The Natural Talents of Lorenzo Lamas

Lorenzo Lamas is truly a Hollywood hunk with loads of talent and charisma.  He is the son of Movie Stars Arlene Dahl and Fernando Lamas. He is also the stepson of Esther Williams.  Lorenzo was raised in Pacific Palisades, California until 1968 when his family moved to New York. He attended private school, graduating from Admiral Farragut Academy in 1975. He then moved back to California. With encouragement from his father, he enrolled in Tony Barr's Film Actors Workshop.  He also began to study karate and tae kwon do in 1979.  He has made many action movies where he put these skills to use on the big screen.  

Lorenzo is an avid Harley-Davidson motorcycle enthusiast.  He collects them and takes part in charity rides.  He now owns his own motorcycle company called Lorenzo Cycles.  Lorenzo holds a commercial pilot's license and is a volunteer pilot for ‘Angel Flight,’ a charitable organization dedicated to providing free air transportation to medical facilities for patients who cannot afford public transportation or cannot tolerate it for medical reasons.

Lorenzo is mostly of South American heritage from his father, but he is partially of Norwegian descent on his mother's side.  He made his film debut as a child in the film ‘100 Rifles’ with his Dad and starred as Olivia Newton-John’s boyfriend in the classic film ‘Grease’ before his starring roles as Lance Cumson in ‘Falcon Crest’and as Det. Reno Raines in ‘Renegade.'  He was the only actor to appear in all 227 episodes of ‘Falcon Crest.'  He has also starred in two more television series ‘The Immortal’ and ‘Air America.’  Lorenzo has a new show debuting in January on Spike TV called 'The New Joe Schmo Show: Full Bounty' where a group of actors fool a TV wannabe into thinking he’s on the most insane competition series ever.

He has been married five times and has six children.  His daughter Shayne was on the show ‘The Bachelor’ in 2002.  He starred in his own reality show ‘Leave It To Lamas’ in 2009.  His personal life is well documented on You Tube as the papparazzi follow him around anywhere he goes.

Many people may not realize what a great singer he is as well.  I saw Lorenzo sing live on stage at a benefit a couple of years ago.  He was fantastic!  For the past six years he has starred in many touring musicals including 'The King and I’ and performing his nightclub act all over the United States.  While I was talking with him for this blog I noticed a CD of one of his live shows.  I mentioned how much I enjoyed his singing and he instantly gave me the CD!  So now I have enjoyed his versions of standards like ‘Night and Day’ and 'The Nearness Of You.’  Lorenzo Lamas is real Hollywood Royalty and it shows in all he does.  Classy, generous, kind hearted, thoughtful and handsome describe him very well.  





AM:  Lorenzo, I know you have been into motorcycles for a long time and now you have a business.  Can you tell me exactly what this business is about?


LL:  Sure, in 2009 I formed a motorcycle company to build custom motorcycles, but not only to build bikes and sell the accessories, but also to make the public aware that as motorcyclists we are a charitable group.  We do a lot of rides to raise money for a vast array of charities.


AM:  What are some of your favorite charities?


LL:   My favorite charities benefit children and the veterans, the men and women who have served in the military, and who are presently serving as well.


AM:  Those are good ones.  Motorcyclists are very important.


LL:   Motorcycling is a lifestyle for me.  It’s something I’ve enjoyed for 30 years, and not just because of the machinery, the sights and sounds or the sensations, but also for the people I’ve met over the years.  I’d like to get the word out to the non-riding individual who perhaps might be thinking about getting into motorcycling that you can support these charities.  So my reason for starting the business was a two pronged objective.  I have a passion I want to grow into more like designing motorcycles.  I work with two builders on that.  We have a clothing designer that fashions T-shirts for men and women.  We have a guy that makes leather cuffs.  We have all these artists and creative people that are bound together by the love of the road.


AM:  Are you inclusive of all types of motorcycles or just Harleys?


LL:  Oh sure, all types, absolutely.


AM:  Do own several motorcycles now?


LL:   I don’t right now.  We have two company bikes.  We have built four models and have two models ready to sell.  I personally own a motorcycle.  It’s a Harley and the bikes we build are similar to Harleys.  We use a V twin American made power plant.  The builders that work with us are American.  I work with these guys on designs that I think are going to be attractive to the consumer.  I tend to pay attention to the trends in motorcycling and what the guys are doing to their bikes in their garages.  I try to expand this with either a new introductory bike that will reflect the trend or just parts of the bike, the air cleaner, the exhaust pipes, seats, bars, things anyone can change that alter the look of the bike to make it look more like the current trends of today are.    


AM:  Are motorcycle looks always evolving?


