Don Ameche(1908-1993)

Actor
Director
Soundtrack

Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

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Folks! (1992)

Don Ameche 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).

Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Barbara Edda (Hertel) and Felice Amici, a bartender.

IMDbProStarmeter See rank

Won 1 Oscar
- 6 wins total

Photos373

Eddie Murphy, Don Ameche, and Ralph Bellamy in Trading Places (1983)

Don Ameche and Claudette Colbert in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Don Ameche and George Coulouris in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Don Ameche and Hazel Brooks in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Don Ameche and Fred Nurney in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Don Ameche and Robert Cummings in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Don Ameche, Claudette Colbert, and Robert Cummings in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Known for:

Cocoon

6.7

Art Selwyn

1985

Trading Places

7.5

Mortimer Duke

1983

Heaven Can Wait

7.4

Henry Van Cleve

1943

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

6.9

Shadow(voice)

1993

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

Corrina, Corrina
- Grandpa Harry
- 1994
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
- Shadow (voice)
- 1993
Sunstroke
- Jake
- TV Movie
- 1992
Folks!
- Harry Aldrich
- 1992
209 Hamilton Drive
- TV Movie
- 1991
Pros and Cons
- TV Series
- 1991
Our Shining Moment
- John 'Papa' McGuire Sr.
- TV Movie
- 1991
Oscar
- Father Clemente
- 1991
The Golden Girls
- Brother Martin
- TV Series
- 1990
Oddball Hall
- G. Paul Siebriese
- 1990
Cocoon: The Return
- Art Selwyn
- 1988
Things Change
- Gino
- 1988
Coming to America
- Mortimer Duke
- 1988
Harry and the Hendersons
- Dr. Wallace Wrightwood
- 1987
Pals
- Art Riddle
- TV Movie
- 1987

Director

Soundtrack

Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults
- performer: "Easter Parade" (uncredited), "Some Sunny Day"
- TV Movie
- 1997
Cocoon
- performer: "I'm in the Mood for Love", "Some Enchanted Evening"
- 1985
Beloved Infidel
- performer: "Boa Noite (Good-Night)" (uncredited)
- 1959
The DuPont Show of the Month
- performer: "Let's Make It Christmas All Year 'Round", "Junior Miss"
- TV Series
- 1957
Slightly French
- performer: "Let's Fall in Love"
- 1949
It's in the Bag!
- performer: "The Curse of an Aching Heart" (1913) (uncredited)
- 1945
Greenwich Village
- performer: "Swingin' Down the Lane", "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose" (uncredited)
- 1944
Something to Shout About
- performer: "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"
- 1943
The Magnificent Dope
- performer: "Shortnin' Bread" (uncredited)
- 1942
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
- performer: "I'll Never Let a Day Pass By" ("Find Yourself a Melody")
- 1941
Moon Over Miami
- performer: "I've Got You All To Myself" (1941), "Loveliness and Love" (1941) ("You Started Something" (1941))
- 1941
That Night in Rio
- performer: "Chica Chica Boom Chic", "The Conference", "They Met in Rio (A Midnight Serenade)", "Boa Noite (Good-Night)" (uncredited)
- 1941
Down Argentine Way
- performer: "Down Argentina Way" (1940), "Two Dreams Met" (1940) (uncredited)
- 1940
Lillian Russell
- performer: "Adored One" (1940), "Blue Lovebird" (1940), "After the Ball" (1892) (uncredited)
- 1940
The Three Musketeers
- performer: "Song of the Musketeers" (1939), "My Lady" (1939), "Voila" (1939) ("My Lady" (1939), uncredited)
- 1939

Personal details

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Height
- 5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
Born
- May 31, 1908
- Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Died
- December 6, 1993
- Scottsdale, Arizona, USA(prostate cancer)
Spouse
- Honora M PrendergastNovember 26, 1932 - September 5, 1986 (her death, 6 children)
Parents
Other works
Radio: He and brother Jim Ameche appeared in the program "Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy." Jim played the title role and Don played Captain Hughes.
Publicity listings

Did you know

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Trivia
He frequently apologized to his Trading Places (1983) co-star Eddie Murphy for the racist statements that his character made in the film.

Quotes
[on Darryl F. Zanuck] Zanuck never did anything but be nice to me. Oh yeah, maybe he chased Alice Faye around, but a lot of people chased Alice Faye around.