Don Ameche
Actor, Director
May 31, 1908 — December 6, 1993 (85 years)
Don Ameche (born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor and radio entertainer whose career spanned over six decades. Known for his charming, dapper presence and signature mustache, Ameche became one of 20th Century Fox's premier leading men throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to an Italian immigrant father and a mother of European descent, he adapted his family's surname from "Amici" to "Ameche" to preserve its original Italian pronunciation in the United States. He began his entertainment career in vaudeville and radio, where he achieved nationwide fame as the host of popular broadcasts like The Chase and Sanborn Hour. He transitioned to film in 1935, starring in a string of successful musical comedies and dramas, most notably Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), and Ernst Lubitsch’s classic comedy Heaven Can Wait (1943).
As film roles slowed in the 1950s, Ameche worked extensively in live theatre and television. His screen career experienced a celebrated renaissance in the 1980s, beginning with his role as the scheming commodities broker Mortimer Duke in Trading Places (1983). Two years later, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a revitalized retiree in Ron Howard’s Cocoon (1985). In his final years, Ameche introduced himself to a new generation of filmgoers providing the warm, patriarchal voice of Shadow the Golden Retriever in Disney's Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), before completing his final screen appearance in Corrina, Corrina (1994).
Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986; the couple had six children. Ameche died of prostate cancer in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1993 at the age of 85.
Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to an Italian immigrant father and a mother of European descent, he adapted his family's surname from "Amici" to "Ameche" to preserve its original Italian pronunciation in the United States. He began his entertainment career in vaudeville and radio, where he achieved nationwide fame as the host of popular broadcasts like The Chase and Sanborn Hour. He transitioned to film in 1935, starring in a string of successful musical comedies and dramas, most notably Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), and Ernst Lubitsch’s classic comedy Heaven Can Wait (1943).
As film roles slowed in the 1950s, Ameche worked extensively in live theatre and television. His screen career experienced a celebrated renaissance in the 1980s, beginning with his role as the scheming commodities broker Mortimer Duke in Trading Places (1983). Two years later, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a revitalized retiree in Ron Howard’s Cocoon (1985). In his final years, Ameche introduced himself to a new generation of filmgoers providing the warm, patriarchal voice of Shadow the Golden Retriever in Disney's Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), before completing his final screen appearance in Corrina, Corrina (1994).
Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986; the couple had six children. Ameche died of prostate cancer in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1993 at the age of 85.
Known For
Filmography
| 2009 | Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing · as (archive Footage) |
| 2000 | 20th Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years · as Arthur Selwyn |
| 2000 | |
| 1994 | Corrina, Corrina · as Grandpa HarryOn Plex |
| 1993 | Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey · as Shadow (voice) |
| 1992 | Sunstroke · as Jake |
| 1992 | Folks! · as Harry Aldrich |
| 1991 | Pros and Cons · as Cast |
