Alejandro Rey, 57, Dies of Cancer; ‘Flying Nun’ Actor, TV Director

Alejandro Rey, the dashing Argentine-born actor best known for his role as the malleable Carlos Ramirez opposite Sally Field in TV’s “The Flying Nun,” has died of cancer. He was 57.

Rey died Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after a brief hospitalization, his manager, Milt Suchin, said.

Born in Buenos Aires, Rey already was an established stage and screen actor when he came to the United States 25 years ago, Suchin said. He became a U.S. citizen in 1967.

“Terrorvision” in 1986 was the last of Rey’s 50 films, Suchin said. Others included “Moscow on the Hudson,” in which he played Robin Williams’ immigration lawyer, and “Cuba.”

From 1967 through 1970, Rey appeared as an irascible nightclub owner opposite Sally Field’s Sister Bertrille in the light-hearted “Flying Nun” TV series. Rey also directed for television, including a segment of the NBC series “The Facts of Life” and several episodes of “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” Suchin said.

He is survived by a son, Brandon, 14, who lives with his mother, Joyce Rey, in West Los Angeles. Services were pending.