American actor (1902–1993)
For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see
Red Ames .
Leon Ames (bornHarry Leon Wycoff ;[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Meet Me in St. Louis Little Women On Moonlight Bay By the Light of the Silvery Moon The Postman Always Rings Twice
Leon Ames was born Harry Leon Wycoff on January 20, 1902, inPortland, Indiana , to Charles Elmer Wycoff and Cora Alice (DeMoss) Wycoff.[ 4] [ 5]
In the1910 census , when his family was residing inFowler, Indiana , Ames' name was given as Harry L. Wycoff and his father was listed as a manager of a meat market.[ 1] World War I , Ames served in thefield artillery of theU.S. Army and later in the flying corps (theArmy Air Service ).[ 6]
Ames' involvement with entertainment began when he worked as a stage manager for the Charles K. Champlin Theatre Company. He ventured into acting with the group and progressed to the lead in a production ofTomorrow and Tomorrow in Los Angeles.[ 7] Stuart Walker Stock Company in Cincinnati.[ 8]
Ames debuted on Broadway inIt Pays to Sin (1933). His other Broadway credits includeHowie (1958),Winesburg, Ohio , (1958),Slightly Married (1943),The Russian People (1942),Little Darling (1942),Guest in the House (1942),The Land Is Bright (1941),The Male Animal (1940),Thirsty Soil (1937),A House in the Country (1937), andBright Honor (1936).[ 9]
Ames made his film debut inQuick Millions Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Among his important roles at MGM was his portrayal of Mr. Smith in the studio's 1944 hit filmMeet Me in St. Louis
Ames was also featured inThe Postman Always Rings Twice Doris Day -Gordon MacRae filmOn Moonlight Bay By the Light of the Silvery Moon Peyton Place From the Terrace
In the 1961Walt Disney comedyThe Absent-Minded Professor Son of Flubber Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox in the action war filmTora! Tora! Tora! Peggy Sue Got Married Kathleen Turner 's character.
Radio and television [ edit ] Ames' firstradio broadcast was in January 1942 onGrand Central Station [ 10]
Ames' television roles included leads in the adaptations ofLife with Father [ 11] : 604 Father of the Bride [ 11] : 336-337 Father of the Bride was soon expanded because he had become the series' dominant character.[ 12]
Ames had the title role of judge John Cooper in the syndicated seriesFrontier Judge [ 11] : 370 Bewitched [ 11] Mister Ed [ 11] : 701 Larry Keating . Ames also appeared in episodes of theNBC anthology series The Barbara Stanwyck Show CBS legal drama Storefront Lawyers The Jeffersons
Other professional activities [ edit ] Ames was a founder of theScreen Actors Guild in 1933,[ 3] Ford dealerships in California.[citation needed
Ames was the father ofRobert Fletcher , who was left with his mother when she and Ames split up in 1923.[ 13] [ 14]
Ames wed actress Christine Gossett in 1938. The couple had a daughter, Shelley (b. 1940), and a son, Leon (b. 1943). Christine retired early from acting to raise their family. They remained married until Ames' death in 1993.[ 15] [better source needed
Ames supportedBarry Goldwater in the1964 United States presidential election .[ 16]
On February 12, 1964, Ames and his wife were held hostage in their home by an intruder who demanded $50,000 before he would free them. Ames called his business partner, who obtained the money from a bank and delivered it to the house as instructed. After inspecting the cash, the kidnapper left Ames in the house, bound with tape, and instructed Mrs. Ames to drive him in the couple's car. He also forced both the business partner and a guest in the Ames house into the trunk. Eventually, police (who had been alerted by the partner while he was picking up the money) surrounded the car and freed the hostages.[ 17]
On October 12, 1993, Ames died at the age of 91 inLaguna Beach, California , of complications after suffering a stroke.[ 18] Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.[ 19]
In 1980, after 50 years in show business, Ames received theScreen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award .[ 20]
Quick Millions Cannonball Express Murders in the Rue Morgue Stowaway State's Attorney The Famous Ferguson Case Thirteen Women A Successful Calamity That's My Boy Uptown New York Silver Dollar Parachute Jumper Forgotten Alimony Madness The Man Who Dared Ship of Wanted Men Only Yesterday The Crosby Case I'll Tell the World Now I'll Tell The Count of Monte Cristo Mutiny Ahead Rescue Squad Reckless Strangers All Get That Man Death in the Air Song of Revolt (1937, Short) as Claude Joseph Rouget de LisleSoak the Poor (1937, Short) as Special Investigator StantonCharlie Chan on Broadway Dangerously Yours Murder in Greenwich Village 45 Fathers The Spy Ring International Settlement Walking Down Broadway Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Island in the Sky Come On, Leathernecks! Mysterious Mr. Moto Suez Cipher Bureau Strange Faces Secrets of a Nurse Mr. Sheldon Goes to Town (1939 short) as SalesmanRisky Business