Don Ameche
Encyclopedia
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.
, the son of Barbara, who was of Irish
and German
descent, and Felice Ameche , an immigrant from Italy
born in montemonaco, Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Italy whose original surname was "Amici." He had three brothers, Umberto (Bert), James (Jim Ameche
), and Louis and three sisters, Jane, Elizabeth and Catherine.
Ameche attended Marquette University
, Loras College
and the University of Wisconsin, where his cousin Alan Ameche
played football and won the Heisman Trophy
in 1954. Ameche had gone to university to study law but found theatricals far more interesting and so decided on a stage career.
From 1946 to 1949, Ameche, along with other Los Angeles entertainment figures including Bing Crosby
and Bob Hope
, was a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dons
of the All-America Football Conference
, a rival to the National Football League
. Ameche was instrumental in forming and leading the ownership group in the year before play began and initially served as team president.
Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986. They had six children. One, Ron Ameche, owned the restaurant "Ameche's Pumpernickel" in Coralville, Iowa
. Ameche's younger brother, Jim Ameche
, was also an actor in radio and films. His other brother, Bert, was an architect who worked for many years for the U.S. Navy in Port Hueneme, California and for the US Postal Service in Los Angeles, California, before retirement.
of prostate cancer
,
at the age of 85. He was cremated and his ashes are buried at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
, also known as St. Philomena's Cemetery, in Asbury, Iowa
.
did not turn up, a friend persuaded him to stand in for the missing actor. He enjoyed the experience and got a juvenile lead in Jerry For Short in New York
, followed by a tour in vaudeville
with Texas Guinan
, until Guinan dropped him from the act, dismissing him as "too stiff." He made his film debut in 1935 and by the late 1930s, had established himself as a leading actor in Hollywood. He appeared in such films as Alexander's Ragtime Band
(1938), as the title character
in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
(1939). It led to the use of the word, "ameche," as slang for telephone in common catchphrases, as noted by Mike Kilen in the Iowa City Gazette (December 8, 1993): "The film prompted a generation to call people to the telephone with the phrase: 'You're wanted on the Ameche.'" Another highlight was co-starring with Gene Tierney
in Ernest Lubitch's Heaven Can Wait
, a film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
.
Ameche played so many roles based on real people that on one of his radio broadcasts Fred Allen
joked that "Pretty soon, Don Ameche will be playing Don Ameche." Soon afterwards, in It's in the Bag!
, which starred Allen, Ameche indeed played himself in a bit part.
star, heard on such shows as Empire Builders, The First Nighter Program, Family Theater and the Betty and Bob soap opera. Following his appearances as announcer and sketch participant on The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show
, he achieved memorable success during the late 1940s playing opposite Frances Langford
in The Bickersons
, the Philip Rapp
radio comedy series about a combative married couple. It began on NBC
in 1946, moving to CBS
the following year.
He also enjoyed a substantial Broadway
career, with roles in Silk Stockings
, Goldilocks, Holiday for Lovers, Henry, Sweet Henry
and Our Town
.
Ameche's best-known television role came between 1961 and 1965, when he traveled throughout Europe with a television videotape unit and camera crew to cover a different European resident circus or ice show that was taped for presentation on a weekly series titled International Showtime on NBC
television. Ameche was present at each circus or ice show taped for the series, and was seen as host and commentator. His "anchor position" was in the grandstands at the particular show being taped.
He also guest starred in many television series, including NBC's The Polly Bergen Show
and ABC
's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
and Jack Palance
's circus
drama
, The Greatest Show on Earth
, which aired in the 1963-1964 season. In the latter 1960s and early 1970s, Ameche directed the NBC television sitcom Julia
, starring the African American
actress Diahann Carroll.
After the release of two 1970 comedies, The Boatniks
and Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?, Ameche was absent from theatrical films for the next 13 years. His only appearance in cinema during that time was in F For Fake
, Orson Welles' documentary on hoaxes, when 20th Century-Fox mistakenly sent Welles newsreel footage of Ameche misidentified as footage of Howard Hughes
.
