Don Ameche
American actor, radio star, and Oscar-winning film performer.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Don Ameche (born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian, and vaudeville performer. He got his start in college shows, repertory theater, and vaudeville, then rose to prominence as a radio star in the early 1930s. That success led to a film contract with 20th Century Fox in 1935.
Ameche was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the second of eight children. His father, a bartender, was Italian; his mother had Scottish, Irish, and German roots. He attended Marquette University, Loras College, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his cousin Alan Ameche won the Heisman Trophy. After a friend talked him into filling in for a missing lead actor in a stock company production, Ameche landed a juvenile role in a New York play and toured vaudeville with Texas Guinan—until she dropped him, calling him "too stiff." He moved to Chicago and began a radio career in 1930 on *Empire Builders*. By 1932, he was the leading man on two other Chicago programs: the drama anthology *First Nighter* and *Betty and Bob*, often considered a forerunner of the soap opera.
Producer Darryl Zanuck brought Ameche to Hollywood for 20th Century Fox, where he mostly played romantic leads opposite top female stars. He starred in the comedy *Midnight* (1939) and played the title role in *The Story of Alexander Graham Bell* (1939), which turned his surname into slang for a telephone—kids would say, "You're wanted on the Ameche." Groucho Marx even joked in *Go West* (1940), "Telephone? This is 1870, Don Ameche hasn't invented the telephone yet." Ameche was Alice Faye's leading man in *Hollywood Cavalcade* (1939) and played Stephen Foster in *Swanee River* (1939). He did the biopic *Lillian Russell* (1940) with Faye, top-billed in the war film *Four Sons* (1940), and starred in the musicals *Down Argentine Way* (1940) and *Moon Over Miami* (1941). In 1940, he was voted the 21st most popular star in Hollywood. He appeared in *Heaven Can Wait* (1943), *Happy Land* (1943), *Wing and a Prayer* (1944), and *Greenwich Village* (1944). By 1944, he earned $247,677 for 1943, making him the second-highest earner at Fox after Spyros Skouras.
In the late 1940s, Ameche found memorable success opposite Frances Langford in *The Bickersons*, a radio comedy about a quarreling married couple that began on NBC in 1946 and moved to CBS. He also hosted *The Old Gold Don
- born
- May 31, 1908, Kenosha, Wisconsin
- died
- December 6, 1993, Scottsdale, Arizona
- field
- Actor, comedian, vaudevillian
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Radio star in the 1930s; film roles in Trading Places (1983), Cocoon (1985); Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Lore & Background
Don Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the second oldest of eight children. His father was a bartender from Italy; his mother had Scottish, Irish, and German ancestry. He attended Marquette University, Loras College, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. After college dramatics, he stood in for a missing lead actor in a stock company production, then got a juvenile lead in New York and toured in vaudeville with Texas Guinan until she dropped him, calling him 'too stiff.' He moved to Chicago and began a radio career in 1930 on Empire Builders; by 1932 he was the leading man on First Nighter and Betty and Bob.
Brought to Hollywood by 20th Century Fox producer Darryl Zanuck, Ameche played romantic leads opposite top female stars. He played the title character in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), which led to the slang term 'ameche' for a telephone. He was Alice Faye's leading man in Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) and Swanee River (1939), and starred in Down Argentine Way (1940) and Moon Over Miami (1941). In 1944, he was the second-highest earner at 20th Century Fox. He later achieved success on radio with The Bickersons opposite Frances Langford. After shifting to television and stage in the 1950s, he returned to film in 1983 with Trading Places, beginning a late-career revival that included Cocoon (1985), for which he won an Academy Award.
Reader's Guide
Don Ameche's career spanned over six decades, from vaudeville and radio to film, television, and stage. His early radio work in the 1930s made him a household name, and his film career at 20th Century Fox established him as a leading man in romantic comedies and musicals. His portrayal of Alexander Graham Bell created a lasting cultural association between Ameche and the telephone. After a period of reduced film work in the 1950s and 1960s, his return to cinema in the 1980s with Trading Places and Cocoon demonstrated his versatility, earning him an Academy Award at age 77. Ameche's legacy includes his contributions to radio comedy, his role in popularizing the telephone in popular culture, and his successful late-career revival that introduced him to a new generation of moviegoers.
Did You Know?
- Ameche's portrayal of Alexander Graham Bell in 1939 led to the slang term 'ameche' for a telephone.
- He was the second-highest earner at 20th Century Fox in 1944, after Spyros Skouras.
- Ameche owned the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
- His final film appearance was in Corrina, Corrina (1994), released after his death.
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