"Corinthian leather" actor dies
15/01/2009
Film and television actor Ricardo Montalban has died at the age of 88.
Despite roles in series such as Fantasy Island and Star Trek movies 'The Wrath of Khan', many in North America remember Mr Montalban best for a 1970s television advertisement campaing for the Chrysler Cordoba.
The company felt the Mexico City-born actor's smooth voice helped its efforts to emphasise the car's luxurious interior, and the phrase he used to describe the upholstery ("soft Corinthian leather") became one of the most famous on TV.
In reality, the leather Chrysler used in the car came from a tannery in New Jersey, but the public loved the idea of luxury that the name and the actor's delivery conveyed.
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