Don Ameche

Born: 1908-05-31

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.


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Trading Places

as Mortimer Duke
Released: 1983-06-07

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet...

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Coming to America

as Mortimer Duke / Homeless Man #2 (uncredited)
Released: 1988-06-29

An African prince decides it’s time for him to find a princess... and his mission leads him and...

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Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

as Shadow (voice)
Released: 1993-02-03

Before the Seavers leave for a family vacation to San Francisco, they drop off their pets --...

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Heaven Can Wait

as Henry Van Cleve
Released: 1943-08-05

Spoiled playboy Henry van Cleve dies and arrives at the entrance to Hell, a final destination he...

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Cocoon

as Arthur Selwyn
Released: 1985-06-21

When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find...

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Harry and the Hendersons

as Dr. Wallace Wrightwood
Released: 1987-06-05

Returning from a hunting trip in the forest, the Henderson family's car hits an animal in the...

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Corrina, Corrina

as Grandpa Harry
Released: 1994-08-12

When Manny Singer's wife dies, his young daughter Molly becomes mute and withdrawn. To help cope...

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Oscar

as Father Clemente
Released: 1991-04-26

Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the...

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Cocoon: The Return

as Art Selwyn
Released: 1988-09-13

The reinvigorated elderly group that left Earth comes back to visit their relatives. Will they...

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Folks!

as Harry Aldrich
Released: 1992-05-01

A slightly self absorbed yuppie takes in his parents including his senile father, after their...

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Down Argentine Way

as Ricardo Quintana
Released: 1940-10-11

The story—in which an American heiress on holiday in South America falls in love with an...

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Hollywood Cavalcade

as Mike Connors
Released: 1939-10-13

Starting in 1913 movie director Connors discovers singer Molly Adair. As she becomes a star she...

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Kiss the Boys Goodbye

as Lloyd Lloyd
Released: 1941-08-01

New York chorus girl Cindy Lou Bethany becomes frustrated when she prepares for an audition for...

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Ladies In Love

as Dr. Rudi Imre
Released: 1936-10-09

Three young women in Budapest share living quarters while searching for romance.

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Sleep, My Love

as Richard W. Courtland
Released: 1948-02-18

A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got...

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Midnight

as Tibor Czerny
Released: 1939-03-24

An unemployed showgirl poses as Hungarian royalty to infiltrate Parisian society.

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Things Change

as Gino
Released: 1988-10-21

Jerry, a misfit Mafia henchman, is assigned the low-level job of keeping an eye on Gino, a shoe...

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The Feminine Touch

as John Hathaway
Released: 1941-10-01

A college professor who believes there's no place for jealousy in modern marriage, John Hathaway...

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That Night in Rio

as Larry Martin / Baron Manuel Duarte
Released: 1941-04-11

An entertainer in Rio impersonates a wealthy aristocrat. When the aristocrat's wife asks him to...

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Alexander's Ragtime Band

as Charlie Dwyer
Released: 1938-05-24

Classical violinist, Roger Grant disappoints his family and teacher when he organizes a jazz...

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In Old Chicago

as Jack O'Leary
Released: 1938-04-15

The O'Leary brothers -- honest Jack and roguish Dion -- become powerful figures, and eventually...

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Moon Over Miami

as Phil O'Neil (Credits) / Phil 'Mac' McNeil
Released: 1941-07-04

After losing nearly all of an inheritance to taxes, sisters Kay and Barbara Latimer, waitresses...

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Gateway

as Dick Court
Released: 1938-08-05

Irish immigrant meets returning war correspondent on a liner bound for New York. When she...

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The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

as Alexander Graham Bell
Released: 1939-04-04

Alexander Graham Bell falls in love with deaf girl Mabel Hubbard while teaching the deaf and...

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Greenwich Village

as Kenneth Harvey
Released: 1944-09-27

In 1922, a would-be classical composer gets involved with people putting on a musical revue.

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Night of 100 Stars

as Self
Released: 1982-03-08

The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took...

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You Can't Have Everything

as George Macrae
Released: 1937-08-02

Starving playwright Judith Wells meets playboy writer of musicals, George Macrae, over a plate...

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Lillian Russell

as Edward Solomon
Released: 1940-05-24

Alice Faye plays the title role in this 1940 film biography of the early-20th-century stage star.

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Four Sons

as Chris Bern
Released: 1940-06-14

Four Sons is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo. It stars Don Ameche and Eugenie Leontovich. It...

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Pals

as Fern Stobbs
Released: 1987-01-01

Two retired fishing buddies stumble on an unmarked suitcase filled with three million dollars in...

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Confirm or Deny

as 'Mitch' Mitchell
Released: 1941-12-12

Newsman Mitch and teletype operator Jennifer, whose job is to see he doesn't send inappropriate...

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Love Is News

as Martin J. Canavan
Released: 1937-02-26

When a crafty reporter uses false pretenses to get a story out of heiress Tony Gateson, she...

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Gidget Gets Married

as Otis Ramsey
Released: 1972-01-04

Gidget finally gets married and rebels against the social caste system in her new husband's company.

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Josette

as David Brassard Jr.
Released: 1938-06-03

Two young men try to wrest their father from the clutches of a gold digger but by mistake think...

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Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults

as Self (archiveFootage)
Released: 1997-11-18

Documentary featuring more than one dozen musical outtakes from classic 20th Century-Fox films.

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Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?

as Col. Flanders
Released: 1970-09-11

War is brewing between the soldiers at an otherwise quiet army base and the civilians of a...

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The Boatniks

as Commander Taylor
Released: 1970-07-01

Young and awkward, The Coast-Guard's ensign Thomas Garland suffers from the comparison with his...

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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1997-11-01

A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift...