Ameche and fellow veteran actor Ralph Bellamy
were eventually cast in John Landis
' Trading Places
in 1983, playing rich brothers intent on ruining an innocent man for the sake of a one-dollar bet. In an interview some years later on Larry King Live
, co-star Jamie Lee Curtis
said that Ameche, a proper old-school actor, went to everyone on the set ahead of time to apologize when he was called to say the "F-word" in the film. The film's success and their comedic performances brought them both back into the Hollywood limelight. Ameche's next role, in Cocoon
(1985), won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
. He continued working for the rest of his life, including in the sequel, Cocoon: The Return
. He earned good reviews for the David Mamet / Shel Silverstein penned Things Change; the New York Times said that he showed "...the kind of great comic aplomb that wins actors awards for other than sentimental reasons." In 1990, Ameche appeared in an episode of The Golden Girls
as Rose Nylund
's father. His last films were Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
(1993) and Corrina, Corrina
(1994), completed only days before his death.
For his contribution to radio, Ameche received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6313 Hollywood Boulevard
and a second star at 6101 Hollywood Boulevard
for his television work.
Personal life
Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, WisconsinKenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, the son of Barbara, who was of Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
and German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
descent, and Felice Ameche , an immigrant from Italy
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
born in montemonaco, Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Italy whose original surname was "Amici." He had three brothers, Umberto (Bert), James (Jim Ameche
Jim Ameche
James Ameche was a familiar voice on radio, including his role as radio's original Jack Armstrong on Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy....
), and Louis and three sisters, Jane, Elizabeth and Catherine.
Ameche attended Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
, Loras College
Loras College
Loras College is a four-year Catholic college located in Dubuque, Iowa, with a general attendance of approximately 1,700 students. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs...
and the University of Wisconsin, where his cousin Alan Ameche
Alan Ameche
Lino Dante "Alan" Ameche , nicknamed "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League after winning the Heisman Trophy in college at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was elected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first...
played football and won the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
in 1954. Ameche had gone to university to study law but found theatricals far more interesting and so decided on a stage career.
From 1946 to 1949, Ameche, along with other Los Angeles entertainment figures including Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, was a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dons
Los Angeles Dons
The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....
of the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
, a rival to the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Ameche was instrumental in forming and leading the ownership group in the year before play began and initially served as team president.
Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986. They had six children. One, Ron Ameche, owned the restaurant "Ameche's Pumpernickel" in Coralville, Iowa
Coralville, Iowa
Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Ameche's younger brother, Jim Ameche
Jim Ameche
James Ameche was a familiar voice on radio, including his role as radio's original Jack Armstrong on Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy....
, was also an actor in radio and films. His other brother, Bert, was an architect who worked for many years for the U.S. Navy in Port Hueneme, California and for the US Postal Service in Los Angeles, California, before retirement.
Death
Ameche died on December 6, 1993, at his son Don Jr's house in Scottsdale, ArizonaScottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
,
at the age of 85. He was cremated and his ashes are buried at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
Resurrection Catholic Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located in the Dubuque, Iowa suburb of Asbury. The cemetery is operated by Resurrection Parish, and is located within the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.Today the cemetery is known as Resurrection Cemetery, in the past when...
, also known as St. Philomena's Cemetery, in Asbury, Iowa
Asbury, Iowa
Asbury is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and a suburb of the city of Dubuque. It is part of the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,450 at the 2000 census, but is now 4,170. Asbury is the second-largest city in Dubuque County, surpassing Dyersville,...
.
Vaudeville and films
Ameche had done well in college dramatics and when a lead actor for a stock company production of Excess BaggageExcess Baggage
Excess Baggage is a 1997 crime-comedy film written by Max D. Adams, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Marco Brambilla about a neglected young woman who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention, only to be literally kidnapped by a car thief...
did not turn up, a friend persuaded him to stand in for the missing actor. He enjoyed the experience and got a juvenile lead in Jerry For Short in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, followed by a tour in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
with Texas Guinan
Texas Guinan
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
, until Guinan dropped him from the act, dismissing him as "too stiff." He made his film debut in 1935 and by the late 1930s, had established himself as a leading actor in Hollywood. He appeared in such films as Alexander's Ragtime Band
Alexander's Ragtime Band (film)
Alexander's Ragtime Band is a film released by Twentieth Century Fox that takes its name from the 1911 Irving Berlin song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in Ragtime instead of in "serious" music...
