Ed Ames
Ames in 1959
Background information
Also known as	Eddie Ames
Born	Edmund Dantes Urick (1927-07-09)July 9, 1927 Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 21, 2023(2023-05-21) (aged 95) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Genres	Pop traditional pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Years active	1947–2023
Labels	Decca,Coral,RCA Victor
Formerly of	Ames Brothers

Edmund Dantes Urick (July 9, 1927 – May 21, 2023), known professionally asEd Ames orEddie Ames, was an American pop singer and actor.^[1] He was known for playing Mingo in the television seriesDaniel Boone, and for hisEasy Listening No. 1 hits of the mid-to-late 1960s including "My Cup Runneth Over", "Time, Time", and "When the Snow Is on the Roses". He was also part of the popular 1950s singing group with his siblings, theAmes Brothers.^[1]

Ames was born inMalden, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1927,^[2] toJewish parents Sarah (Zaslavskaya) and David Urick, a.k.a. Eurich, who had emigrated from Ukraine.^[3][4] He was the youngest of nine children, five boys and four girls.^[4]

Ames grew up in a poor household.^[4] He attended theBoston Latin School and was educated inclassical and opera music, as well as literature. While still in high school, the brothers formed a quartet and often won competitions around theBoston area. Three of the brothers later formed the Amory Brothers quartet and went to New York City, where they were hired by bandleaderArt Mooney. PlaywrightAbe Burrows helped the brothers along the way, suggesting the siblings change their group's name to the Ames Brothers.^[4]

The Ames Brothers were first signed on withDecca Records in 1947, but because of the Musician Union's ban in 1948, a holdover from the1942–1944 musicians' strike, Decca released only three singles by the brothers, and one backing Russ Morgan. As the ban was ending, they signed withCoral Records, a subsidiary of Decca. They had their first major hit in the 1950s with the double-sided "Rag Mop" and "Sentimental Me". The brothers later joinedRCA Victor records and continued to have success throughout the 1950s with many hits like "It Only Hurts For a Little While", "You, You, You", and "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane". The brothers made regular appearances on network television variety programs, and in 1955 briefly had a 15-minute show of their own.^[4]

In the early 1960s, the Ames Brothers disbanded, and Ed Ames, pursuing a career in acting, studied at the Herbert Berghof School.^[2] His first starring role was in anoff-Broadway production ofArthur Miller'sThe Crucible, going on to starring performances inThe Fantasticks off-Broadway andCarnival!, which was onBroadway.^[2]

Ames was in the national touring company ofCarnival. His dark complexion and sharp facial features led to his being cast regularly as a Native American. He played Chief Bromden in the Broadway production ofOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, oppositeKirk Douglas.^[5][6]

Talent scouts at20th Century Fox saw Ames in the production and invited him to play the Cherokee tribesman, Mingo on theNBC television seriesDaniel Boone,^[2] withFess Parker. His character's father was an English officer, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, played in the show byWalter Pidgeon. In that show, Mingo was the Earl's eldest son and thus entitled to claim the title as the fifth Earl, but decided to remain part of theCherokee Nation.^{[citation needed]}

In an episode of Season One, Ames also portrayed Mingo'sevil twin brother, Taramingo. Ames' main character was actually named Caramingo, but went by Mingo throughout the entire series.^{[citation needed]}

Ames played a wanted murderer holed-up in a hotel during a smallpox quarantine on a 1962The Rifleman episode ("Quiet Night, Deadly Night"), and guest-starred as Kennedy in the 1963 episode "The Day of the Pawnees, Part 2" onABC'sThe Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, withKurt Russell in the title role. He guest-starred in 1963 onRichard Egan's NBC modern western series,Redigo.^{[citation needed]}

While playing Mingo on television, Ames developed some skill in throwing atomahawk. This led to one of the most memorable moments of his career, when he appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 27, 1965.

During the course of the show, Ames andJohnny Carson were discussing Ames' tomahawk throwing abilities. When Ames claimed that he could hit a target from across the room, Carson asked Ames if he could demonstrate this skill. Ames agreed, and a wood panel with a chalk outline of a cowboy was brought on to the stage. As the studio band played a bar of the theme music fromAdventures of Pow Wow, Ames proceeded to throw the tomahawk, which hit the drawn cowboy square in the groin with the handle pointing upward. This led to a very long burst of laughter from the audience.

