'Falcon Crest' Star Lorenzo Lamas' Eventful Life: From Living In A Garage To Becoming A Helicopter Pilot

Jan 07, 2022

Lorenzo Lamas is an American actor and pilot that is best known for playing the role of Lance Cumson on the hit soap opera "Falcon Crest." For his performance, Lamas was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film. The show ran from 1981 to 1990. Lamas is also known for portraying Reno Raines on the series "Renegade" from 1992 to 1997. 

The star was featured on the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" from 2004 to 2006. He also appeared on the kids series "Big Time Rush" and voiced a character on "Phineas and Ferb." Beginning in 2009, a reality TV show about the actor's life and family aired on the E! Network called "Leave It to Lamas."

As the son of actor Fernando Lamas and actress Arlene Dahl, it seemed that Lorenzo was destined for a career in entertainment. He studied acting at Tony Barr's Film Actors Workshop and appeared in his first film in 1976. In 1978, Lamas secured a role in the film "Grease" as a jock. He dyed his hair blonde for the part but said he did not mind and was just thrilled to meet Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. 

In his personal life, Lamas has been married five times and has six children. He is currently engaged to be married to former model Kenna Scott. Although he hasn't officially retired from acting, Lamas works primarily as a pilot for the company IEX Helicopters. Read on to learn more about Lamas, his past and his career change.

Growing up with parents that worked in the film industry was not always easy for Lamas. He shared with Fox, "I idolized my father, especially as a young boy. He was bigger than life. He commanded the room. He'd done everything, seen everything, been with every woman. It's pretty heady stuff to grow up with."

Part of what made his childhood so difficult was that his father was not always a pleasant man to be around. "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," Lamas explained. 

One story that stands out from his childhood is that when his father married Esther Williams, he wouldn't let his own son in the house. Lamas said, "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. So my roommate was a Rolls Royce. I had a key that let me in the backdoor where there was a guest bathroom."

The actor added that this treatment is not normal for a child. Lamas shared, "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 4 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."

In 2014, Lamas released a book about his life called "Renegade at Heart: An Autobiography." The star said that he wanted to wait to write the book until he was ready. He said:

"I felt like I was old enough to have some perspective on my life. I've been asked to write a book for years but I never thought I was mature enough to be able to look back at my life with a real perspective on the decisions I've made and the choices I've made. It's like my journal to the folks out there who have been curious about why I've done certain things, like why did I marry five people? How does a person substantiate that? It was a very cathartic experience for me."

On the topic of his five marriages, Lamas admits he has some regrets. "I wish I'd done so many things differently. I just never asked anyone for a prenup because I figured if you're asking it's like you're almost professing failure at the outset. I just never could. Yeah, it was devastating," he said.

In 2021, the star is engaged to Kenna Scott and working as a helicopter pilot. He shared:

"I'm OK. I'm in Beverly Hills. I'm working as a helicopter pilot, something I love to do. I got tired of waiting for the phone to ring to get me on another B-movie. I don't care about that anymore. I've had a tremendous amount of success as an actor so I've kind of put that behind me. I don't have an agent or manager. I'm really focusing on my new career as a commercial pilot and I'm enjoying it tremendously. I teach and I do helicopter tours here in L.A. and I'm slowly building up that career. I'm very motivated."

Do you remember Lorenzo Lamas? What do you think of his career change? Let us know and feel free to send this along to your friends and family.