Don Ameche (born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor and radio entertainer whose career spanned over six decades. Known for his charming, dapper presence and signature mustache, Ameche became one of 20th Century Fox's premier leading men throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to an Italian immigrant father and a mother of European descent, he adapted his family's surname from "Amici" to "Ameche" to preserve its original Italian pronunciation in the United States. He began his entertainment career in vaudeville and radio, where he achieved nationwide fame as the host of popular broadcasts like The Chase and Sanborn Hour. He transitioned to film in 1935, starring in a string of successful musical comedies and dramas, most notably Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), and Ernst Lubitsch’s classic comedy Heaven Can Wait (1943). As film roles slowed in the 1950s, Ameche worked extensively in live theatre and television. His screen career experienced a celebrated renaissance in the 1980s, beginning with his role as the scheming commodities broker Mortimer Duke in Trading Places (1983). Two years later, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a revitalized retiree in Ron Howard’s Cocoon (1985). In his final years, Ameche introduced himself to a new generation of filmgoers providing the warm, patriarchal voice of Shadow the Golden Retriever in Disney's Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), before completing his final screen appearance in Corrina, Corrina (1994). Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986; the couple had six children. Ameche died of prostate cancer in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1993 at the age of 85.

Фільмографія

• 2009Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing — (archive footage)
• 1994Corrina, Corrina — Grandpa Harry
• 1993Дорога додому: Неймовірна подорож — Shadow (voice)
• 1992Folks! — Harry Aldrich
• 1992Sunstroke — Jake
• 1991Our Shining Moment — John 'Papa' McGuire Sr.
• 1991Оскар — Father Clemente
• 1990Oddball Hall — G. Paul Siebriese
• 1988Things Change — Gino
• 1988Кокон 2. Повернення — Art Selwyn
• 1988Поїздка в Америку — Mortimer Duke / Homeless Man #2 (uncredited)
• 1987Pals — Art Riddle
• 1987Гаррі та Гендерсони — Dr. Wallace Wrightwood
• 1986A Masterpiece of Murder — Frank Aherne
• The Golden Girls — Brother Martin
• 1985Кокон — Arthur Selwyn
• 1983Помінятися місцями — Mortimer Duke
• 1979The Chinese Typewriter — Armand Beller
• The Love Boat — Stewart Coolidge, Henry Dobson, Hollis Witkin
• Good Heavens
• Quincy, M.E. — Harry Whitehead
• Ellery Queen — Dr. Norman Marsh
• 1972Gidget Gets Married — Otis Ramsey
• Alias Smith and Jones
• Коломбо — Frank Simpson
• McCloud
• 1970Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? — Col. Flanders
• 1970The Boatniks — Commander Taylor
• Julia — Director
• 1968Shadow Over Elveron — Justin Travers
• 1967Rings Around the World — Host/Ringmaster
• 1966Picture Mommy Dead — Edward Shelley
• Burke's Law — Whitman Saunders
• Petticoat Junction — Uncle George
• The Greatest Show on Earth — Collie McCullough
• 1961A Fever in the Blood — Senator Alex S. Simon
• DuPont Show of the Month — Harry Graves
• Climax! — Sam Waterman
• Coke Time with Eddie Fisher
• 1949Slightly French — John Gayle
• 1948Sleep, My Love — Richard W. Courtland
• 1947That's My Man — Joe Grange
• 1946So Goes My Love — Hiram Stephen Maxim
• 1945Guest Wife — Joseph Jefferson 'Joe' Parker
• 1945It's in the Bag! — Don Ameche
• 1944Greenwich Village — Kenneth Harvey
• 1944Wing and a Prayer — Bingo Harper
• 1943Happy Land — Lew Marsh
• 1943Heaven Can Wait — Henry Van Cleve
• 1943Something to Shout About — Ken Douglas
• 1942Girl Trouble — Pedro Sullivan
• 1942The Magnificent Dope — Dwight Dawson
• 1941Confirm or Deny — 'Mitch' Mitchell
• 1941Kiss the Boys Goodbye — Lloyd Lloyd
• 1941Moon Over Miami — Phil O'Neil (Credits) / Phil 'Mac' McNeil
• 1941That Night in Rio — Larry Martin / Baron Manuel Duarte
• 1941The Feminine Touch — John Hathaway
• 1940Down Argentine Way — Ricardo Quintana
• 1940Four Sons — Chris Bern
• 1940Lillian Russell — Edward Solomon
• 1939Hollywood Cavalcade — Mike Connors
• 1939Land of Liberty — Alexander Graham Bell (archive footage)
• 1939Midnight — Tibor Czerny
• 1939Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8 — Don Ameche
• 1939Swanee River — Stephen Foster
• 1939The Story of Alexander Graham Bell — Alexander Graham Bell
• 1939The Three Musketeers — D'Artagnan
• 1938Alexander's Ragtime Band — Charlie Dwyer
• 1938Gateway — Dick Court
• 1938Happy Landing — Jimmy Hall
• 1938In Old Chicago — Jack O'Leary
• 1938Josette — David Brassard Jr.
• 1937Fifty Roads to Town — Peter Nostrand
• 1937Love Is News — Martin J. Canavan
• 1937Love Under Fire — Tracy Egan
• 1937One in a Million — Bob Harris
• 1937You Can't Have Everything — George Macrae
• 1936Ladies in Love — Dr. Rudi Imre
• 1936Ramona — Alessandro
• 1936Sins of Man — Karl Freyman / Mario Signarelli

Ток-шоу, премії та інші появи (12)

• 1997Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults — Self (archiveFootage)
• 1997The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender — Self (archive footage)
• 1982Night of 100 Stars — Self
• The Kennedy Center Honors — Self
• The American Film Institute Salute to ... — Self
• «Сьогодні ввечері» з Джонні Карсоном — Self
• Шоу Мерва Ґріффіна — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self - Co-Host
• The Lux Show — Self
• Tonight Starring Jack Paar — Self
• What's My Line? — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self