Don Ameche
Acting • Born 1908-05-31 – Died 1993-12-06
Biography
Don Ameche born Dominic Felix Amici May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was a versatile and popular American film actor in the 1930s and '40s, usually as the dapper, mustached leading man. He was also popular as a radio master of ceremonies during this time. As his film popularity waned in the 1950s, he continued working in theater and some TV. His film career surged in a comeback in the 1980s with fine work as an aging millionaire in Trading Places (1983) and a rejuvenated oldster in Cocoon (1985). Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor. Ameche, standing in at a height of 5' 11" (1.8 m) was born May 31, 1908 (Gemini) in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA as Dominic Felix Amici to mother, Barbara Edda (Hertel) and father, Felice Amici, a bartender. Has a younger brother Jim Ameche. His father was an Italian immigrant. His mother had German, English, Irish and Scottish ancestry. Americans pronounced his last name incorrectly in Italian ("Ah-mee-see"). So he changed it from "Amici" (correctly pronounced "Ah-mee-chee") into "Ameche", in order to keep the original Italian pronunciation. He had the nickname "The Latin Lover". Married Honore Prendergast on the 6th of December 1932. They had 6 children together. Became a father for the first time at age 25 when his wife Honore gave birth to their son Dominic Felix Ameche--aka Don Ameche Jr. on October 3, 1933. Became a father for the second time at age 27 when his wife Honore gave birth to their son Ronald Ameche on December 30, 1935. He died on January 2, 2001 in Iowa, aged 65. Became a father for the third time at age 31 when his wife Honore gave birth to their son Thomas Anthony Ameche on July 20, 1939. Became a father for the fourth time at age 32 when his wife Honore gave birth to their son Lawrence Michael Ameche on July 20, 1940. Became a father for the fifth time at age 36 when his wife Honore gave birth to their daughter Barbara Balinda Ameche on March 13, 1945. Became a father for the sixth time at age 39 when his wife Honore gave birth to their daughter Constance Victoria Ameche on February 22, 1948. His wife of 54 years, died on the 5th of September 1986. He died on December 6, 1993 at the age of 85 in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA from prostate cancer.
Filmography
95 credits
Trading Places
Movie • 1983
Mortimer Duke
Cocoon
Movie • 1985
Arthur Selwyn
Cocoon: The Return
Movie • 1988
Art Selwyn
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Movie • 1993
Shadow (voice)
Midnight
Movie • 1939
Tibor Czerny
Oscar
Movie • 1991
Father Clemente
Harry and the Hendersons
Movie • 1987
Dr. Wallace Wrightwood
The Boatniks
Movie • 1970
Commander Taylor
Moon Over Miami
Movie • 1941
Phil O'Neil (Credits) / Phil 'Mac' McNeil
Down Argentine Way
Movie • 1940
Ricardo Quintana
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Movie • 1938
Charlie Dwyer
Happy Landing
Movie • 1938
Jimmy Hall
That Night in Rio
Movie • 1941
Larry Martin / Baron Manuel Duarte
Folks!
Movie • 1992
Harry Aldrich
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Movie • 1939
Alexander Graham Bell
Heaven Can Wait
Movie • 1943
Henry Van Cleve
Wing and a Prayer
Movie • 1944
Bingo Harper
Hollywood Cavalcade
Movie • 1939
Mike Connors
Things Change
Movie • 1988
Gino
Love Is News
Movie • 1937
Martin J. Canavan
Sleep, My Love
Movie • 1948
Richard W. Courtland
The Feminine Touch
Movie • 1941
John Hathaway
Confirm or Deny
Movie • 1941
'Mitch' Mitchell
So Goes My Love
Movie • 1946
Hiram Stephen Maxim
In Old Chicago
Movie • 1938
Jack O'Leary
Something to Shout About
Movie • 1943
Ken Douglas
Picture Mommy Dead
Movie • 1966
Edward Shelley
Four Sons
Movie • 1940
Chris Bern
The Three Musketeers
Movie • 1939
D'Artagnan
One in a Million
Movie • 1937
Bob Harris
Guest Wife
Movie • 1945
Joseph Jefferson 'Joe' Parker
Love Under Fire
Movie • 1937
Tracy Egan
Ramona
Movie • 1936
Alessandro
Swanee River
Movie • 1939
Stephen Foster
A Fever in the Blood
Movie • 1961
Senator Alex S. Simon
Greenwich Village
Movie • 1944
Kenneth Harvey
Lillian Russell
Movie • 1940
Edward Solomon
Ladies in Love
Movie • 1936
Dr. Rudi Imre
Oddball Hall
Movie • 1990
G. Paul Siebriese
Gidget Gets Married
Movie • 1972
Otis Ramsey
Pals
Movie • 1987
Art Riddle
Slightly French
Movie • 1949
John Gayle
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
Movie • 1941
Lloyd Lloyd
Happy Land
Movie • 1943
Lew Marsh
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
Movie • 1970
Col. Flanders
That's My Man
Movie • 1947
Joe Grange
The Magnificent Dope
Movie • 1942
Dwight Dawson
You Can't Have Everything
Movie • 1937
George Macrae
Land of Liberty
Movie • 1939
Alexander Graham Bell (archive footage)
Josette
Movie • 1938
David Brassard Jr.
Gateway
Movie • 1938
Dick Court
Girl Trouble
Movie • 1942
Pedro Sullivan
It's in the Bag!
Movie • 1945
Don Ameche
Sins of Man
Movie • 1936
Karl Freyman / Mario Signarelli
Shadow Over Elveron
Movie • 1968
Justin Travers
Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults
Movie • 1997
Self (archiveFootage)
Coming to America
Movie • 1988
Mortimer Duke / Homeless Man #2 (uncredited)
Rings Around the World
Movie • 1967
Host/Ringmaster
A Masterpiece of Murder
Movie • 1986
Frank Aherne
Fifty Roads to Town
Movie • 1937
Peter Nostrand
Corrina, Corrina
Movie • 1994
Grandpa Harry
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
Movie • 1997
Self (archive footage)
Sunstroke
Movie • 1992
Jake
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
Movie • 1939
Don Ameche
Night of 100 Stars
Movie • 1982
Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
Movie • 2009
(archive footage)
The Chinese Typewriter
Movie • 1979
Armand Beller
Our Shining Moment
Movie • 1991
John 'Papa' McGuire Sr.
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Whitman Saunders
The Golden Girls
TV • 1985
Brother Martin
Alias Smith and Jones
TV • 1971
Petticoat Junction
TV • 1963
Uncle George
The Merv Griffin Show
TV • 1962
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
The Greatest Show on Earth
TV • 1963
Collie McCullough
McCloud
TV • 1970
Coke Time with Eddie Fisher
TV • 1953
Climax!
TV • 1954
Sam Waterman
Good Heavens
TV • 1976
Ellery Queen
TV • 1975
Dr. Norman Marsh
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Stewart Coolidge
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
TV • 1973
Self
Columbo
TV • 1971
Frank Simpson
The Lux Show
TV • 1957
Self
DuPont Show of the Month
TV • 1957
Harry Graves
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Henry Dobson
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Hollis Witkin
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self
Quincy, M.E.
TV • 1976
Harry Whitehead
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self - Co-Host
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
TV • 1957
Self
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self - Panelist
The Kennedy Center Honors
TV • 1978
Self