(1938), as the title character
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell is a somewhat fictionalized 1939 screen biography of the famous inventor of the telephone. It was filmed in black-and-white and released by Twentieth Century-Fox. The film stars Don Ameche as Bell and Loretta Young as Mabel, his wife, who contracted scarlet fever...
(1939). It led to the use of the word, "ameche," as slang for telephone in common catchphrases, as noted by Mike Kilen in the Iowa City Gazette (December 8, 1993): "The film prompted a generation to call people to the telephone with the phrase: 'You're wanted on the Ameche.'" Another highlight was co-starring with Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
in Ernest Lubitch's Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)
Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by Leslie Bush-Fekete. The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Edward Cronjager.The film tells the story of a man who has...
, a film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
.
Ameche played so many roles based on real people that on one of his radio broadcasts Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
joked that "Pretty soon, Don Ameche will be playing Don Ameche." Soon afterwards, in It's in the Bag!
It's in the Bag!
It's in the Bag! is a 1945 comedy film featuring Fred Allen in his only starring film role. The film was released by United Artists at a time when Allen was at the peak of his fame as one of the most popular radio comedians.-Characters and story:...
, which starred Allen, Ameche indeed played himself in a bit part.
Radio and television
Ameche was a major radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
star, heard on such shows as Empire Builders, The First Nighter Program, Family Theater and the Betty and Bob soap opera. Following his appearances as announcer and sketch participant on The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show
Edgar Bergen
Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:...
, he achieved memorable success during the late 1940s playing opposite Frances Langford
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
in The Bickersons
The Bickersons
The Bickersons was a radio comedy sketch series that began in 1946 on NBC, moving the following year to CBS where it continued until 1951...
, the Philip Rapp
Philip Rapp
Philip Rapp was a film and television director and screenwriter. He wrote for Eddie Cantor and for a brief period, wrote film scripts for Danny Kaye. Rapp is perhaps best known as the creator of Baby Snooks and The Bickersons...
radio comedy series about a combative married couple. It began on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1946, moving to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
the following year.
He also enjoyed a substantial Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
career, with roles in Silk Stockings
Silk Stockings
Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Hildegarde Knef gives a vivid backstage account of the casting, rehearsals, tryouts and Broadway opening of "Silk Stockings" in her autobiography "The Gift Horse:...
, Goldilocks, Holiday for Lovers, Henry, Sweet Henry
Henry, Sweet Henry
Henry, Sweet Henry is a musical with a book by Nunnally Johnson and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill.Based on the novel The World of Henry Orient by Johnson's daughter Nora and the subsequent film of the same name, the plot focuses on Valerie and Marian, two wealthy, love-struck teenagers who stalk...
and Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
.
Ameche's best-known television role came between 1961 and 1965, when he traveled throughout Europe with a television videotape unit and camera crew to cover a different European resident circus or ice show that was taped for presentation on a weekly series titled International Showtime on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television. Ameche was present at each circus or ice show taped for the series, and was seen as host and commentator. His "anchor position" was in the grandstands at the particular show being taped.
He also guest starred in many television series, including NBC's The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom is a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC from October 3, 1957 to June 23, 1960, starring the young singer Pat Boone and a host of top-name guest stars. The program was of course sponsored by Chevrolet...
and Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
's circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)
The Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to April 28, 1964...
, which aired in the 1963-1964 season. In the latter 1960s and early 1970s, Ameche directed the NBC television sitcom Julia
Julia (TV series)
Julia is an American sitcom notable for being one of the first weekly series to depict an African American woman in a non-stereotypical role. Previous television series featured African American lead characters, but the characters were usually servants. The show starred actress and singer Diahann...
, starring the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
actress Diahann Carroll.
After the release of two 1970 comedies, The Boatniks
The Boatniks
The Boatniks is a 1970 American comedy film starring Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers, Don Ameche and Phil Silvers. It was made by Walt Disney Productions, released by Buena Vista Distribution and directed by Norman Tokar....
and Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?, Ameche was absent from theatrical films for the next 13 years. His only appearance in cinema during that time was in F For Fake
F for Fake
F for Fake is the last major film completed by Orson Welles, who directed, co-wrote, and starred in the film. Initially released in 1974, it focuses on Elmyr de Hory's recounting of his career as a professional art forger; de Hory's story serves as the backdrop for a fast-paced, meandering...
