Not to be confused with former NBA player John Amaechi. John Ekwugha Amaechi (pronounced ) (born November 26, 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) is a retired English NBA basketball player who currently works as a broadcaster and political activist in the United Kingdom. ...

Dominic Felix Ameche (May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an Academy Award-winning American actor and director. is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Kenosha is a city located in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42°30N to 47°3N  - Longitude 86°49W to 92°54W Population  Ranked... December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Scottsdale is the name of several places: Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia Scottsdale, Arizona, United States of America This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to male actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Cocoon has a number of meanings. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Biography

Early life

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. He had a brother, Burt, and two sisters, Anne and Mary Jane.^[1] Kenosha is a city located in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42°30N to 47°3N  - Longitude 86°49W to 92°54W Population  Ranked...

Career

Ameche began his career in vaudeville with Texas Guinan until Guinan dropped him from the act, dismissing him as "too stiff".^[2] He made his film debut in 1935 and by the late 1930s, he had established himself as a leading actor in Hollywood. He appeared successfully in such films as Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), as the title character in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), and Heaven Can Wait (1943) co-starring Gene Tierney. He was so associated by the public with his role as Bell that for a time, "Ameche" was slang for telephone.^{[citation needed]} This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mary Louise Cecilia Texas Guinan (January 12, 1884 – November 5, 1933) was a saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur. ... ... Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a 1938 film that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song, Alexanders 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. ... Alexander Graham Bell (3 March 1847 – 2 August 1922) was a Scottish scientist, inventor, and innovator. ... Heaven Can Wait Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 comedy film which tells the story of a man who has to prove he belongs in Hell by telling his life story. ... Gene Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American Film and Stage actress. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Radio and television

Ameche was also a major radio star. Following his appearances as announcer and sketch participant for the Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy show, he achieved much success during the late 1940s playing opposite Frances Langford in The Bickersons. Ameche enjoyed a substantial Broadway career with roles in Silk Stockings, Goldilocks, Holiday for Lovers, Henry, Sweet Henry, and Our Town. Sam Bermans caricature of Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen for 1947 NBC promotion book Edgar John Bergen (February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist. ... Edgar John Bergen (February 16, 1903 _ September 30, 1978) was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist. ... Frances Langford Frances Newbern Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was a successful singer and entertainer during the Golden Age of Radio, who also made occasional film appearances. ... The Bickersons, an American radio comedy (1946-1951)---born on The Chase and Sanborn Hour and refined on the lesser-remembered Drene Time---stood the already-typical domestic presentation of radio and its infant offspring, television, so squarely on its head that there were those who feared the show---whose... Broadway theatre[1] is the most prestigious form of professional theatre in the U.S., as well as the most well known to the general public and most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows. ... Silk Stockings was a 1954 musical composed by Cole Porter, based upon Ninotchka. ... Original cast recording 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 by Thornton Wilder Our Town is a three act play by Thornton Wilder that 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. The program aired on NBC television. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ameche directed the NBC television drama series Julia, starring Diahann Carroll. He was absent from films for the next 13 years. Then he and fellow veteran actor Ralph Bellamy were cast to act in Trading Places in 1983. They played 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 to apologize ahead of time when he had to say the "f-word" in the film. The film's success and their comedic performances brought them both back into the Hollywood limelight. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Diahann Carroll as Julia, Fred Williamson as Steve in Julia Julia was a groundbreaking television series which was the first to show an African American main character in a non-stereotypical role. ... Diahann Carroll, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1955 Diahann Carroll (born July 17, 1935) is an American actress and singer. ... Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was a Tony Award-winning American actor with a career spanning sixty-two years. ... This is an article on the 1983 movie. ... Larry King Live is a nightly CNN interview program hosted by broadcaster and writer Larry King. ... Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is a two time Golden Globe-winning, and Emmy Award-nominated American film actress and a successful writer of books for children. ...

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 a role in the sequel, Cocoon: The Return). His last films were Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) and Corrina, Corrina (1994), which was completed days before his death. Cocoon is a 1985 science fiction film about a group of elderly humans who were rejuvenated by aliens. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to male actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... 1988 sequel to the feature film, Cocoon. ... Corrina, Corrina is a 1994 feature film set in the early 1960s about a widower Ray Liotta who hires a housekeeper-nanny Whoopi Goldberg to care for his daughter Tina Majorino. ...

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. A band plays on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ... Hollywood Boulevard as taken from the Kodak Theatre Hollywood Boulevard is an avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest to Vermont Avenue, where it straightens out and runs due west to Laurel Canyon Boulevard. ... Hollywood Boulevard as taken from the Kodak Theatre Hollywood Boulevard is an avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest to Vermont Avenue, where it straightens out and runs due west to Laurel Canyon Boulevard. ...

Personal life

Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986, with whom he had six children. One of them, Ron Ameche, owned the restaurant "Ameche's Pumpernickel" in Coralville, Iowa. Ameche's late younger brother Jim Ameche was also an actor. Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. ... This article lacks information on the subject matters importance. ...

Ameche died on December 6, 1993. He was buried at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, also known as St. Philomena Cemetery, in Asbury, Iowa. December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Resurrection Catholic Cemetery (also known as St. ... Asbury is a city located in Dubuque County, Iowa. ...

