Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 9, 1915; he died in 1982, age 67.
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Fernando Lamas
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Lamas in the 1960s
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In the late 1940s, he was the third biggest star in the country.
In Argentina, his movies included En el último piso (1942), Frontera Sur (1943), Villa rica del Espíritu Santo (1945), and Stella (1946).
Lamas was seen in The Poor People’s Christmas (1947), The Tango Returns to Paris (1948), and The Story of a Bad Woman (1948).
He had the lead in La rubia Mireya (1949) alongside Mecha Ortiz, and key role in De padre desconocido (1949), Vidalita (1949) and The Story of the Tango (1950).
He also appeared in Corrientes, calle de ensueños (1949), and La otra y yo (1950).
His first American film was The Avengers (1950) for Republic Pictures, which was shot on location in Argentina. The scenes set in the U.S. led to Lamas going to Hollywood.
MGM
He supported Greer Garson and Michael Wilding in The Law and the Lady (1952), which was a flop.
MGM gave him a star tenor part as Lana Turner’s love interest in the popular operetta The Merry Widow (1952) by Franz Lehár.
He romanced Elizabeth Taylor in The Girl Who Had Everything (1952), which was also successful.
Lamas then went to Paramount where he was top billed in Sangaree (1953).
Back at MGM he was Esther Williams’ leading man in Dangerous When Wet (1953), a big commercial success.
At Warner, Lamas starred in The Diamond Queen (1954).
He did Jivaro (1954) at Paramount, then returned to MGM for a remake of Rose Marie (1954) supporting Howard Keel and Ann Blyth. It was popular but failed to recoup its cost.
At Paramount, he was Rosalind Russell’s leading man in The Girl Rush (1955).
Lamas started appearing on television, including an adaptation of
Hold Back” the Dawn for Lux Video Theatre.
“I couldn’t break the Latin lover image,” Lamas later lamented.
He starred on Broadway in the 1956 musical “Happy Hunting,” with Ethel Merman, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.
Television
Lamas did episodes of Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre (“The Bravado Touch”), Climax! (“Spider Web”), Pursuit (“Eagle in a Cage”), Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Zane Grey Theatre, but returned to features with The Lost World (1960).
He also guest starred in one episode of The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour.
Lamas appeared in the TV show “Combat!” (season 5 episode 4) “Brothers.”
Lamas moved to Europe with Esther Williams who became his wife. He directed a film in which they both starred, Magic Fountain, shot in 1961 and never released in the US.
He went to Italy for Duel of Fire (1962), and Revenge of the Musketeers (1963).
He helped write the Western A Place Called Glory (1965).
Lamas returned to Hollywood, focusing on television, with guest appearances on Burke’s Law, The Virginian, Laredo, Combat!, The Red Skelton Hour, Hondo and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E..
From 1965 to 1968 Lamas had regular role as Ramon De Vega on Run For Your Life, which starred Ben Gazzara; Lamas also directed some episodes.
He had a support role in Valley of Mystery (1967), a pilot for a series that did not proceed.
He directed another feature, The Violent Ones, which was released in 1967 and co-starred Aldo Ray and David Carradine.
Lamas was in Kill a Dragon (1967) and 100 Rifles (1969) and had guest roles on The High Chaparral, The Macahans, Tarzan, Then Came Bronson, It Takes a Thief, Mission: Impossible, The Name of the Game, Dan August, Alias Smith and Jones, Bearcats!, Mod Squad, Night Gallery, and McCloud.
TV director
Lamas then started directing TV: The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Mannix, Alias Smith and Jones, S.W.A.T., The Rookies, Jigsaw John, Starsky and Hutch, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Amazing Spider-Man, Secrets of Midland Heights, Flamingo Road, and Code Red.
As an actor, he was in the TV movies The Lonely Profession (1969) and Murder on Flight 502 (1975). He could also be seen in Bronk, Switch (which he also directed), Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), Quincy M.E., Charlie’s Angels, Police Woman, The Love Boat, The Cheap Detective, How the West Was Won, The Dream Merchants and House Calls.
Lamas produced the TV movie “Samurai,” released in 1979.
He directed episodes of Falcon Crest co-starring his son, Lorenzo.
He also helmed Bret Maverick and several episodes of House Calls.
He had a supporting role in the series Gavilan when he fell ill with cancer. His scenes were shot with Patrick Macnee.
Fernando Lamas died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, aged 67.
His ashes were scattered by his close friend Jonathan Goldsmith from his sailboat.
Good Looks: Ladies Man
Lamas was married four times.
His first marriage was to Argentine actress Perla Mux [es] in 1940, raising a daughter, Christina, before divorcing in 1944.
His second marriage in 1946 to Lydia Valeria Babacci also produced a daughter, Alejandra Lydia. They were divorced in 1952.
