Don Ameche Biography Quotes 1 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Don Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici on May 31, 1908, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Felice Amici, an Italian immigrant, and Barbara Etta Hertel, who was of German ancestry. Raised in a large, close-knit family, he grew up in the Midwest with an abiding sense of pragmatism and discipline that would later serve him well in a long and varied career. Among his siblings was Jim Ameche, who would also become a notable radio performer. Don attended Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin, initially intending to study law. College theatricals drew him into performing, and by the early 1930s he had turned from legal studies to professional acting, gaining experience in stock companies and on Chicago radio.

Entry into Entertainment
Ameche's poised baritone and easy charm made him a natural for radio and stage, and he soon found steady work that led to Hollywood attention. His early broadcasts in Chicago, at a time when radio drama and variety reigned, showcased a warm, confident presence. Those broadcasts became a springboard to screen tests and, ultimately, a studio contract.

Stardom at 20th Century Fox
Signed by 20th Century Fox in the mid-1930s under the aegis of studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck, Ameche quickly emerged as a leading man with musical and dramatic range. He appeared alongside Tyrone Power and Alice Faye in lavish studio spectacles such as In Old Chicago and Alexander's Ragtime Band, and he headlined popular musical comedies with Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda, including Down Argentine Way, Moon Over Miami, and That Night in Rio. His breakout dramatic role came in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), opposite Loretta Young. The film's success was so pronounced that "Ameche" entered American slang as a nickname for the telephone, an unusual cultural imprint that testified to his public resonance.

Ameche also showed deft comedic timing in Midnight (1939) with Claudette Colbert and John Barrymore, and he ventured into swashbuckling adventure as d'Artagnan in a 1939 version of The Three Musketeers. In 1943 he worked with director Ernst Lubitsch on Heaven Can Wait, co-starring with Gene Tierney and Charles Coburn, confirming his ability to anchor sophisticated comedy. He remained active during the war years, appearing in Wing and a Prayer (1944), a naval aviation drama with Dana Andrews, further expanding his repertoire.

Radio Persona and The Bickersons
Even as he starred in films, Ameche's radio work gave him a second, parallel fame. On programs such as The Chase and Sanborn Hour he teamed with singer Frances Langford to create The Bickersons, a wildly popular marital-squabble comedy in which Ameche played the weary, wisecracking husband to Langford's sharp-tongued wife. The sketch's cadence, built around deadpan rejoinders and mounting exasperation, became a staple of American radio humor. His brother Jim Ameche, a respected radio figure in his own right, occasionally stepped into related programs, underscoring how deeply the medium ran in the family.

Postwar Career and Adaptation
The postwar era brought changes in audience taste and studio economics. Ameche remained visible, though his film roles became less central as Hollywood's star system evolved. He leaned more on stage engagements and guest appearances on radio and, eventually, television. His ability to transition across media, film, radio, stage, and TV, kept him continuously employed, even if not always in marquee roles. The skill set honed under tight studio schedules and live microphones gave him a professionalism that colleagues valued across decades.

Television and Hosting
As television matured, Ameche appeared on anthology dramas and variety programs, and in the early 1960s he hosted International Showtime for NBC, introducing global circus and spectacle acts to American audiences. The assignment suited his affable authority and burnished his image as a gracious master of ceremonies, comfortable in live or live-to-tape settings and adept at bridging performers and viewers.

Resurgence in the 1980s
In one of Hollywood's most notable late-career revivals, Ameche reemerged in the 1980s as a character actor of sly wit and authority. John Landis cast him as the patrician schemer Mortimer Duke in Trading Places (1983), sparring with Ralph Bellamy's Randolph Duke and tangling with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. The film's success introduced Ameche to a new generation, and he and Bellamy returned for a beloved cameo in Coming to America (1988). In Ron Howard's Cocoon (1985), Ameche joined an ensemble that included Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton, Jack Gilford, Brian Dennehy, and Tahnee Welch; his performance as Art Selwyn was both playful and poignant. The role earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a rare and celebrated recognition for a veteran star. He followed with Cocoon: The Return (1988) and gave a tender, acclaimed turn opposite Joe Mantegna in David Mamet's Things Change (1988), a film that garnered festival honors and critical praise for its understated melancholy and human warmth.

Personal Life
Ameche married Honore Prendergast in 1932, and their marriage endured until her death decades later. They raised six children, and by all accounts he placed a strong emphasis on family even during periods of demanding work. His long friendship and professional rapport with collaborators such as Frances Langford, and later the camaraderie he shared with colleagues like Ralph Bellamy, Eddie Murphy, and Dan Aykroyd, reflected a reputation for civility and generosity on set.

Legacy
Don Ameche died on December 6, 1993, in Arizona, closing a career that spanned radio's golden age, Hollywood's studio peak, and the modern blockbuster era. He left behind a filmography that balances sparkling comedies and musicals with polished dramatic turns, and a radio legacy anchored by The Bickersons that influenced domestic comedy for decades. His path from Midwestern student to Hollywood leading man, from radio mainstay to Oscar-winning elder statesman, demonstrates an uncommon adaptability. The directors and producers who tapped him at pivotal moments, Ernst Lubitsch in the 1940s, Darryl F. Zanuck during the Fox heyday, John Landis and Ron Howard during his renaissance, and David Mamet in art-house maturity, recognized the same qualities audiences did: timing, warmth, elegance, and a steady intelligence beneath the charm. Few performers bridged as many eras and formats with such continuity, and fewer still managed to redefine themselves so late in life while preserving the genial, unmistakable presence that first made them stars.

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