After a moment, Ames proceeded to walk toward the target to retrieve the tomahawk but Carson stopped him and allowed the situation to be appreciated for its humor. Ames then said to Carson: "Think I'm going into another business, John." To which Carson ad-libbed: "I didn't even know you were Jewish!" and "Welcome toFrontierBris."^{[citation needed]} (It's not known whether Carson was aware that Ames actually was Jewish.)

Ames then asked Carson if he would like to take a turn throwing, to which Carson replied: "I can't hurt him any more than you did." The clip became a favorite of Carson's own yearly highlight show and subsequentblooper television specials.^[7][8]

Later in his career, Ames became a fixture on theKenley Players circuit, headlining inShenandoah (1976, 1979, 1986),Fiddler on the Roof (1977),South Pacific (1980),Camelot (1981), andMan of La Mancha (1984).^[9]

Ames recorded under the name "Eddie Ames" while still with the Ames Brothers, releasing the single "The Bean Song (Which Way to Boston?)" in January, 1957.^[10]

Ames returned to singing as a solo artist in 1965. Ames is known for his baritone voice. He released his first RCA Victor chart single, "Try to Remember".^[2] The song did respectably (No. 73 on the pop charts, No. 17 in theAdult Contemporary listing). A bigger success came in 1967 with "My Cup Runneth Over".^[2] The song was both a No. 8pop hit and a No. 1adult contemporary radio hit. Thereafter he had Adult Contemporary hits with "Time, Time", "When the Snow Is on the Roses", and "Timeless Love", the latter written byBuffy Sainte-Marie. He did make the pop Top 20 one last time in his singing career with "Who Will Answer?" in 1968.^[2] "Apologize" reached No. 47 in the CanadianRPM Magazine hot singles chart.

Ames's distinctive baritone is a regular radio presence during Christmas season, as well, thanks to his version of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" The song received its best-selling treatment fromBing Crosby in 1962, but Ames' version, recorded a few years later, is in frequent holiday rotation.^[4]

Ames also sang the "Ballad of the War Wagon" in theJohn Wayne/Batjac Productions movie,The War Wagon in 1967.^[11]

Ed Ames married Sarita (Sara) Cacheiro in 1947 and they had three children, Sonya, Ronald, and Linda (aka Marcila, who died in 2007). The couple divorced October 5, 1973 in Santa Monica, California.^[12] Ames married Jeanne Arnold Saviano in 1998, the marriage lasted until his death in 2023.^[13]

While maintaining his career, he attendedUniversity of California, Los Angeles, receiving his degree in theater and cinema arts in 1975.

At the age of 77, Ames, saying "I am a secular Jew, but I feel strongly about Israel and the Jewish communities of Europe",^[3] became president of the Los Angeles chapter of theZionist Organization of America.^[14]

While appearing inDaniel Boone, Ames maintained homes inWoodland Hills, Los Angeles, andTeaneck, New Jersey.^[15]

From 1968 until 1987, he also owned a percentage of thePhoenix Suns.^[16]

Ames died ofAlzheimer's disease at hisBeverly Hills, California, home on May 21, 2023, at the age of 95.^[17][18] He is buried atPierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary in Westwood, California.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toEd Ames.

• Ed Ames atIMDb
• Ed Ames discography atDiscogs
• Ed Ames biography (Patterson & Associates)
• Ed Ames: My Cup Runneth Over album information
• Ed Ames recordings at theDiscography of American Historical Recordings.

• 1927 births
• 2023 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• 20th-century American singers
• 21st-century American male actors
• American crooners
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
• American Zionists
• Coral Records artists
• Decca Records artists
• Jewish American musicians
• Jewish American male actors
• Jewish American singers
• Male actors from Los Angeles
• Male actors from Middlesex County, Massachusetts
• Singers from Los Angeles
• Actors from Malden, Massachusetts
• Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey
• Male actors from Teaneck, New Jersey
• People from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
• Phoenix Suns owners
• RCA Victor artists
• Singers from Massachusetts
• Traditional pop music singers
• UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television alumni
• 20th-century American male singers
• 21st-century American male singers
• 21st-century American singers
• 21st-century American Jews

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