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Don Ameche(1908-1993)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Soundtrack
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Don Ameche, c. 1939.
Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Play Trailer1:55
Folks! (1992)
15 Videos
99+ Photos
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.
BornMay 31, 1908
DiedDecember 6, 1993(85)
BornMay 31, 1908
DiedDecember 6, 1993(85)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Oscar

Photos378

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 Hazel Brooks in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche and Fred Nurney in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche and Robert Cummings in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche, Claudette Colbert, and Robert Cummings in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche and Hazel Brooks in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Don Ameche and Claudette Colbert in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Known for

Cocoon (1985)
Cocoon
6.7
  • Art Selwyn
  • 1985
Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy in Trading Places (1983)
Trading Places
7.5
  • Mortimer Duke
  • 1983
Gene Tierney, Don Ameche, Charles Coburn, Laird Cregar, and Marjorie Main in Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Heaven Can Wait
7.4
  • Henry Van Cleve
  • 1943
Michael J. Fox, Sally Field, Don Ameche, Rattler, Tiki, and Ben in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
6.9
  • Shadow(voice)
  • 1993

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, and Tina Majorino in Corrina, Corrina (1994)
    Corrina, Corrina
  • Michael J. Fox, Sally Field, Don Ameche, Rattler, Tiki, and Ben in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
    Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
    • (voice)
  • Jane Seymour in Sunstroke (1992)
    Sunstroke
  • Tom Selleck, Don Ameche, and Anne Jackson in Folks! (1992)
    Folks!
  • 209 Hamilton Drive
  • James Earl Jones and Richard Crenna in Pros and Cons (1991)
    Pros and Cons
  • Our Shining Moment
  • Sylvester Stallone in Oscar (1991)
    Oscar
  • Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls (1985)
    The Golden Girls
  • Don Ameche and Burgess Meredith in Oddball Hall (1990)
    Oddball Hall
  • Steve Guttenberg, Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Courteney Cox, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Tahnee Welch, Jack Gilford, Maureen Stapleton, and Gwen Verdon in Cocoon: The Return (1988)
    Cocoon: The Return
  • Don Ameche and Joe Mantegna in Things Change (1988)
    Things Change
  • Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988)
    Coming to America
  • Kevin Peter Hall, John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Margaret Langrick, and Joshua Rudoy in Harry and the Hendersons (1987)
    Harry and the Hendersons
  • Pals (1987)
    Pals

Director

  • Diahann Carroll and Marc Copage in Julia (1968)
    Julia

Soundtrack

  • Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997)
    Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults
    • ("Easter Parade" (uncredited), "Some Sunny Day")
  • Cocoon (1985)
    Cocoon
    • ("I'm in the Mood for Love", "Some Enchanted Evening")
  • Deborah Kerr and Gregory Peck in Beloved Infidel (1959)
    Beloved Infidel
    • ("Boa Noite (Good-Night)", uncredited)
  • The DuPont Show of the Month (1957)
    The DuPont Show of the Month
    • ("Let's Make It Christmas All Year 'Round", "Junior Miss")
  • Don Ameche, Patricia Barry, Janis Carter, Adele Jergens, Dorothy Lamour, and Jeanne Manet in Slightly French (1949)
    Slightly French
    • ("Let's Fall in Love")
  • Don Ameche, William Bendix, Jack Benny, Binnie Barnes, Fred Allen, Robert Benchley, Jerry Colonna, Victor Moore, and Rudy Vallee in It's in the Bag! (1945)
    It's in the Bag!
    • ("The Curse of an Aching Heart" (1913), uncredited)
  • Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, William Bendix, and Vivian Blaine in Greenwich Village (1944)
    Greenwich Village
    • ("Swingin' Down the Lane", "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose", uncredited)
  • Don Ameche, Janet Blair, and Jack Oakie in Something to Shout About (1943)
    Something to Shout About
    • ("You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To")
  • Henry Fonda, Don Ameche, and Lynn Bari in The Magnificent Dope (1942)
    The Magnificent Dope
    • ("Shortnin' Bread", uncredited)
  • Don Ameche, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Virginia Dale, Oscar Levant, and Mary Martin in Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1941)
    Kiss the Boys Goodbye
    • ("Find Yourself a Melody")
  • Moon Over Miami (1941)
    Moon Over Miami
    • ("You Started Something" (1941))
  • Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, and Alice Faye in That Night in Rio (1941)
    That Night in Rio
    • ("Chica Chica Boom Chic", "The Conference", "They Met in Rio (A Midnight Serenade)", "Boa Noite (Good-Night)", uncredited)
  • Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, and Betty Grable in Down Argentine Way (1940)
    Down Argentine Way
    • ("Down Argentina Way" (1940), "Two Dreams Met" (1940), uncredited)
  • Alice Faye in Lillian Russell (1940)
    Lillian Russell
    • ("Adored One" (1940), "Blue Lovebird" (1940), "After the Ball" (1892) (uncredited))
  • Don Ameche, Gloria Stuart, Pauline Moore, Al Ritz, Harry Ritz, Jimmy Ritz, and The Ritz Brothers in The Three Musketeers (1939)
    The Three Musketeers
    • ("My Lady" (1939), uncredited)

IMDb Best of 2022

IMDb Best of 2022

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Trading Places
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Alexander's Ragtime Band

Personal details

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    • May 31, 1908
    • Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
    • December 6, 1993
    • Scottsdale, Arizona, USA(prostate cancer)
    • November 26, 1932 - September 5, 1986 (her death, 6 children)
  • 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
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 1 Article
    • 16 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • 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.
    • Was well known for having a peaceful, soothing but authoritative sounding voice.
    • So Goes My Love
      (1946)
      $100 .000

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