Don Ameche
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).
Filmography
- Corrina, Corrina1994 · Jessie Nelson
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey1993 · Duwayne Dunham- Folks!1992 · Ted Kotcheff
Oscar1991 · John Landis
Cocoon: The Return1988 · Daniel Petrie
Harry and the Hendersons1987 · William Dear
Cocoon1985 · Ron Howard
Trading Places1983 · John Landis- Picture Mommy Dead1966 · Bert I. Gordon
Sleep, My Love1948 · Douglas Sirk
Guest Wife1945 · Sam Wood
Greenwich Village1944 · Walter Lang
Girl Trouble1942 · Harold D. Schuster- Kiss the Boys Goodbye1941 · Victor Schertzinger
Happy Landing1938 · Roy Del Ruth- In Old Chicago1938 · Henry King