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Don Ameche: Roles
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Dominic Felix Ameche (May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor and director. Ameche was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin to Felix Ameche, an immigrant from Italy whose original surname was "Amici", and Barbara, who was of Irish and German descent. Ameche began his career in vaudeville with Texas Guinan until Guinan dropped him from the act, dismissing him as "too stiff". He made his film debut in 1935 and, by the late thirties, had established himself as a leading actor in Hollywood. He appeared successfully in such films as Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), as Alexander Graham Bell in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), and Heaven Can Wait (1943). He was so associated with his role as Bell that for a time, "Ameche" was slang for telephone. By the end of the decade, his films had lost appeal, and he turned to radio where he achieved great success during the fifties playing opposite Frances Langford in The Bickersons.
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After the release of two 1970 comedies, The Boatniks and Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?, Ameche was absent from theatrical films for the next 13 years. His only appearance in cinema during that time was in F For Fake, Orson Welles' documentary on hoaxes, when 20th Century-Fox mistakenly sent Welles newsreel footage of Ameche misidentified as footage of Howard Hughes. Ameche and fellow veteran actor Ralph Bellamy were eventually cast in John Landis' Trading Places in 1983, playing rich brothers intent on ruining an innocent man for the sake of a one-dollar bet. In an interview some years later on Larry King Live, co-star Jamie Lee Curtis said that Ameche, a proper old-school actor, went to everyone on the set ahead of time to apologize when he was called to say the "f-word" in the film. The film's success and their comedic performances brought them both back into the Hollywood limelight. Ameche's next role, in Cocoon (1985), won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
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This program presents the biography of American film legend Don Ameche, whose movie career has spanned more than five decades. The story traces Ameche's beginnings in the entertainment business on the radio and follows throughout his long-running stint in Hollywood. There are archival film clips of some of Ameche's best roles as the suave gentleman, including clips from The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, as well as his Academy award-winning performance in Cocoon. Interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, and the artist himself, paint a portrait of this unique star of the silver screen. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
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Aside from Ameche, the cast is drawn from Mamet's stage actors. They all understand how his characters work and speak, so that's actually better and easier. Mantegna, Macy, & J.T. Walsh went on to become some of the better movie performers, so it's not like he's working with "amateurs." All the performances are strong. Ameche is defined by his honor and respect so he has no sense of urgency even when he's somewhat confused and bewildered trying to figure out how to get the two of them out of their latest mess. He's always able to stay true to the original Gino even though he's taken on the role of the well-dressed and respected mob boss.
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Ameche's first fame came from "The Bickersons," a radio comedy about spatting spouses, in which he co-starred with Frances Langford. His first movie was "Dante's Inferno" in 1936, and he quickly became a busy star at 20th Century-Fox. Later, when film roles diminished, he was active in television and theater. Ameche's movie career was revived with a role in Trading Places (1983), and he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in Cocoon (1985).
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Ameche was a major radio star. Following his appearances as announcer and sketch participant for the Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy show, he achieved much success during the late 1940s playing opposite Frances Langford in The Bickersons. Ameche enjoyed a substantial Broadway career with roles in Silk Stockings, Goldilocks,
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