, Orson Welles' documentary on hoaxes, when 20th Century-Fox mistakenly sent Welles newsreel footage of Ameche misidentified as footage of Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
.
Ameche and fellow veteran actor Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
were eventually cast in John Landis
John Landis
John David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...
' Trading Places
Trading Places
Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film, of the satire genre, directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet...
in 1983, playing rich brothers intent on ruining an innocent man for the sake of a one-dollar bet. In an interview some years later on Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
, co-star Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
said that Ameche, a proper old-school actor, went to everyone on the set ahead of time to apologize when he was called to say the "F-word" in the film. The film's success and their comedic performances brought them both back into the Hollywood limelight. Ameche's next role, in Cocoon
Cocoon (film)
The score for Cocoon was composed and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released twice, through Polydor Records in 1985 and a reprint through P.E.G. in 1997 and features eleven tracks of score and a vocal track performed by Michael Sembello...
(1985), won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. He continued working for the rest of his life, including in the sequel, Cocoon: The Return
Cocoon: The Return
Cocoon: The Return is a 1988 science fiction film that is the sequel to the 1985 film Cocoon. All of the starring actors from the first film reprised their roles in this film, although Brian Dennehy only appears in one scene at the end of the film...
. He earned good reviews for the David Mamet / Shel Silverstein penned Things Change; the New York Times said that he showed "...the kind of great comic aplomb that wins actors awards for other than sentimental reasons." In 1990, Ameche appeared in an episode of The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
as Rose Nylund
Rose Nylund
Rose Nylund was born May 1930 in St. Olaf, Minnesota. She is a fictional character featured on the popular 1980s situation comedy The Golden Girls, and its spin-off The Golden Palace. She was portrayed by Betty White for 8 years and 208 episodes.Rose was comically portrayed as naïve and simple,...
's father. His last films were Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey is a 1993 American remake of the 1963 film The Incredible Journey, which was based on the best-selling novel The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. Directed by Duwayne Dunham, it was released on February 3, 1993...
(1993) and Corrina, Corrina
Corrina, Corrina (film)
Corrina, Corrina is a 1994 feature film set in 1959 about a widower who hires a housekeeper/nanny to care for his daughter . It was written and directed by Jessie Nelson...
(1994), completed only days before his death.
For his contribution to radio, Ameche received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6313 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
and a second star at 6101 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
for his television work.
Filmography
Features
- Clive of IndiaClive of India (film)Clive of India is a 1935 drama film based on Robert, Lord Clive's historical biography. It was written by R.J. Minney and W.P. Lipscomb and directed by Richard Boleslawski.-Cast:* Ronald Colman as Baron Robert Clive* shahrukh khan as devdas...
(1935) - Dante's Inferno (1935)
- Sins of Man (1936)
- RamonaRamona (1936 film)Ramona is a 1936 Technicolor drama film directed by Henry King, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. This was the third adaptation of the film, and the first one with sound...
(1936) - Ladies in LoveLadies in LoveLadies in Love is a romantic comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith. Starring Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett and Loretta Young the film revolves around three roommates in exotic Budapest and their comical romantic adventures. Gaynor, Bennett, and Young were billed above the title, with...
(1936) - One in a Million (1936)
- In Old ChicagoIn Old ChicagoIn Old Chicago is a 1937 American drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys." The film is a fictionalized account about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and stars Alice Brady as Mrs. O'Leary, the owner of...
(1937) - Love Is News (1937)
- Fifty Roads to Town (1937)
- You Can't Have EverythingYou Can't Have EverythingYou Can't Have Everything is a 1937 Fox musical film directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. The movie stars Alice Faye and Don Ameche, and was the film debut for Gypsy Rose Lee.-Plot:...
(1937) - Love Under Fire (1937)
- Happy LandingHappy LandingHappy Landing was a 1962 R&B recording by Motown Records singing group The Miracles , issued on that label's Tamla Records subsidiary label . It was recorded in November of 1962, and appeared on their album The Fabulous Miracles...
(1938) - Alexander's Ragtime BandAlexander's Ragtime Band (film)Alexander's Ragtime Band is a film released by Twentieth Century Fox that takes its name from the 1911 Irving Berlin song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in Ragtime instead of in "serious" music...
