FERNANDO LAMAS

January 9, 1916

Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

He studied drama at school in his native country and later enrolled in a law course at college. He abandoned his studies to take up horse riding, winning trophies fencing and boxing and becoming the South American Freestyle Swimming Champion of 1937. While still in his teens he appeared on stage, then on radio, and by the age of 24 in his first motion picture.

It was the 1950 film The Avengers, shot in Argentina, that brought Fernando Lamas to Hollywood. His first time on television was in a “Lux Video Theatre” production of “Hold Back The Dawn” based on the 1941 film, which aired on September 16, 1954. 

In 1956 he went to Broadway to star with Ethel Merman in the musical Happy Hunting for which he was nominated for a 1957 Tony Award. It was his only Broadway show.  

In 1958, he guest-starred in “Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (LDCH S1;E5) filmed on location in Sun Valley, Idaho, in February 1958, and first aired on April 4, 1958. 

Lucille Ball co-starred with virtually all of Hollywood’s Latin-American heartthrobs: Desi Arnaz, Cesar Romero, and Ricardo Montalban. 

Although Lucy was a skier and Lamas was a champion athlete, the stunt skiing sequence was filmed in the studio and performed on location with stunt doubles!

Like Cornel Wilde and Robert Cummings, Lucy liked to interrupt Hollywood’s leading men while in the bath or shower! 

Lamas got a shiner fighting for Lucy’s virtue!  

His final screen appearance was in the 1980 TV mini-series “The Dream Merchants” based on the Harold Robbins novel. 

• Lamas was married 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 Babacci (or Barachi); this marriage also produced 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 swimmer and actress Esther Williams in 1969, and they remained married until Lamas’s death in 1982.

Fernando Lamas died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, aged 66.