We lost two good ones today.

Ricardo Montalban had the kind of career where he was different things to different people. To my kids, he was the wheelchair-driving grandfather in Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids movies. For me, he was the ultimate Star Trek villain from Wrath of Khan and the classic Trek series, the voice of Chrysler for its legendary Cordoba ads, and the mystical Mr.  Roarke from Fantasy Island.

For my mother, he was a recognizable character actor who played the rare Asian and Hispanic roles on Broadway and TV shows such as Hawaii Five-0. An activist who always pressed for better rights for Hispanic actors, Montalban also remained a Mexican citizen until his death.

Montalban's death was announced today in Los Angeles at age 88, with no cause or date given.

Patrick McGoohan rose to fame as one of many dashing Englishmen who played espionage action guys in the '60s, first in the British series Danger Man (called Secret Agent Man when aired in America) and later in his classically subversive series The Prisoner.

As Clint Eastwood would do many, many years later, The Prisoner was McGoohan's attempt to unwind the legend of the infallible government agent he help build in Danger Man, creating a series built around a tired operative who tries to leave the game, only to get stuck on a prison disguised as a resort island.

His character, known only as No. 6, would become a symbol for individuality in the face of pressure to conform -- an important dynamic in the transitional '60s. McGoohan would become indelibly identified with the show and the character; both for its impact on the culture and the fact that he conceived the series, wrote several episodes and directed others.

McGoohan died today at age 80 in Los Angeles, just months before AMC was to broadcast an updated version of The Prisoner on the network of Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

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