Fernando Lamas

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Fernando Lamas
Fernando Lamas circa mid 1960s.JPG
Lamas in the 1960s.
Born Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos
(1915-01-09)January 9, 1915
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(s) Esther Williams (widow: 1969–82)
Arlene Dahl (divorced: 1954–60)
Lydia Barachi (divorced: 1946–52)
Perla Mux (divorced: 1940–44)
Children Lorenzo Lamas
Alexandra Lamas
Christina Lamas

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

Contents

Early life and career [edit]

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

Lamas was born Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos[1] in Buenos Aires, Argentina. By 1942, he was an established movie star in Argentina. His first film made in the United States was The Avengers in 1950. In 1951, he signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and went on to play "Latin Lover" roles.

In 1951, he starred as Paul Sarnac in the musical, Rich, Young and Pretty and as Juan Dinas in the comedy, The Law and the Lady. Throughout the 1950s, Lamas had leading roles in a number of MGM musicals, including Dangerous When Wet with his future wife Esther Williams. After the beginning of the 1960s, he turned to TV series; mostly appearing in guest roles. From 1965 to 1968, Lamas had a regular role as Ramon De Vega on Run For Your Life, which starred Ben Gazzara.

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 [edit]

Lamas was married four times, to Perla Mux (1940-1944), Lydia Barachi (1946-1952), actress Arlene Dahl (1954-1960), and swimmer and actress Esther Williams (1969 until his death in 1982). He had a daughter with Mux and another with Barachi, and a son, actor Lorenzo Lamas (born 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.[2]

Quotes [edit]

"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, "Sometimes other men said that he was gay, and nothing pleased him more than proving them wrong with their own wives."

In popular culture [edit]

An archetypal playboy,[3] 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).[4][5]

His friend, actor Jonathan Goldsmith, took inspiration from Lamas for the character The Most Interesting Man in the World.[6]

Filmography [edit]

  • 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)
  • The Avengers - Andre LeBlanc (1950)
  • Rich, Young and Pretty - Paul Sarnac (1951)
  • The Law and the Lady - Juan Dinas (1951)
  • The Merry Widow - Count Danillo (1952)
  • The Girl Who Had Everything - Victor Y. Raimondi (1953)
  • Sangaree - Doctor Carlos Morales (1953)
  • Dangerous When Wet - Andre LaNet (1953)
  • The Diamond Queen - Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1953)
  • Jivaro - Rio Galdez (1954)
  • Rose Marie - James Severn Duval (1954)
  • The Girl Rush - Victor Monte (1955)
  • The Lost World - Manuel Gomez (1960)
  • Duel of Fire - Antonio Franco (1962)
  • Revenge of the Musketeers - D'Artagnan (1963)
  • Magic Fountain (1963)
  • A Place Called Glory (1965)
  • The Violent Ones - Manuel Vega (1967)
  • Kill a Dragon - Nico Patrai (1967)
  • 100 Rifles - General Vertugo (1969)
  • Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood - Premiere Male Star (1976)
  • The Cheap Detective - Paul DuChard (1978)

Television work [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ International Directory of Performing Arts Collections and Institutions
  2. ^ Elaine Aradillas (2009-07-02). "Meet the Real Most Interesting Man in the World". people.com. Retrieved 2010-08-03. 
  3. ^ Malone, Michael (May 1979). Heroes of Eros: male sexuality in the movies. Dutton. ISBN 978-0-525-47552-1. Retrieved 2 May 2011. 
  4. ^ Friedman, Roger (2006-11-09). "Britney Takes Publicity Into Her Own Hands". FoxNews.com. 
  5. ^ Thomas, Bob (1985-10-29). "Billy Crystal Moving from TV to Silver Screen". Ocala Star-Banner. Associated Press. p. 8C. 
  6. ^ Fox News. 2010-09-27. http://video.foxnews.com/v/4149883/the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world

External links [edit]

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