Don Ameche
from the trailer for The Feminine Touch (1941)
Born	Dominic Felix Amici [1] May 31, 1908(1908-05-31) Kenosha, Wisconsin
Died	December 6, 1993 (aged 85) Scottsdale, Arizona
Spouse(s)	Honore Prendergast 1932-1986)

Don Ameche (born Dominic Felix Amici) (May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an Academy Award-winning American actor and director. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Kenosha (kəˈnoʊʃə is a city in and the county seat of Kenosha County, United States. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Scottsdale ( O'odham Vaṣai S-vaṣonĭ; Yaqui Eskatel) is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.

Family

Ameche was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin to Felix Ameche, an immigrant from Italy whose original surname was "Amici", and Barbara, who was of Irish and German descent. Kenosha (kəˈnoʊʃə is a city in and the county seat of Kenosha County, United States. Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States An Italian American is an American of Italian descent and/or dual citizenship Irish Americans (Gael-Mheiriceánach are citizens of the United States who can claim ancestry originating in Ireland. German Americans ( German: Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the United States of Ethnic German ancestry He had two brothers, Burt and Jim, and two sisters, Anne and Mary Jane. Jim Ameche (born August 6, 1915, in Kenosha Wisconsin, as James Ameche died February 4, 1983, in Tucson Arizona) was ^[2]

Vaudeville and films

Ameche began his career in vaudeville with Texas Guinan until Guinan dropped him from the act, dismissing him as "too stiff". Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan ( January 12, 1884 &ndash November 5, 1933) was a saloon keeper actress and ^[3] He made his film debut in 1935 and by the late 1930s, he 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. Alexander's Ragtime Band ( 1938) is a film released by Twentieth Century Fox, that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song " WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A catch phrase (or catchphrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance '"^[4] Another highlight was co-starring with Gene Tierney in Ernest Lubitch's Heaven Can Wait which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Gene Tierney ( November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 Comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to artists working

Radio and television

Don Ameche as "Charlie Dwyer" in in the 1938 film Alexander's Ragtime Band

Ameche was a major radio star, heard on such shows as Empire Builders, The First Nighter Program, Family Theater and the Betty and Bob soap opera. The year 1938 in film involved some significant events Events January &mdash MGM announces that Judy Garland Alexander's Ragtime Band ( 1938) is a film released by Twentieth Century Fox, that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song " Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. 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. Frances Newbern Langford ( April 4, 1913, Lakeland Florida &ndash July 11, 2005, Jensen Beach Florida) was an American The Bickersons was a Radio comedy sketch series that began in 1946 on NBC with Don Ameche and Frances Langford, moving the following Philip Rapp was born March 26, 1907, and was one of the most gifted and prolific comedy writers of his time It began on NBC in 1946, moving to CBS the following year. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network.

Ameche also enjoyed a substantial Broadway career, with roles in Silk Stockings, Goldilocks, Holiday for Lovers, Henry, Sweet Henry and Our Town. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Goldilocks is a musical with a book by Jean and Walter Kerr, music by Leroy Anderson, and lyrics by the Kerrs and Joan Ford Henry Sweet Henry is a musical with a book by Nunnally Johnson and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill. Our Town is a three act play by Thornton Wilder which is perhaps the most frequently produced play by an American playwright

Between 1961 and 1965, Ameche sat in the grandstand of a different European resident circus each week to serve as host/commentator on International Showtime on NBC television. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ameche directed the NBC television drama series Julia, starring Diahann Carroll. Julia was a 1960s Television series, best remembered as being one of the first weekly series to depict an African American woman in a non-stereotypical Diahann Carroll (born July 17 1935) is an American award-winning Actress and songstress.

Jack Haley (left), Alice Faye (center), Don Ameche and Tyrone Power (right) in a trailer for the 1938 film Alexander's Ragtime Band

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. Jack Haley ( August 10, 1898 – June 6, 1979) (born John Joseph Haley Jr Alice Faye (born Alice Jeane Leppert on May 5, 1915 - May 9, 1998) was an American actress and Singer Tyrone Edmund Power Jr (May 5 1914 – November 15 1958 usually credited simply as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as " Ty Power " was an The year 1938 in film involved some significant events Events January &mdash MGM announces that Judy Garland Alexander's Ragtime Band ( 1938) is a film released by Twentieth Century Fox, that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song " The Boatniks was a 1970 American comedy film starring Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers, Don Ameche and Phil Silvers. Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came (aka War Games Old Soldiers Never was a 1969 feature film 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. F for Fake ( Vérités et Mensonges) is the last major film completed by Orson Welles. Howard Robard Hughes Jr (December 24 1905 – April 5 1976 was an American Aviator, Industrialist, Film producer / director, Philanthropist

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. Ralph Rexford Bellamy ( June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American Actor with a career spanning sixty-two John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American movie Actor, director, writer, and producer. Trading Places is an Academy Award -nominated 1983 Comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis. 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. Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN. Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22 1958 is a two-time Golden Globe -winning BAFTA -winning and Emmy -nominated American 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. Cocoon is a 1985 Science fiction film, directed by Ron Howard about a group of elderly people who are rejuvenated by aliens 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 He continued working for the rest of his life, including in the sequel, Cocoon: The Return. Cocoon The Return is a 1988 science fiction Film that is the sequel to the feature film Cocoon. His last films were Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) and Corrina, Corrina (1994), completed only days before his death. Homeward Bound The Incredible Journey is a 1993 remake of the 1963 film The Incredible Journey based on the best-selling novel of the Corrina Corrina is a 1994 feature film set in 1959 about a widower ( Ray Liotta) who hires a housekeeper-nanny ( Whoopi Goldberg) to care for his daughter ( Tina

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. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a Sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood Los Angeles California, USA, that Hollywood Boulevard is a boulevard in Hollywood Los Angeles California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest Hollywood Boulevard is a boulevard in Hollywood Los Angeles California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest

Personal life

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 is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Iowa Metropolitan Ameche's younger brother Jim Ameche, was also an actor in radio and films. Jim Ameche (born August 6, 1915, in Kenosha Wisconsin, as James Ameche died February 4, 1983, in Tucson Arizona) was

Ameche died on December 6, 1993, of prostate cancer. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) He was buried at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, also known as St. Resurrection Catholic Cemetery (also known as St Philomena Cemetery is a Roman Catholic Cemetery located in the Dubuque Iowa suburb of Asbury Philomena's Cemetery, in Asbury, Iowa. Asbury is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and a Suburb of the city of Dubuque

Filmography

References

Bibliography

• Ohmart, Ben (2007). Ben Ohmart is an American publisher of media-related biographies and books on Old-time radio, films and television through his BearManor Media Don Ameche: The Kenosha Comeback Kid. Albany: BearManor Media. ISBN 1-59393-045-3.  

External links

• Don Ameche at the Internet Movie Database
• Don Ameche at Allmovie