(1938) - Josette (1938)
- Gateway (1938)
- The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (1939 film)The Three Musketeers is a 1939 musical comedy film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name. Don Ameche stars as D'Artagnan, with the Ritz Brothers as his cowardly helpers.-Cast:*Don Ameche as D'Artagnan...
(1939) - MidnightMidnight (1939 film)Midnight is a 1939 romantic comedy directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder based on a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz. It starred Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore.-Plot:Eve Peabody is an out-of-work American showgirl...
(1939) - The Story of Alexander Graham BellThe Story of Alexander Graham BellThe Story of Alexander Graham Bell is a somewhat fictionalized 1939 screen biography of the famous inventor of the telephone. It was filmed in black-and-white and released by Twentieth Century-Fox. The film stars Don Ameche as Bell and Loretta Young as Mabel, his wife, who contracted scarlet fever...
(1939) - Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
- Swanee RiverSwanee River (film)Swanee River is a biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South, marries a Southern girl, then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out...
(1939) - Lillian RussellLillian Russell (film)Lillian Russell is a 1940 biographical film of the life of the singer and actress. The screenplay was by William Anthony McGuire. The film was directed by Irving Cummings and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It starred Alice Faye in the title role, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda and Edward Arnold as Diamond...
(1940) - Four Sons (1940)
- Down Argentine WayDown Argentine WayDown Argentine Way is a 1940 Technicolor musical film made by Twentieth Century Fox. It made a star of Betty Grable in her first leading role for the studio, and introduced American audiences to Carmen Miranda. The film also starred Don Ameche, The Nicholas Brothers, Charlotte Greenwood, and J....
(1940) - That Night in RioThat Night in RioThat Night in Rio is a 1941 musical comedy film starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche . It is one of several film adaptations of a play called The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler...
(1941) - Moon Over MiamiMoon Over Miami (film)Moon Over Miami is a 1941 Technicolor musical film directed by Walter Lang, with Betty Grable and Don Ameche in leading roles and co-starring Robert Cummings, Carole Landis, Jack Haley, and Charlotte Greenwood. It was one of Haley's last appearances in a major, large-budgeted film; after 1943 he...
(1941) - Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1941)
- The Feminine Touch (1941)
- Confirm or DenyConfirm or DenyConfirm or Deny is a 1941 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Archie Mayo, and starring by Don Ameche and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Jo Swerling, based on a story by Samuel Fuller and Henry Wales.-Main cast:...
(1941) - The Magnificent Dope (1942)
- Girl TroubleGirl Trouble (1942 film)Girl Trouble is a 1942 comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Harold D. Schuster, and starring Don Ameche and Joan Bennett.-Plot:...
(1942) - Something to Shout AboutSomething to Shout About (film)Something to Shout About is a 1943 Columbia musical film directed by Gregory Ratoff. The movie stars Don Ameche and Janet Blair and was nominated for two Oscars.-Plot:...
(1943) - Heaven Can WaitHeaven Can Wait (1943 film)Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by Leslie Bush-Fekete. The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Edward Cronjager.The film tells the story of a man who has...
(1943) - Happy LandHappy Land (film)Happy Land is a 1943 film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Don Ameche.-Synopsis:Lew Marsh, s pharmacist to the small community of Hartfield, Iowa, is lunching with his devoted wife Agnes when a telegram arrives notifying them that their only child, Russell, whom they called Rusty, has been...
(1943) - Wing and a PrayerWing and a PrayerWing and a Prayer is a black-and-white 1944 war film about the heroic crew of an American carrier in the desperate early days of World War II in the Pacific theater, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Dana Andrews and Don Ameche...
(1944) - Greenwich Village (1944)
- It's in the Bag!It's in the Bag!It's in the Bag! is a 1945 comedy film featuring Fred Allen in his only starring film role. The film was released by United Artists at a time when Allen was at the peak of his fame as one of the most popular radio comedians.-Characters and story:...
(1945) - Guest WifeGuest WifeGuest Wife is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Sam Wood, written by Bruce Manning and John Klorer, and starring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and Dick Foran....
(1945) - So Goes My LoveSo Goes My LoveSo Goes My Love is an American 1946 comedy film, produced by Universal Pictures. It is based on A Genius in the Family, the memoir of Hiram Percy Maxim, and focusing on the relationship between Maxim and his father, Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim.- Cast :*Don Ameche as Hiram Stephens Maxim*Bobby...
