You could say Lorenzo Lamas was always destined to become an actor. His parents worked in the industry, and it didn’t take long before he entered it himself.
Lamas has starred in classics such as the television series Falcon Crest and the legendary film Grease. Still to this day, the California native is working as an actor – and at 65, he looks terrific!
However, Lamas’s life has had its ups and downs, and he’s gone through some rather tough times. Here’s all you need to know about Lorenzo and the many struggles he’s overcome.
One was getting over the fact that his son had an affair with his ex-wife.

Even as a young kid, Lorenzo Lamas’s stars had aligned where acting was concerned.
Born Lorenzo Fernando Lamas on January 20, 1958, in Santa Monica, California, he was raised by his mother Arlene Dahl, an American actress of Norwegian descent, and his father Fernando Lamas, an Argentinian who worked as an actor and director.
Lorenzo Lamas – early life
Lorenzo grew up in the fashionable area of Pacific Palisades, California. At age two, his parents divorced, and eight years later, he moved to New York with his father.
Lorenzo has often drawn upon the fact that his family comes from different parts of the world. He once starred as Dracula in a Halloween production of the famous Bram Stoker novel and had no problem at all adopting a different accent.
“I grew up with a man who had a voice like Dracula and every other bigger-than-life character you could ever think of in my father,” he told the New York Times in 2007. “I take a little bit from him to do the accent. I’ve also done four movies in Bulgaria.”
While Lorenzo was transitioning from a kid into a young man, his father had a pretty wild lifestyle. According to Lorenzo, his father had “been with every woman.” Yet as a child, he adored him.
“I idolized my father, especially as a young boy. He was bigger than life. He commanded the room. He’d done everything, seen everything,” he told Fox. “It’s pretty heady stuff to grow up with.”

“He was Latin, he was very judgmental, he thought a woman’s place was in the kitchen. He just happened to marry a woman who was a top ten box office star of the ’50s, and she retired to serve him!”
First work in acting
Lorenzo’s father married actress Esther Williams in 1969, a year after their move to “The Big Apple,” and life for Lorenzo got tough at times. For example, when Esther’s children visited, Lorenzo wasn’t even allowed to sleep in the house!
“He was many things, but he was also fair, so if he wasn’t going to allow another man’s children in his house, then he couldn’t allow me in the house,” he recalled.
“So my roommate was a Rolls Royce. I had a key that let me in the backdoor where there was a guest bathroom. But I came from military school, so living in a garage in Beverly Hills was plush to me. I had shared a urinal with 30 guys for the last four years. Looking back, I know that’s not normal. I know that I would never do that to my kids. I run my three teenage daughters around like a chauffeur.”
Lorenzo Lamas attended private school and graduated from the Admiral Farragut Academy in 1975. Instead of staying on the East Coast, he decided to leave for his home state of California.
Though his father could be a strict man, he always encouraged his son to follow his dreams and backed him wholeheartedly in pursuing his dreams of becoming an actor. Lorenzo enrolled at Tony Barr’s Film Actors Workshop. In 1977, he got his first minor role in television, starring in two episodes of the show Switch.

While cultivating his acting talent, Lorenzo also found that he had a tremendous interest in martial arts. He got in shape – and later on, earned black belts in both taekwondo and karate.
Lorenzo Lamas in ‘Grease’
Now, getting roles in bigger productions often takes time for most actors. Some have to try out at hundreds of auditions to get one part; others have to wait years, maybe even decades, to land their first role in a more significant Hollywood production.
For Lorenzo Lamas, however, this wasn’t the case. In 1978, he was cast as the good-looking stud “Tom Chisum” in the legendary film Grease, featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. He played the boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John’s character, “Sandy”. That said, he initially wasn’t chosen for the part.
Steven Ford – son of former President Gerald Ford – was considered for the role, but was reportedly too nervous to play “Tom”. The part had no dialogue, but that didn’t bother Lorenzo when he got the gig.
People probably knew that the film had potential at the time, but even so, it’s safe to say that Lamas secured himself an extraordinary place in film history with his relatively small credit in Grease.
“I’m amazed by the longevity. It keeps finding new generations of people,” he told Studio 10.
Lorenzo had dark hair at the time, but the producers thought he looked too much like a “T-Bird” to star as Sandy’s boyfriend. As a result, they dyed his hair lighter – something that he didn’t mind at all.
“I would have dyed it green, fuchsia, anything,” he told People.

