Basic Provisions
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At a recent meeting fans of the movie "Grease"« Lorenzo Lamas recalled how he landed the role of Tom Chisum in the musical film.
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Lamas credited his mother, film star Arlene Dahl, for introducing him to producer Allan Carr.
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The role of the dim-witted athlete was originally played by actor Stephen Ford.
Lorenzo Lamas's first film role, and it was a significant one, was supposed to be played by someone else.
On Saturday at the actors' meeting film "Grease"« At the Hollywood Show in Burbank, California, he recalled landing the role of Tom Chisum, which was originally intended for Stephen "Steve" M. Ford, the son of President Gerald Ford. Ford later turned down the role.
In March 1977, before he became a professional actor, he accompanied his mother, film star Arlene Dahl, to the Academy Awards ceremony. Afterward, they went to the famous Governor's Ball.
«Everyone sat down at the tables, they served wonderful food, and my mother and I sat across from Allan Carr,» Lamas said of the producer. «Grease» . "Shirley Eder, the PR person at the time, was a friend of my mother's, and she came to our table and said, 'Arlene, you must introduce Lorenzo to Allan Carr, he's producing the musical. «Grease» for Paramount.".
She did so, and everything went well.
Lorenzo Lamas in 1979 and Stephen Ford in 1981. Photo: Jack Mitchell/Getty; Deanna Wheatley/Getty
«"This is my first time meeting anyone in show business," Lamas said. "I graduated from military school nine months ago, and Allan Carr says, 'Oh, Miss Dahl, you're absolutely stunning,' and he really is. He recognized her immediately. And my mother, as mothers do, pulled me over and said, 'Allan, meet my son Lorenzo. He's going to be a big star.'".
Lamas said her words made him want to "die right there." "I just wanted to crawl under the table and disappear.".
But it paid off.
«Two months later,» Lamas recalls, “Allan Carr contacted me somehow, I think through Shirley, and wanted to meet me at Paramount Studios.”.
So, it was Lamas who ensured that the role of the dim-witted athlete that Sandy, played by Olivia Newton-John, dates made Danny, played by John Travolta, jealous.
Much of the appeal of the role lay in the opportunity to act alongside Newton-John, of whom Lamas was a great admirer.
He readily changed his hair color from black to blonde, as Carr requested. Seriously.
«"I would change the color to rainbow to film scenes with Olivia," he added.
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Ford subsequently starred in films such as «When Harry Met Sally..., «Starship Troopers» и «Black Hawk Down» , as well as in the television series «The Young and the Restless» .
After film "Grease"« , which became the highest-grossing film of 1978 and continues to enjoy phenomenal success, Lamas continued to star in the evening television series «Falcon Crest» from 1981 to 1990, and from 2004 to 2006, in a daytime series «The Bold and the Beautiful» . He also starred in dozens of films.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.