Ricardo Montalbán (lost Casa Bonita TV commercial featuring Mexican actor; 1974)

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Ricardomontalboncasabonita.png

Ricardo Montalbán outside the Casa Bonita restaurant.

Status: Lost

Casa Bonita is a Mexican theme restaurant in Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, known outside the state generally for its appearances on the animated series South Park. It was originally part of a small chain but the Colorado location, opened in 1973, is the only one that remains. Around the time it opened, actor Ricardo Montalbán, most famous for Fantasy Island and Star Trek (before he appeared in the film) filmed commercials for it, which aired on local television.

Montalbán was known to have visited Casa Bonita in the 1970s and sometimes dined with founder Bill Waugh, who he was photographed with.[1] An image exists of Montalbán outside the location, purportedly to film a commercial.[2] The book A History Lover's Guide to Denver mentions that "Ricardo Montalbán starred in television advertisements" in a section dedicated to Casa Bonita.[3]

Some efforts to locate the commercial believe it is the same Casa Bonita commercial often reported as responding to a rumor that the restaurant put dog food in its dishes, described at BoingBoing.net as "so virulent and pervasive that Casa Bonita had to buy airtime on local TV to assure people that it most assuredly did not use dog food"[4]

It is believed to have aired on KUSA, or 9News, a local Denver station.

References

  1. Robert Autobee, Kristen Autobee. Lakewood. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. 2015. Retrieved 19 Jun '22
  2. The Future of Casa Bonita Is a Real Cliffhanger, Chris Vanjonack - WestWorld.com Retrieved 19 Jun '22
  3. Mark Barnhouse. A History Lover's Guide to Denver. History Press. 2020. pgs207. Retrieved 19 Jun '22
  4. A visit to Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver - BoingBoing.net Retrieved 19 Jun '22