartender in a class of mature English language students, in the

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

series ''

'' from 1977 and 1979, reprising his role in a revival of the series in 1986. In his later years, Montez continued to appear on television in programmes including ''

Sharpe's Honour ''Sharpe's Honour'' is the sixteenth historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1985. In the Vitoria Campaign of the Peninsula War in 1813, Sharpe is framed for murder. He must find a way to clear h ...

'' and ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', as well as in commercials. His final acting role was in the film '' Mamma Mia!'' (2008). He lived in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...

, and used to visit Gibraltar twice a year. He married Orivida Hatchwell in 1953; they had a daughter, Clara, and a granddaughter, Sara. Montez died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at his daughter's home in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on 26 October 2010, at the age of 87.

Selected credits

Film

* '' The Girl Hunters'' (1963) - Skinny Guy (as Richard Montez) * ''

633 Squadron ''633 Squadron'' is a 1964 British / American war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, and Maria Perschy. The plot, which involves the exploits of a fictional World War II British bomber squadron, was ...

'' (1964) - New Zealand Pilot at Casino (uncredited) * ''

Maroc 7 ''Maroc 7'' is a 1967 British thriller film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Gene Barry, Elsa Martinelli, Leslie Phillips and Denholm Elliott. The screenplay concerns an international jewel thief who hatches a plan to go to Morocco and ste ...

'' (1967) - Pablo (as Richard Montez) * '' Carry on in the Legion'' (1967) - Riff at Abdul's Tent (uncredited) * ''

Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River ''Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River'' is a 1968 British comedy film produced by Walter Shenson and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on 12 July 1968 by Columbia Pictures and is based on Max Wilk's novel of the same name, with the ori ...

'' (1968) - Arab (as Richard Montez) * ''

Vendetta for the Saint ''Vendetta for the Saint'' is a 1964 mystery novel featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". ''Vendetta for the Saint'' was the first full-length Saint novel published since ''The Saint Sees it Through'', 18 years earlier. A te ...

'' (1969) - Nino (as Richard Montez) * ''

A Talent for Loving ''A Talent for Loving; or The Great Cowboy Race'' was the fourth novel by Richard Condon Richard Thomas Condon (March 18, 1915 – April 9, 1996) was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transforme ...

'' (1969) - Bandit (uncredited) * ''

11 Harrowhouse ''11 Harrowhouse'' is a 1974 British heist comedy thriller film directed by Aram Avakian and starring Charles Grodin, Candice Bergen, James Mason, Trevor Howard, and John Gielgud in Panavision. It was adapted by Charles Grodin based upon the n ...

'' (1974) - 2nd Manager (uncredited) * ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London, t ...

'' (1977) - Revolutionary (uncredited) * ''

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Danish film * ''Incognito'' (1997 film), an American crime ...

'' (1997) - Juan Del Campo * '' Mamma Mia!'' (2008) - Stavros (final film role)

Television

* '' Crane'' (1963) - Omar * ''

The Plane Makers ''The Plane Makers'' is a British television series created by Wilfred Greatorex and produced by Rex Firkin. ATV made three series for ITV between 1963 and 1965. It was succeeded by ''The Power Game'', which ran for an additional three s ...

'' (1963) - Mr. Prato * '' Man of the World'' (1962-1963) - Driver / Garcia / Miguel * ''

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis From 1955 to 1967 approximately 500 episodes a ...

'' (1964) - Airport official * ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' (1957–1958) an ...

'' (1964) - Bruno Brunone * ''Detective'' (1964) - Jose * ''

The Rat Catchers ''The Rat Catchers'' is a 1960s British television drama series made by Rediffusion and broadcast on ITV. The series was not networked, playing on different days of the week in London from other regions. It is about a top secret British Intel ...

'' (1966) - Tutor * ''

'' (1967) - Colonel Josino * ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in a ...

'' (1967-1968) - Guard / Police Officer / Spanish Taxi Driver * ''

'' (1962-1969) - Carlos Segoia / Guieseppe / Head Waiter * ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ITV ...

'' (1969) - Detective * ''

From a Bird's Eye View ''From a Bird's Eye View'' is a 1970 ATV and ITC Entertainment co-produced sitcom. In the United States it aired on NBC, which had originally ordered the series as an entry in the 1969–70 TV season but pushed it back to the 1970–71 season ...

'' (1971) - Spanish Sergeant * ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

'' (1971) - 2nd Mexican Bandit * ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is an action-comedy series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the cycle of adventure serie ...

'' (1972) - Inspector Santos * '' Jason King'' (1972) - Garcia * ''

Barlow at Large ''Barlow at Large'', later ''Barlow'', is a British police procedural television programme broadcast in the 1970s, starring Stratford Johns in the title role. Johns had previously played Barlow in the ''Z-Cars'', '' Softly, Softly'' and '' So ...

'' (1973) - Henry Rivera * '' Doctor at Sea'' (1974) - Barman * ''

The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs ''The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs'' is a 25-minute British television comedy series created by Bernard McKenna and Richard Laing and produced by Humphrey Barclay for LWT. It was transmitted on the ITV network in 1974 and featured David Jas ...

'' (1974) - Zammit * '' Don't Drink the Water'' (1974-1975) - Doctor / Jose * ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (1976) - Buckle * '' Doctor on the Go'' (1977) - Mr. Valentini * ''The Likes of Sykes'' (1980) * ''The Jim Davidson Show'' (1981) * ''

Duty Free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who ...

'' (1984) - Pedro * ''

Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer w ...

'' (1991) - Miguel * ''

'' (1994) - Father Sanchez * ''

'' (1977-1986) - Juan Cervantes * ''

'' (2001-2002) - Gerald Kirby / Xavier * ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

'' (1986-2004) - Fuentes / Ofelia's Grandfather

Writing credits

Freewheelers ''Freewheelers'' is a British television series made by Southern Television between 1968 and 1973 for the ITV network. It was created by the television producer Chris McMaster, who was aware of the popularity of adult action series such as '' ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montez, Ricardo 1923 births 2010 deaths British male film actors British male television actors Gibraltarian Jews Gibraltarian emigrants to the United Kingdom