Fernando Lamas

Fernando Lamas
Born	Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos January 9, 1915(1915-01-09) Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	October 8, 1982(1982-10-08) (aged 67) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, Director, Writer
Years active	1942–1980
Spouse	Esther Williams (1969-1982) (his death) Arlene Dahl (1954-1960) (divorced) 1 child Lydia Barachi (1946-1952) (divorced) 1 daughter Perla Mux (1940-1944) 1 child

Fernando Álvaro Lamas (January 9, 1915 – October 8, 1982) was an Argentine-born actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas.

Early life and career

Lamas with co-star Danielle Darrieux in Rich, Young and Pretty.

Lamas was born Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos in Buenos Aires, Argentina. By 1942, he was an established movie star in Argentina. In 1951, he signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and went to the United States to play "Latin Lover" roles.

Lamas directed for the first time in 1963. It was a movie titled Magic Fountain starring his future wife Esther Williams. He directed another feature film, The Violent Ones, which was released in 1967 and co-starred Aldo Ray and David Carradine. He was most active directing on television, doing episodes that included Mannix, Alias Smith and Jones, Starsky and Hutch and Falcon Crest. The latter show co-starred his son, Lorenzo.

Personal life

Lamas was married four times, to Perla Mux (married 1940, divorced 1944), Lydia Barachi (married 1946, divorced 1952), actress Arlene Dahl (married 1954, divorced 1960), and swimmer and actress Esther Williams (married 1969 until his death in 1982). He had a daughter with Mux and another with Barachi, and a son, actor Lorenzo Lamas (b. January 20, 1958), with Dahl.

Fernando Lamas died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age of 67. His ashes were scattered by close friend Jonathan Goldsmith from his sailboat.

Quotes

"When a person has an accent, it means he can speak one more language than you" — when Johnny Carson teased him about his accent during an appearance on The Tonight Show. In one of his most memorable moments on The Tonight Show, Lamas intimated that "sometimes other men said that he was gay, and nothing pleased him more than proving them wrong with their own wives."

In popular culture

An archetypal playboy, after his death, Lamas's image lived on in popular culture via the "Fernando" character developed by Billy Crystal on Saturday Night Live in the mid-1980s. The character was outlandish and exaggerated but reportedly inspired by a remark Crystal heard Lamas utter on The Tonight Show; "It is better to look good than to feel good." This was one of the Fernando character's two catchphrases along with the better-remembered "You look marvelous!" (usually spelled "mahvelous" in this context).

His friend, actor Jonathan Goldsmith, took inspiration from Lamas for the character The Most Interesting Man in the World.

Filmography

• On the Last Floor (1942)
• Stella (1943)
• Southern Border (1943)
• Villa rica del Espíritu Santo (1945)
• Evasion (1947)
• The Poor People's Christmas (1947)
• Tango Returns to Paris (1948)
• The Story of a Bad Woman (1948)
• La Rubia Mireya (1948)
• La Otra y yo (1949)
• The Story of the Tango (1949)
• The Unknown Father (1949)
• Vidalita (1949)
• Corrientes, calle de ensueños (1949)
• What's My Line? (195? tv show)
• The Avengers (1950)
• Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
• The Law and the Lady (1951)
• The Merry Widow (1952)
• The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)
• Sangaree (1953)
• Dangerous When Wet (1953)
• The Diamond Queen (1953)
• Jivaro (1954)
• Rose Marie (1954)
• The Girl Rush (1955)
• Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1958 tv show)
• The Lost World (1960)
• Duel of Fire (1962)
• Revenge of the Musketeers (1963)
• Magic Fountain (1963)
• A Place Called Glory (1965)
• The Violent Ones (1967)
• Kill a Dragon (1967)
• 100 Rifles (1969)
• The Lonely Profession (1969)
• Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)
• The Cheap Detective (1978)

External links

• Fernando Lamas at the Internet Movie Database