His third wife was the American actress Arlene Dahl, who he married in 1954. They had a son, Lorenzo Lamas (born January 20, 1958), who later became an actor. The couple divorced in 1960.
His longest marriage was to swimmer and actress Esther Williams in 1969–they remained married until Lamas’s death in 1982.
Before their marriage, they made some movies together, such as Dangerous When Wet, which was his most popular American picture.
Popular culture
His friend, actor Jonathan Goldsmith, took inspiration from Lamas for the character The Most Interesting Man in the World.
The best known parody of Fernando was on SNL sketches that featured Billy Crystal. In the recurring Fernando’s Hideaway sketch, Crystal used Lamas’s accent for inspiration, quoting the actor: “It is better to look good than to feel good.”
Filmography (1943-1978)
1943 On the Last Floor
1943 Stella
1943 Southern Border
1945 Villa rica del Espíritu Santo
1947 The Poor People’s Christmas
1947 Evasion as Bruno
1948 The Tango Returns to Paris
1948 Story of a Bad Woman
1948 La Rubia Mireya as Alberto
1949 The Unknown Father
1949 Vidalita
1949 The Story of the Tango as Juan Carlos Maldonado
1949 Corrientes, calle de ensueños
1949 La Otra y yo
1950 The Avengers as André LeBlanc
1951 Rich, Young and Pretty as Paul Sarnac
1951 The Law and the Lady as Juan Dinas
1952 The Merry Widow as Count Danilo
1953 The Girl Who Had Everything as Victor Y. Raimondi
1953 Sangaree as Dr. Carlos Morales
1953 Dangerous When Wet as Andre LaNet
1953 The Diamond Queen as Jean Baptiste Tavernier
1954 Jivaro as Rio Galdez
1954 Rose Marie as James Severn Duval
1955 The Girl Rush as Victor Monte
1960 The Lost World as Manuel Gomez
1962 Duel of Fire as Antonio Franco
1963 Revenge of the Musketeers as D’Artagnan
1963 Magic Fountain as Alberto
1965 A Place Called Glory
1967 The Violent Ones as Manuel Vega
1967 Kill a Dragon as Nico Patrai
1969 100 Rifles as General Verdugo
1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, Premiere Male Star
1978 The Cheap Detective, Paul DuChard
Television
1954 Lux Video Theatre
1958 The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour (“Lucy Goes to Sun Valley”)
1958 The Jane Wyman Show as Juan Bravado
1958 Climax! as Jose Aragon
1960 Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre as Giulio Mandati / Miguel
1969 Shirley Temple’s Storybook as Professor Fritz Bhaer
1965 Burke’s Law as Kelly Mars / El Greco
1965 The Virginian as Captain Estrada
1965 Combat! (“Breakout”) as Vertrain
1966 Laredo as Paco Romero
1966 Combat! (“The Brothers”) as Leon Paulon
1966 The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Salim Ibn Hydari, Alejandro De Sada
1967 Valley of Mystery as Francisco Rivera
1965-1968 Run for Your Life as Ramon De Vega
1971 Red Skelton Show (“Spy Is Peeping Tom on Salary”) Harry Sneak
1967 Hondo (“Hondo and the Comancheros”) as Rodrigo
1967 The High Chaparral (“The Firing Wall”) as “El Caudillo”
1968 Tarzan (“Jungle Ransom”) as Velasquez
1968-1970 It Takes a Thief, Paolo Monteggo/Pepe Rouchet/Francisco Arascan
1968-1970 Misson Impossible as Ramon Prado / Roger Toland
1969 Then Came Bronson (“Where Will the Trumpets Be?”) as Miguel Cordova
1969 The Lonely Profession as Dominic Savarona
1970 The Name of the Game as Cesar Rodriguez
1971 Dan August as Tony Storm
1971 Alias Smith and Jones as Jim “Big Jim” Santana
1971 Bearcats! as Chucho Morales (Pilot Movie, “Powderkeg”)
1971-1973 Mod Squad, as Arturo Roca/Lieutenant Ramon Sanchez
1973 Night Gallery as Dr. Ramirez (segment “Hatred Unto Death”)
1974 Sesame Street as himself (guest appearance)
1975 McCloud as Max Cortez
1975 Murder on Flight 502 as Paul Barons
1975 Bronk as Abriega
1976 Switch as Fouad
1977 Charlie’s Angels as Jericho
1977 Police Woman as Carlos Rubenez
1978 The Love Boat as Bill Klieg / Bill Teague
1979 How the West Was Won as Fierro
1980 House Calls (“Defeat of Clay”) as Dr. Langston
1980 The Dream Merchants as Conrad Stillman (final appearance)
