Don Ameche was a famous actor.
He worked in movies and on the radio. He was even in many plays. He won a big prize for his acting. He made many people smile. Do you like to watch movies?
Don Ameche was a famous actor.
He started in radio shows. Then he moved to movies.
He played many parts. He even played a man who made the telephone. People used his name to talk about phones. Later, he won a big prize for acting. He was in a movie called Cocoon. He also used his voice for a movie about animals. He loved to make people happy through his work.
Don Ameche was a famous American actor.
He was born in Wisconsin in 1908. He began his career in radio shows. In the 1930s, he became a big radio star. This led to a job making movies.
He often played romantic leads in films.
In one movie, he played Alexander Graham Bell. Bell was the man who helped invent the telephone. Because of this, people used his name as slang for a phone. He even appeared in musicals like Down Argentine Way.
He worked with many top stars of that time.
Later in his life, his career had a big revival. He played a villain in the film Trading Places. In 1985, he won an Academy Award for his role in Cocoon. This is a very special prize for actors. He also did voice work for the movie Homeward Bound. He died in 1993 at the age of 85. He left behind a long history of acting in movies, radio, and on stage.
Don Ameche was a famous American performer who worked in many ways.
He was a talented actor, a comedian, and a vaudevillian. Vaudeville is a type of show with many different acts. He made people laugh and smile for many decades. His work spanned across radio, movies, television, and the stage. People remember him for his many different roles. He was a star who could adapt to any kind of story.
His journey into acting started in very simple ways.
He first performed in college shows and theater groups. Once, a friend asked him to stand in for a missing actor. He liked the experience so much that he kept going. He worked in vaudeville with a performer named Texas Guinan. Later, he moved to Chicago to start a radio career. He became a leading man on popular programs like Betty and Bob. These shows helped lead to his big movie contract.
Don Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici on May 31, 1908.
He grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His father, Felice Amici, was a bartender from Italy. His mother, Barbara Etta Hertel, had roots in Scotland, Ireland, and Germany. He was the second oldest of eight children in his family. One of his brothers, Jim Ameche, also became a well-known actor. Don attended several colleges, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
He became a huge star in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1939, he played Alexander Graham Bell in a movie. This role was so famous that people used his name as slang for a telephone. He also starred in musicals like Down Argentine Way and Moon Over Miami. In 1944, he was one of the highest earners at 20th Century Fox. He even helped own a football team called the Los Angeles Dons. He worked with many famous stars like Carmen Miranda and Alice Faye.
After a break from movies, his career had a wonderful second start.
He played a villain in the 1983 film Trading Places. This role helped lead to more big parts in famous movies. In 1985, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Cocoon. He also won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in 1988. His last voice role was as Shadow in Homeward Bound. He passed away in 1993 at the age of 85.
Don Ameche was a versatile American entertainer who mastered many different performance mediums.
He worked as an actor, a comedian, and a vaudevillian. Vaudeville refers to a type of variety entertainment featuring many different acts. His career was remarkable because it spanned several decades and multiple industries. He successfully transitioned between radio, motion pictures, television, and live Broadway theater. This ability to adapt allowed him to remain a recognized figure in Hollywood for much of the 20th century.
Ameche's professional journey began through small, unexpected opportunities. He first performed in college shows and repertory theater. A significant turning point occurred when a friend persuaded him to stand in for a missing lead actor in a production of Excess Baggage. This experience led to a juvenile lead role in New York. He then toured in vaudeville with Texas Guinan, though she eventually dismissed him for being "too stiff." He later moved to Chicago to build a radio career. By 1932, he was a leading man on programs like First Nighter and Betty and Bob. The latter program is considered a forerunner of the soap-opera genre.
His early life was rooted in a large, diverse family in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
He was born Dominic Felix Amici on May 31, 1908. His father, Felice Amici, was an Italian bartender from Montemonaco. His mother, Barbara Etta Hertel, had Scottish, Irish, and German ancestry. Ameche was the second oldest of eight children. His brother, Jim Ameche, also became a well-known actor. Don attended Marquette University, Loras College, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His cousin, Alan Ameche, was a famous football player who won the Heisman Trophy in 1954.
In 1935, Ameche signed a movie contract with 20th Century Fox.
He often played romantic leads alongside top female stars. One of his most culturally significant roles was playing Alexander Graham Bell in a 1939 film. This performance was so impactful that it created a piece of juvenile slang. People began calling the telephone an "ameche." In the 1940 film Go West, Groucho Marx even joked about this connection. During this era, Ameche was a major star in musicals like Down Argentine Way and Moon Over Miami.
In 1944, he was the second-highest earner at 20th Century Fox, earning $247,677 for his work in 1943.
Beyond acting, Ameche was involved in professional sports ownership. From 1946 to 1949, he co-owned the Los Angeles Dons. This team competed in the All-America Football Conference, which was a rival to the National Football League. Ameche helped form the ownership group and served as the team president. He also found success in radio comedy. He starred in The Bickersons, a series about a combative married couple. This show moved from NBC to CBS and produced two successful albums with Frances Langford. These albums reached the Billboard Top LP charts in 1962.
Ameche experienced a significant career revival in his later years.
After a thirteen-year absence from film, he returned in the 1983 movie Trading Places. He played a villainous role that helped restart his momentum. This led to a period of high acclaim and several prestigious awards. In 1985, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Cocoon. He also won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in 1988 for his performance in Things Change. His later work included voice acting as Shadow in the film Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.
Don Ameche's life concluded in Scottsdale, Arizona. He died on December 6, 1993, at the age of 85 due to prostate cancer. His final film appearance was the posthumous release of Corrina, Corrina in 1994. He left behind a massive legacy across the history of American entertainment. His ability to move from the radio microphone to the silver screen helped define the golden age of Hollywood. He remains a notable example of an entertainer who could find success in every era of his long career.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (5)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.