Los Angeles - Mexico-born actor Ricardo Montablan, who starred in extravagant musicals in the 1950s, the Fantasy Island TV show from 1976 to 1984 and the comedy farce The Naked Gun in the 1980s, died Wednesday morning in his Los Angeles home according to an official announcement.

The 88-year-old actor died of old age in he company of his family, Gilbert Smith, Montalban's son-in-law, was quoted as saying.

Montalban, born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalban Merino in Mexico City in 1920, was a star in Mexican movies before MGM brought him to Hollywood to play opposite Esther Williams in movies like Fiesta, Neptune's Daughter and On An Island With You.

In 1953's Latin Lovers he seduced Lana Turner on the silver screen, and worked with John Ford in the western Cheyenne.

He starred as Khan Noonien Singh in an episode of Star Trek in 1967, a role he reprised in the 1982 movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

His fame increased as the host of the TV hit Fantasy Island from 1977 to 1984 in which he would help fictional guests achieve a lifelong dream.

Montalban starred in various other movies, including police spoof The Naked Gun and the Spy Kids series.

He also formed an organization called Nosotros which sought to boost the image of Latino actors in the US and ensure they were not discriminated against.

The actor had been wheelchair-bound since 1993, the result of an earlier spine injury incurred while filming a movie in the 1951.

Montalban had been married to Georgiana Young, the younger sister of actress Loretta Young, for 63 years. His wife died in November 2007. (dpa)