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Picture Mommy Dead

as Edward Shelley
Released: 1966-11-02

Susan Shelley is released from an asylum where she's been confined to after the shock suffered...

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Swanee River

as Stephen Foster
Released: 1939-12-29

Swanee River is a 1940 American biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who...

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Wing and a Prayer

as Bingo Harper
Released: 1944-01-01

An aircraft carrier is sent on a decoy mission around the Pacific, with orders to avoid combat,...

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Land of Liberty

as Alexander Graham Bell (archive footage)
Released: 1939-06-15

This film tells the history of the United States from pre-Revolution through 1939.

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The Three Musketeers

as D'Artagnan
Released: 1939-02-17

A parodic remake of the story of the young Gascon D'Artagnan, who arrives in Paris, his heart...

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A Fever in the Blood

as Senator Alex S. Simon
Released: 1961-01-28

A judge, a district attorney and a U. S. senator--each hoping to be elected the next...

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Ramona

as Alessandro
Released: 1936-09-25

Half-Indian girl brought up in a wealthy household is loved by the son of the house against his...

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Sins of Man

as Karl Freyman / Mario Signarelli
Released: 1936-06-19

Austrian church bell ringer Freyman loves music and wants his two sons (both played by Ameche)...

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It's in the Bag!

as Don Ameche
Released: 1945-04-21

The ringmaster of a flea circus inherits a fortune...if he can find which chair it's hidden in.

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Fifty Roads to Town

as Peter Nostrand
Released: 1937-06-03

A man on the lam in the Canadian wilds encounters a young woman in a remote lodge who is also on...

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Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing

as Self (archive)
Released: 2009-12-31

This is a two-hour in-depth exploration into the Hollywood musicals of the 1940s.

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Girl Trouble

as Pedro Sullivan
Released: 1942-10-09

A South American in New York rents the apartment of a socialite who pretends to be his maid.

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Happy Landing

as Jimmy Hall
Released: 1938-01-23

Bandleader and manager discover skater in Norway. They become rivals as she returns with them to...

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Slightly French

as John Gayle
Released: 1949-02-02

A film director, in bad standing with his studio, tries to turn a local carnival dancer into a...

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That's My Man

as Joe Grange
Released: 1947-06-01

A poor young man is finally able to achieve his dream of running a horse at the track, but when...

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Happy Land

as Lew Marsh
Released: 1943-11-10

An Iowa drugstore owner becomes embittered when his son is killed in World War II. The druggist...

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The Magnificent Dope

as Dwight Dawson
Released: 1942-07-01

Dwight Dawson, who runs an unsuccessful success school, stages a contest to find the biggest...

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Shadow Over Elveron

as Justin Travers
Released: 1968-03-05

A corrupt sheriff knows the secrets of everyone in town and uses that information to go...

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Love Under Fire

as Tracy Egan
Released: 1937-08-20

A suspense-thriller-comedy set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War.

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One in a Million

as Bob Harris
Released: 1937-01-01

American theatrical manager discovers Greta Muller preparing for the Olympics in Switzerland and...

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Sunstroke

as Jake
Released: 1992-09-23

After a bitter divorce, Teresa embarks on a noir journey to recover custody of her daughter....

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So Goes My Love

as Hiram Stephen Maxim
Released: 1946-05-01

Country girl Jane Budden goes to the big city, determined to find and marry a wealthy man....

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Guest Wife

as Joseph Jefferson 'Joe' Parker
Released: 1945-07-27

Christopher Price, a small-town bank executive, continues to be loyal to and idolize his boyhood...

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Something to Shout About

as Ken Douglas
Released: 1943-02-25

A press agent, a composer and a landlord of a theatrical boardinghouse revive vaudeville on...

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Oddball Hall

as G. Paul Siebriese
Released: 1990-06-22

Elderly jewel thieves on the run from the law pass themselves off as wizards to a village of...

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Rings Around the World

as Host/Ringmaster
Released: 1967-12-06

While writing a book on the circus, author John Shawcross reflects upon the great acts he has...

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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight...

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Columbo

as Frank Simpson
First aired: 1971-09-15

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently...

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Quincy, M.E.

as Harry Whitehead
First aired: 1976-10-03

Los Angeles County medical examiner Quincy routinely engages in police investigations.

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The Love Boat

as Stewart Coolidge
First aired: 1977-09-24

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...

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The Love Boat

as Henry Dobson
First aired: 1977-09-24

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...

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The Love Boat

as Hollis Witkin
First aired: 1977-09-24

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...

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The Mike Douglas Show

as Self - Co-Host
First aired: 1961-12-11

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that...

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The Mike Douglas Show

as Self
First aired: 1961-12-11

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Mystery Guest
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Panelist
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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Climax!

as Sam Waterman
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Petticoat Junction

as Uncle George
First aired: 1963-09-24

The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters...

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The Golden Girls

as Brother Martin
First aired: 1985-09-14

Four Southern Florida seniors share a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake....

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The Merv Griffin Show

as Self
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran...

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Burke's Law

as Whitman Saunders
First aired: 1963-09-20

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...

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The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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The Ed Sullivan Show

as Henry Orient
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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McCloud

as uncredited
First aired: 1970-02-17

Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico is assigned to the...

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Alias Smith and Jones

as uncredited
First aired: 1971-01-05

Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to...

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Ellery Queen

as Dr. Norman Marsh
First aired: 1975-09-11

Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series based on the fictional character...

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DuPont Show of the Month

as Harry Graves
First aired: 1957-09-29

DuPont Show of the Month is an acclaimed 90-minute television anthology series that aired...

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Good Heavens

as uncredited
First aired: 1976-02-29

Good Heavens was an ABC comedy anthology series produced by Columbia Pictures Television that...

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The American Film Institute Salute to ...

as Self
First aired: 1973-04-02

In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a...

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