| 1991 | Our Shining Moment · as John 'papa' Mcguire Sr. |
| 1991 | Oscar · as Father Clemente |
| 1990 | Oddball Hall · as G. Paul Siebriese |
| 1988 | Cocoon: The Return · as Art Selwyn |
| 1988 | Things Change · as Gino |
| 1988 | Coming to America · as Mortimer Duke / Homeless Man #2 (uncredited) |
| 1987 | Harry and the Hendersons · as Dr. Wallace Wrightwood |
| 1987 | Pals · as Art Riddle |
| 1986 | A Masterpiece of Murder · as Frank Aherne |
| 1985 | The Golden Girls · as Brother Martin |
| 1985 | Cocoon · as Arthur Selwyn |
| 1983 | Mr. Smith · as Dr. Breckenridge |
| 1983 | Trading Places · as Mortimer Duke |
| 1979 | The Chinese Typewriter · as Armand Beller |
| 1977 | The Love Boat · as Stewart Coolidge |
| 1977 | Fantasy Island · as Ferrini |
| 1976 | Quincy, M.E. · as Harry Whitehead |
| 1976 | |
| 1975 | Ellery Queen · as Dr. Norman Marsh |
| 1972 | Gidget Gets Married · as Otis Ramsey |
| 1971 | Columbo · as Frank Simpson |
| 1971 | |
| 1970 | Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came · as Col. Flanders |
| 1970 | The Boatniks · as Commander Taylor |
| 1970 | |
| 1968 | Julia · as Dr. Foster Prestwick |
| 1968 | Shadow Over Elveron · as Justin Travers |
| 1966 | Picture Mommy Dead · as Edward Shelley |
| 1963 | Petticoat Junction · as Uncle GeorgeOn Plex |
| 1963 | Burke's Law · as Whitman Saunders |
| 1963 | The Greatest Show on Earth · as Collie Mccullough |
| 1961 | A Fever in the Blood · as Senator Alex S. Simon |
| 1957 | The DuPont Show of the Month · as Harry Graves |
| 1954 | Climax! · as Sam Waterman |
| 1951 | Goodyear Television Playhouse · as Burnham Wicks |
| 1949 | Family Theatre · as Leader Of Rosary |
| 1949 | Slightly French · as John Gayle |
| 1948 | The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre · as Cast |
| 1948 | Sleep, My Love · as Richard W. Courtland |
| 1947 | That's My Man · as Joe Grange |
| 1946 | So Goes My Love · as Hiram Stephen Maxim |
| 1945 | Guest Wife · as Joseph Jefferson 'joe' Parker |
| 1944 | Greenwich Village · as Kenneth Harvey |
| 1944 | Wing and a Prayer · as Bingo Harper |
| 1943 | Happy Land · as Lew Marsh |
| 1943 | Heaven Can Wait · as Henry Van CleveOn Plex |
| 1943 | Something to Shout About · as Ken Douglas |
| 1942 | The Magnificent Dope · as Dwight Dawson |
| 1942 | Girl Trouble · as Pedro Sullivan |
| 1941 | Confirm or Deny · as 'mitch' Mitchell |
| 1941 | The Feminine Touch · as John Hathaway |
| 1941 | Kiss the Boys Goodbye · as Lloyd Lloyd |
| 1941 | Moon Over Miami · as Phil O'neil (credits) / Phil 'mac' McneilOn Plex |
| 1941 | That Night in Rio · as Larry Martin / Baron Manuel Duarte |
| 1940 | Down Argentine Way · as Ricardo Quintana |
| 1940 | Four Sons · as Chris Bern |
| 1940 | Lillian Russell · as Edward Solomon |
| 1939 | Swanee River · as Stephen Foster |
| 1939 | Hollywood Cavalcade · as Mike Connors |
| 1939 | Land of Liberty · as Alexander Graham Bell (archive Footage) |
| 1939 | The Story of Alexander Graham Bell · as Alexander Graham Bell |
| 1939 | Midnight · as Tibor Czerny |
| 1939 | The Three Musketeers · as D'artagnan |
| 1938 | Alexander's Ragtime Band · as Charlie Dwyer |
| 1938 | Gateway · as Dick Court |
| 1938 | Josette · as David Brassard Jr. |
| 1938 | In Old Chicago · as Jack O'leary |
| 1938 | Happy Landing · as Jimmy Hall |
| 1937 | Love Under Fire · as Tracy Egan |
| 1937 | You Can't Have Everything · as George Macrae |
| 1937 | Fifty Roads to Town · as Peter Nostrand |
| 1937 | Love Is News · as Martin J. Canavan |
| 1936 | One in a Million · as Bob Harris |
| 1936 | Ladies in Love · as Dr. Rudi Imre |
| 1936 | Ramona · as Alessandro |
| 1936 | Sins of Man · as Karl Freyman / Mario Signarelli |
| 1935 | Dante's Inferno · as Man In Stoke-Hold |
| 1935 | Clive of India · as Prisoner In The Black Hole |
| 1968 |