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"When
a person has an accent, it means they can speak one more language
than you"
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The incorrigible latin lover.
After Porfirio
Rubirosa , “Tweedland” presents Fernando Lamas.
“JEEVES”
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"Sometimes
other men said that he was gay, and nothing pleased him more than
proving them wrong with their own wives.”
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Born Fernando Álvaro
Lamas y de Santos in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by 1942, he was an
established movie star in his native country. 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.
Lamas was married
four times. His first marriage was to Argentine actress Perla Mux in
1940 and they had a daughter, Christina before divorcing in 1944.
His second marriage
was in 1946 to Lydia Barachi. Fernando and Lydia also had a daughter,
Alexandra. They were later divorced in 1952.
His third wife was
the American actress Arlene Dahl. They were married in 1954. They
were later divorced in 1960. Out of this marriage was born a son,
Lorenzo Lamas (born January 20, 1958).
His longest marriage
was to the well known swimmer and actress Esther Williams in 1969,
and they remained married until Fernando's death in 1982.
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.
After his death,
Lamas's archetypal playboy 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.
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