(1946) - That's My Man (1947)
- Sleep, My LoveSleep, My LoveSleep, My Love is a feature film directed by Douglas Sirk, and starring Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche.-Plot:Alison Courtland, a wealthy New Yorker, hasn't a clue how she ended up on a train bound for Boston...
(1948) - Slightly French (1949)
- Fire One (1954)
- Phantom Caravan (1954)
- AthenaAthena (film)Athena is a romantic musical comedy, starring Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern, and Norma Varden, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....
(1954) - A Fever in the BloodA Fever in the BloodA Fever in the Blood is a 1961 movie featuring a roster of Warner Bros. television contract players, often miscast according to the film's producer and screenwriter Roy Huggins in his Archive of American Television interview, about crooked political dealings. Young Efrem Zimbalist, Jr...
(1951) - Rings Around the World (1966) (documentary)
- Picture Mommy Dead (1966)
- Shadow Over Elveron (TV, 1968)
- The BoatniksThe BoatniksThe Boatniks is a 1970 American comedy film starring Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers, Don Ameche and Phil Silvers. It was made by Walt Disney Productions, released by Buena Vista Distribution and directed by Norman Tokar....
(1970) - Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody CameSuppose They Gave a War and Nobody CameSuppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came was a 1970 feature film.The plot is a mixture of comic and dramatic elements and concerns the reactions of a number of World War II veterans to the then contemporary US army.Directed by Hy Averback and produced by Fred Engles, the film includes Brian Keith,...
(1970) - Trading PlacesTrading PlacesTrading Places is a 1983 American comedy film, of the satire genre, directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet...
(1983) - CocoonCocoon (film)The score for Cocoon was composed and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released twice, through Polydor Records in 1985 and a reprint through P.E.G. in 1997 and features eleven tracks of score and a vocal track performed by Michael Sembello...
(1985) - A Masterpiece of Murder (TV, 1986)
- Pals (1987)
- Harry and the HendersonsHarry and the HendersonsHarry and the Hendersons is a 1987 American comedy film directed and produced by William Dear, and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Lainie Kazan and Don Ameche. It is the story of a family's encounter with the cryptozoological creature Bigfoot...
(1987) - Coming to AmericaComing to AmericaComing to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...
(1988) - Things Change (1988)
- Cocoon: The ReturnCocoon: The ReturnCocoon: The Return is a 1988 science fiction film that is the sequel to the 1985 film Cocoon. All of the starring actors from the first film reprised their roles in this film, although Brian Dennehy only appears in one scene at the end of the film...
(1988) - Oddball Hall (1990)
- OscarOscar (1991 film)Oscar is a 1991 American comedy film directed by John Landis. Based on the Claude Magnier stage play, it is can be considered a remake of the 1967 film of the same name, but the settings has been moved to the Depression era New York City and centers around a mob boss trying to go straight...
(1991) - Folks!Folks! (film)Folks! is a 1992 dark comedy film, directed by Ted Kotcheff. The movie starred Tom Selleck. The movie's tagline is: "Jon Aldrich is about to come face to face with the most terrifying force known to man.....
(1992) - Homeward Bound: The Incredible JourneyHomeward Bound: The Incredible JourneyHomeward Bound: The Incredible Journey is a 1993 American remake of the 1963 film The Incredible Journey, which was based on the best-selling novel The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. Directed by Duwayne Dunham, it was released on February 3, 1993...
(1993) (voice) - Corrina, CorrinaCorrina, Corrina (film)Corrina, Corrina is a 1994 feature film set in 1959 about a widower who hires a housekeeper/nanny to care for his daughter . It was written and directed by Jessie Nelson...
(1994)
Short subjects
- Screen Snapshots: Stars at the Tropical Ice Gardens (1939)
- Weekend in Hollywood (1947)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night at 21 Club (1952)
External links
- http://www.stevenameche.com/donameche.htmlWalking With Don Ameche - Steven AmecheSteven AmecheSteven Ameche is an American entertainment lawyer and filmmaker.Ameche began his career as a musician playing with such notables as Janet Jackson, Philip Bailey, Gary US Bonds and many others. In 1983 Ameche was asked to perform as an actor–musician on MGM's television series Fame. It was the first...
, Entertainment Attorney]