Immigrant of the Day: Fernando Álvaro Lamas (Argentina)

Fernando Álvaro Lamas (b. 1915, Buenos Aires, Argentina–d. 1982) was an 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 directed for the first time in 1963. It was a Spanish movie titled Magic Fountain. 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.

Lamas lived on in popular culture via the “Fernando” character developed by Billy Crystal on Saturday Night Live in the mid-1980s.

Fernando Lamas died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age of 67.

A nice Llamas quote:  “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.

KJ