LL:  They are...you can pick up a Harley Davidson bike that’s thirty or forty years old for $5,000 or less and that bike still has the same character as it had thirty years ago.  There’s something intangible about the attractiveness of a Harley or an American made motorcycle.  There’s something that transcends the time.   I’ve had the Japanese performance bikes and I love riding them.  They are all great bikes but they tend to be somewhat purposefully built.  They are made for going fast, breaking good, turning right and always starting.  I’ve loved the performance bikes I had in the past, but I rarely walk away from a bike and turn back over my shoulder to get that last look and that’s what sums up my affection for Harleys.  There’s something about the quality that goes into building these things that make it special.  It’s much like a classic Corvette.  There is an iconic stance to them.  You get addicted to that.



AM:  You mentioned charities.  I’m betting you were raised to be charitable your whole life.


LL:  Well I think certainly after I achieved my first bit of fame and I started attending charity events to help raise money for whatever cause it was benefiting, all because I was on television and people knew me, I realized we have a lot of power as a celebrity.  With that power you can really bring attention to wonderful causes.  I’m lucky enough to have made a fairly significant impact in the entertainment industry, why not do something with that notoriety that benefits millions of people.  It’s an individual thing.  Not everybody’s into it.  I can name five stars off the top of my head who have never done a thing for charity, but for me personally it’s a responsibility.


AM:  That’s a great way to look at it.


LL:   Like you said I think it was the way I was raised.  My parents have always been philanthropists and always involved in raising awareness for one group of people or another.   My Dad was very instrumental in starting a group of Latino Performers called the Nosotros Organization.  Back then it was him and Ricardo Montalban who got the doors open for many Hispanic Actors, Directors, Writers and Producers that were struggling with the stereotype of being Spanish speaking Americans.  Certainly it’s different now, but I think Dad opened the door for many Latino performers and Edward James Olmos did the same thing.


AM:  Do you resonate with your Latino blood?


LL:  I do!  I certainly do when I’m with a group of them.  I feel a belonging and a brotherhood when I’m with them even though I don’t speak the language fluently.  There’s the whole essence of what it means to be a Latin man.  I’m not talking about the over used word, macho.  I’m talking about a compassion that a Latino person has, especially when it comes to charity.  There are some great Latino organizations that promote charity, not just within the Latin community, but all over the demographic.


AM:  I’ve heard it mentioned that you have earned a bad reputation.  Why is that?


LL:  You have one chance to make a first impression.  You’re always going to be remembered by the first thing you do.   The first show I became successful with was ‘Falcon Crest.’  I played the part of a spoiled playboy who had the world at his feet and treated his fellow vineyard owners despicably.   After nine years of playing this spoiled grandson, who did become a little less repulsive as the years went by, that’s what people remember.  My personal life did reflect some of the writing from the show.  I’ve been divorced.  I have six children.  I’ve been photographed with some of the most beautiful women.  People have trouble differentiating between the actor and the character they play.  I think that played a larger role.  I have to take responsibility for all the personal stuff.  I can’t blame anybody for all the tabloid stuff that has come out over the years.  That can affect the way the public sees you.  People believe what they read.  If they read that you are green and have scales enough times they will start to believe it even when you aren’t green and have scales.  


AM:  Is there a positive side to this?


LL:  The positive side for me is as stereotyped as an individual may be in the entertainment business, they can change their image just as quickly as they get it by choosing an interesting new project that puts them in the public eye in a completely different way.   We’ve all heard how Madonna has reinvented herself a dozen times and that’s just the example that comes to my mind right now.  People have done it and done it successfully.  Leslie Nielson is another example.  He was a character actor who made a career out of playing small parts in episodic television, usually playing the villain, and suddenly he was cast in ‘The Naked Gun’ movie and he had a comedy career.  


AM:  You’re very good at comedy too.


LL:  I’m working on it.  I’ve done more of it lately.  I’m hoping that it catches on.


AM:  It’s really hard to get parts now isn’t it?


LL:  It is hard for an actor who has established their self in a genre that has come and gone.  That’s the challenge.  Most of my success came in an action genre.  I’ve made a lot of films where I am the Rambo character or the Martial Arts character who takes himself seriously and that’s not what's happening now.  The public now wants to see things like 'The Expendables’ where these great iconic action stars are making fun of themselves.


AM:  Lorenzo you are so versatile.  You have done many musicals on stage.  Has that decreased as well?


LL:  No I go all over the country and perform in musicals.  I just came back from Massachusetts where I did 'A Chorus Line.’  



AM:  Did you notice with the downturn in the economy that a lot of shows just didn’t happen?


LL: Of course, that’s the second part of all this scenario.  There are less productions made.  The choices are fewer.  What’s happening that I can see is a lot of the parts are going to twenty and thirty year olds.  I’m 54 so I’m at the other end of the scale.  I’m playing somebody’s Dad now.