Filmography

• Clive of India (1935)
• Dante's Inferno (1935)
• Sins of Man (1936)
• Ramona (1936)
• Ladies in Love (1936)
• One in a Million (1936)
• In Old Chicago (1937)
• Love Is News (1937)
• Fifty Races to Town (1937)
• You Can't Have Everything (1937)
• Love Under Fire (1937)
• Happy Landing (1938)
• Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
• Josette (1938)
• Gateway (1938)
• The Three Musketeers (1939)
• Midnight (1939)
• The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
• Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
• Swanee River (1939 film) (1939)
• Lillian Russell (1940)
• Four Sons (1940)
• Down Argentine Way (1940)
• That Night in Rio (1941)
• Moon Over Miami (1941)
• Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1941)
• The Feminine Touch (1941)
• Confirm or Deny (1941)
• The Magnificent Dope (1942)
• Girl Trouble (1942)
• Something to Shout About (1943)
• Heaven Can Wait (1943)
• Happy Land (1943)
• Wing and a Prayer (1944)
• Greenwich Village (1944)
• It's in the Bag! (1945) (Cameo)
• Guest Wife (1945)
• So Goes My Love (1946)
• That's My Man (1947)
• Sleep, My Love (1948)
• Slightly French (1949)
• Phantom Caravan (1954)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1957)
• A Fever in the Blood (1961)
• The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series) (1963)
• Rings Around the World (1966) (documentary)
• Picture Mommy Dead (1966)
• The Boatniks (1970)
• Columbo (1971)
• Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970)
• Trading Places (1983)
• Cocoon (1985)
• Harry and the Hendersons (1987)
• Coming to America (1988)
• Things Change (1988)
• Cocoon: The Return (1988)
• Oddball Hall (1990)
• Oscar (1991)
• Folks! (1992)
• Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) (voice)
• Corrina, Corrina (1994)

Clive of India is a 1935, drama genre film, based on Lord Robert Clives historical biography. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ... Ramona is the title of several motion pictures based on the novel Ramona (1884) by Helen Hunt Jackson. ... Ladies in Love is a 1936 movie romantic comedy starring Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett, Loretta Young, Simone Simon, Don Ameche, Paul Lukas, and Tyrone Power. ... One In A Million is a song by American hard rock group Guns N Roses (GNR). ... In Old Chicago is a 1937 dramatic film. ... Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a 1938 film that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song, Alexanders 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. ... The Three Musketeers, a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père has been filmed many times. ... Midnight was a 1939 comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder based on a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz. ... Lillian Russell (Helen Louise Leonard) (December 4, 1860 - June 6, 1922) was an American actress and singer. ... Four Sons was a 1928 film drama directed by John Ford and screen written by Philip Klein based on a story by I.A.R. Wylie. ... Down Argentine Way was a 1940 Technicolor musical released by Twentieth Century Fox. ... Moon Over Miami is a movie directed by Walter Lang with Betty Grable in one of the leading roles. ... Girl Trouble are a long-running rock band from Washington, USA, formed in 1983, when three musicians from Tacoma, WA joined forces as well as one from Spokane, WA (Kendall). ... Something to Shout About was the title of Lulus first LP, released just when she was 15, that launched her into a 40+ year musical career that is still going strong today. ... Heaven Can Wait Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 comedy film which tells the story of a man who has to prove he belongs in Hell by telling his life story. ... Happy Land can refer to: Happy Land Fire, a 1990 Bronx arson fire that killed 87 social club patrons Happy Land (film), a 1943 film starring Don Ameche Happyland a kids computer game Category: ... The Wing and a Prayer ,known as well by its second title The story of carrier X, was a B/W war film produced in WW2, 1943-44, and was about the heroic crews of the Navy Bombers. ... The Washington Square Arch Greenwich Village (IPA pronunciation: ), also called simply the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City named after Greenwich, London. ... Guest Wife is a 1945 film directed by Sam Wood, and starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche. ... So Goes My Love (released as A Genius in the Family in the UK) is an American 1946 comedy film, produced by Universal Pictures. ... Sleep, My Love is a 1948 film directed by Douglas Sirk, and starring Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche. ... The Ed Sullivan Show is an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by former entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. ... Rings around the World is the fifth studio album and the major label debut by Super Furry Animals. ... The Boatniks was a 1970 movie starring Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers, and Phil Silvers. ... Columbo is an American crime fiction TV series created by Richard Levinson and William Link. ... This is an article on the 1983 movie. ... Cocoon is a 1985 science fiction film about a group of elderly humans who were rejuvenated by aliens. ... Harry and the Hendersons is a 1987 American film directed and produced by William Dear, and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Lainie Kazan and Don Ameche, and was about the cryptozoological creature Bigfoot. ... For the reality television series starring Victoria Beckham, see Victoria Beckham: Coming to America. ... Things Change is the first episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), which originally aired on February 8, 2003. ... 1988 sequel to the feature film, Cocoon. ... Oscar is a movie from 1991 directed by John Landis and starring Sylvester Stallone. ... Corrina, Corrina is a 1994 feature film set in the early 1960s about a widower Ray Liotta who hires a housekeeper-nanny Whoopi Goldberg to care for his daughter Tina Majorino. ...

Sources

Reference

• Ohmart, Ben. Don Ameche - The Kenosha Comeback Kid. (2007) (Albany: BearManor Media) ISBN 1-59393-045-3 Over 100 rare photos and many interviews with family and friends.

Newlyweds Ben Ohmart and wife in Kyoto, Japan, in May 2006. ...

External link

• Don Ameche at the Internet Movie Database