At the time, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were already stars. For Lorenzo Lamas, it was a dream come true just to meet them. What made the whole thing even better, was that Olivia Newton-Jon had been Lorenzo’s childhood crush.
Became a star on ‘Falcon Crest’
“I was 19. It was only the third thing I’ve ever done. And I was at the Paramount lot, meeting my childhood crush, Olivia Newton-John, and Mr. Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta. So I was kind of in a complete zombie state, to begin with,” Lorenzo recalled.
He explained that he had all her albums, and in high school, he and his friends even had routines dancing to her albums. When they finally met, Lorenzo was almost knocked off his heels.
“I couldn’t take my eyes off her,” he told Studio 10.
Grease was, of course, a big deal for Lorenzo and a fantastic opportunity when looking back. Naturally, though, it wasn’t quite a breakthrough since he only appeared in a few scenes.
In 1981, he got the role of Lance Cumson on Falcon Crest. The nighttime soap became a huge success, with Lamas starring alongside Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman for 228 episodes.
Wyman portrayed Lamas’ grandmother on the show – at that time, she was a massive Hollywood star. Lamas had problems with illegal substances at this point in his career, until one day on set, Wyman had enough of his behavior
Became a star on ‘Falcon Crest’
“I was 19. It was only the third thing I’ve ever done. And I was at the Paramount lot, meeting my childhood crush, Olivia Newton-John, and Mr. Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta. So I was kind of in a complete zombie state, to begin with,” Lorenzo recalled.
He explained that he had all her albums, and in high school, he and his friends even had routines dancing to her albums. When they finally met, Lorenzo was almost knocked off his heels.
“I couldn’t take my eyes off her,” he told Studio 10.
Grease was, of course, a big deal for Lorenzo and a fantastic opportunity when looking back. Naturally, though, it wasn’t quite a breakthrough since he only appeared in a few scenes.
In 1981, he got the role of Lance Cumson on Falcon Crest. The nighttime soap became a huge success, with Lamas starring alongside Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman for 228 episodes.
Wyman portrayed Lamas’ grandmother on the show – at that time, she was a massive Hollywood star. Lamas had problems with illegal substances at this point in his career, until one day on set, Wyman had enough of his behavior
Pittie Mom Can’t Stop Crying For Her Puppies After Being Abandoned At Shelter

When Cinnamon – a red nose Pitbull girl – was dumped at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control shelter in North Carolina, she was absolutely heartbroken.
She had been abandoned without her babies, and every time anyone stopped to talk to her, tears filled her eyes.
This sad Pitbull mama caught the eyes of one volunteer, who then decided to film a short video of her and post it on Facebook.
Only 48 hours later, the life of Cinnamon completely changed.
Cry Of A Broken Heart


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Sarah Jennings Sleime, normally a volunteer for the Greater Charlotte SPCA, decided one Saturday that she was going to make a spontaneous trip to animal control to check out a couple of dogs for rescue.
She had no idea that one dog in particular was going to break her heart.
“I walked the kennels and a pit bull caught my eye… she was sitting up, kind of slumped-over, almost human-like,” Sleime wrote in her Instagram post.
It was pretty obvious that she recently had puppies and was completely heartbroken since her puppies weren’t there with her.
“[The shelter workers] believe she was confined and used as a breeding machine. She’s obviously had many, many litters,” Sleime told The Dodo.
She then bent over and started to talk to Cinnamon, but each time she did so, Cinnamon’s eyes filled with tears.
“It was the craziest phenomenon,” Sleime said.

In the absence of a foster home, the SPCA was unable to rescue any big dogs, but Sleime knew she had to do something to help this poor dog.
“I snapped some video footage of her “crying” and posted it to Facebook. 48 hours later, that video has been viewed 1 MILLION times and shared by 20k people,” Sleime wrote.
In only a day, Sleime’s inbox was filled with hundreds of messages about Cinnamon and her availability.
So many people wanted to adopt this pretty girl and give her a new life that will not be filled with tears.
Happily Ever After
Sleime’s friend, Meghan Connor Shelton, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was also among the hundreds of people to see Cinnamon’s video.
She told The Dodo:
“I have a special place in my heart for pit bulls. I think they’re a very misunderstood dog and a misunderstood breed. And when I saw her in that video, literally crying in a cage, I cried. My kids cried. I showed my husband, and he said we could go look at her tomorrow.”
The next morning, Shelton’s family was first in line to meet Cinnamon.
The whole family, including the children, were immediately in love with her. “It was love at first sight. She just kind of pulled at our heartstrings,” Shelton said.
They filled out the paperwork, and as soon as Cinnamon – now known as Rosie – was spayed, they brought her home.

The family already had another dog at home – a 3-year-old Pitbull male named Blu.
At first, they weren’t sure if the two would get along, especially since Rosie had suffered a lot in her life, but she surprised everyone.
“It was interesting because you never know how it’s going to go, but they just kind of sat next to each other with tails wagging,” Shelton said.

The two are now the best of friends, and they enjoy each other’s company. It’s like they’ve known each other their whole life.
As Rosie slowly got used to her new home and life, her personality also blossomed. According to the family, one of her most interesting characteristics is that “when she gets excited, she snorts like a pig”.
Rosie’s touching video not only secured her a new home, but it also helped many other dogs at the shelter find their forever home.

“Small acts have a big impact: Not only was this sweet dog, Cinnamon, adopted the next morning, but other families who came to adopt her saved other dogs at the shelter, freeing up kennels for strays and owner surrenders waiting in the back who would have certainly been euthanized as the shelter is full,” Sleime said.
One simple video or a photo can reach millions of people and in a matter of seconds, change someone’s life.
Visit the CMPD Animal Care and Control page, and the Greater Charlotte SPCA’s website for more information about adoptable dogs for an opportunity to save another pup’s life just like Rosie’s was saved.
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