Blackwell's Island I Was a Convict Panama Patrol Mr. Moto in Danger Island Code of the Streets Man of Conquest Help Wanted (1939, Short) as J. T. Evans - Labor Commissioner (uncredited)Fugitive at Large Thunder Afloat Calling All Marines Pack Up Your Troubles The Marshal of Mesa City Legion of Lost Flyers East Side Kids No Greater Sin Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring Crime Doctor The Iron Major Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo The Thin Man Goes Home Meet Me in St. Louis Between Two Women Fall Guy (1945 short) as Floyd ParksonSon of Lassie Anchors Aweigh Week-End at the Waldorf Yolanda and the Thief They Were Expendable The Postman Always Rings Twice No Leave, No Love The Cockeyed Miracle The Show-Off The Great Morgan Lady in the Lake Undercover Maisie Song of the Thin Man The Amazing Mr. Nordill (1947, Short) as Everett Nordill, aka EvertonMerton of the Movies Alias a Gentleman On an Island with You The Velvet Touch A Date with Judy Little Women Any Number Can Play Scene of the Crime Battleground Ambush The Big Hangover The Skipper Surprised His Wife Crisis The Happy Years Dial 1119 Watch the Birdie On Moonlight Bay Cattle Drive It's a Big Country Angel Face By the Light of the Silvery Moon Let's Do It Again Sabre Jet Engagement Party (1956 short) as Elliott WinstonPeyton Place From the Terrace New Comedy Showcase The Absent-Minded Professor Son of Flubber The Misadventures of Merlin Jones The Monkey's Uncle On a Clear Day You Can See Forever Tora! Tora! Tora! Frank Knox Toklat (1971) as Old Man / NarratorHammersmith Is Out Brother of the Wind The Meal (1975) as Bernard Wallace KrogerTimber Tramps Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976, TV Movie) as Daniel FurmanClaws The Best Place to Be (1979, TV Movie) as William CallahanJust You and Me, Kid Testament Jake Speed Peggy Sue Got Married Partial television credits [ edit ] Life with Father Westinghouse Studio One Tongue of Angels " as Cyrus WalkerGeneral Electric Theater Adam's Apples " as Malcolm FownesFather of the Bride Mister Ed The Beverly Hillbillies The Andy Griffith Show My Three Sons Bewitched The Ghost & Mrs. Muir The Jeffersons Emergency! The Littlest Hobo ^a b U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com ^ "Costume Designers Guild Local IA 892 - CAREER ACHIEVEMENT" . Archived fromthe original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved2011-07-18 .^a b Cameron-Wilson, James; Speed, F. Maurice (1994),Film Review 1994-5 , Great Britain: Virgin Books, p. 162,ISBN 0-86369-842-5 ^ "The Monthly Supplement: a current biographical reference service" . A.N.Marquis Company. February 5, 2018 – via Google Books.^ "Name Change Causes Inquiry" .Los Angeles Times . RetrievedFebruary 5, 2018 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Trivia for Tora! Tora! Tora! Retrieved May 13, 2023.^ Monush, Barry (2003).Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965 11– 12.ISBN 9781557835512 . Retrieved5 February 2018 . ^ "Leon Waycoff, Former Kokomo Boy, Real Star In Tomorrow and Tomorrow" .The Kokomo Tribune . Indiana, Kokomo. July 25, 1931. p. 3. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2018 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Leon Ames" .Internet Broadway Database . The Broadway League. Archived fromthe original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved5 February 2018 .^ Lesser, Jerry (January 17, 1942)."Radio Talent: New York" . Billboard. Retrieved28 October 2014 . ^a b c d e Terrace, Vincent (2011).Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 96– 97.ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7 ^ Gray, M (March 3, 1962)."Father of Bride Dominant Figure" .Simpson's Leader-Times . Simpson's Leader-Times. p. 10. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2015 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Robert Fletcher: A Star Among Stars, Now Living in KC ^ Cardova, Kathy (2015-04-16)."From Klingons to kings, Taos area man has costumed them all" .The Taos News . Retrieved2021-10-02 . ^ Lentz, Harris M. III (2006).Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture ISBN 9780786452101 . Retrieved5 February 2018 . ^ Critchlow, Donald T. (2013-10-21).When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics ISBN 9781107650282 ^ Rieder, Ron (February 13, 1964)."Kidnap, Free Mrs. Leon Ames" .The van Nuys News . The Van Nuys News. pp. 1, 18. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2015 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Willis, John , ed. (1996)."Obituaries" .John Willis Theatre World 1993-1994 Season Volume 50 .Applause Theatre Book Publishers . p. 238.ISBN 1-55783-235-8 . Retrieved2021-05-03 .^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001).Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory 79– 80.ISBN 9780786450190 . Retrieved5 February 2018 . ^ "("Leon Ames" search results)" .Screen Actors Guild Award . Retrieved5 February 2018 .
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