Fernando Lamas
Fernando Alvaro Lamas (
January 9,
1916 â€"
October 8,
1982) was an
Argentine actor and director.
Lamas was born 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 was married four times, to Pearl 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-his death
1982).
He and Mux had one daughter. He and Barachi had one daughter. And he and Dahl had one son, actor
Lorenzo Lamas (b.
January 20,
1958).
Lamas directed for the first time in
1963. It was a Spanish movie titled
Magic Fountain starring his wife
Esther Williams. He was most active directing on
television, doing episodes that included
Mannix,
The Violent Ones,
Alias Smith and Jones,
Starsky and Hutch and
Falcon Crest. The latter show co-starred his son, Lorenzo.
Lamas 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!"
Fernando Lamas died of
pancreatic cancer in
Los Angeles, California at the age of 66.
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