AM:  I don’t know if I believe you as 54.  You look maybe 40.


LL:  (laughing)  That’s the problem.  Well thank you.  I love the fact that I’m healthy.  I think chasing after three middle school girls helps.  You can’t take yourself too seriously in a life where you deal with kids 24/7.  They don’t take you seriously.  



AM:  Did you always want to have six children?


LL:  I never thought so but I’ve spent my whole adult life raising kids.


AM:  So that wasn’t part of your plan as a kid growing up?


LL:  I had one plan in mind when I came out to Los Angeles at 18 after I finished high school in New Jersey and that was to be the next Steve McQueen.  I was going to be the next “Star.”  I went to an acting school in Burbank and called my Mom in New York and she asked me if I had decided what I was going to do.  I told her, “Yes I’m going to be a star, I mean actor.”  She said, “I heard you the first time.”  (Laughter)  I did mean actor.  I thought why not?  My Dad did it.  My Mom did it.  My Stepmom did it.    


AM:  But not everybody can do it.  I think you believed it and you were right!


LL:  I think that’s a lot of it.  You just have to believe in yourself.


AM:  You had such proximity to stardom it had to make it more tangible for you to believe in it.


LL:  I did have that and it helped get me through the first two or three years of struggling and not getting parts.  I was working as a trainer at Jack LeLane’s and during my breaks I would pick up the phone and call the casting agents for films that were in production and introduce myself.  I told them I’d like to come in and meet with them.  I asked if they would have a part that was right for me and if I could read for it.  I was shameless.  I made dozens of calls a week.  Out of two dozen calls I’d reach two people that would say come on in out of curiosity.


AM:  Did you tell them your name?


LL:  Oh yeah!  I sold everybody out!  As I said, I was shameless.  I realized that if I’m one person calling this agent I can only imagine how many other people were doing it on a daily basis.  I used anything I could to set me apart including telling them my Dad was Fernando Lamas and my mom was Arlene Dahl.  My Dad told me to be a pain in the ass because they won’t remember you otherwise.  I was relentless.  That’s how it was in the old days.  Back then you could get away with not being very good.  As long as you had a look they were interested in you could get in the door if you could put two words together.  But now every kid is more beautiful than the next kid and they are all so talented.  You can’t get away with being rotten.  You can’t even get in a casting office now without a coach or agent saying you’re a good actor.  You can’t even get an audition unless you have a reputation already or a large following on twitter.



AM:  Speaking of that, do you participate in social media?


LL:  I am on Facebook but not as a fan page, it’s more personal.  It takes a lot of energy to do that.  I don’t enjoy talking about what I’m getting at Starbucks.   If I get a series I might do it. I do have a new show coming out in January on the Spike channel.  It’s called 'The New Joe Schmo Show.’  They are reviving a show they made before that is a fake reality show.  It's all a prank on one person.  It was a lot of fun.


AM:  That will be great!  You’ve managed to stay in the public eye.  You’re very gifted at that!  You’re always so nice to the papparazzi and such.


LL:  Thank you.


AM:  Before we end I have to tell you I love your singing voice and style.  Did you always sing?


LL:   I never thought I was going to use my voice really.  I thought I was going to be a TV actor and a movie once in a while.  It’s funny what happens in life when you’re forced to dig deep.


AM:  You’re such a natural.


LL:   I’d never done any singing on stage ever.


AM:  When was the first time you did it?


LL:   2006.


AM:  So you’ve only been singing for six years?


LL:  I never imagined it before.  I was petrified.  On a film set you are very protected by the crew.  If you blow a take you do another one.  The thought of performing live on stage is something that must be studied for years.


AM:  That’s why I thought you had done it all your life.


LL:  No, I’d never done it before.  I took a crash course in voice and projection.  My Mom was very helpful.  She introduced me to a wonderful entertainer, Michael Feinstein.  We had dinner at his house one night with Michelle Lee and Lorna Luft.  After dinner we all adjourned to the piano room and he started playing some tunes and we all sang something.  I had just done an Aids benefit where I sang 'Surrey With The Fringe On Top.’  It’s a strange song from 'Oklahoma’ but it was the only song I knew at that point.  After Michael heard me sing he told me I should do something with it.  Three weeks later my agent got a call from him asking me if I would like to open at his club in New York.  That was the beginning of it.  I did the opening and worked with Michael on voice.  I hired a wonderful director named Stuart Ross who directed 'Forever Plaid.’  We worked on a show specifically for the people who watched 'Falcon Crest’ and that meant standards from the great American songbook and stories about my parents and the business.  The show was a hit.  As soon as it got out that I could sing I started getting offers from theaters around the country.