OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR DON AMECHE, 85 (original) (raw)

Don Ameche, whose movie career spanned seven decades and who also had starring roles on Broadway, radio and television, died Monday night of prostate cancer at the home of his son, Don Jr., in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 85.

Mr. Ameche’s career included the legendary performance as telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell and his Oscar-winning role for best supporting actor as an elderly swinger in “Cocoon.”

“I’m not like Henry Fonda. He lives to act,” Mr. Ameche said in 1981. “I’ve just had a dedication to do the best I could. When I don’t have challenges, the days get long. But I do enjoy being on stage. If I do good work, I get a kick out of that.”

A native of Kenosha, he was born Dominic Felix Amici. Dominic became Don and Amici was changed to Ameche. He studied for the priesthood and the law before settling on acting.

Mr. Ameche graduated from St. John Berchmans Seminary in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and with honors from Columbia College, now Loras College, in Dubuque, Iowa. While there, he appeared in five school plays. He attended law school, but diverted to the stage, appearing in stock theater.

Through a friend, he auditioned on Chicago radio in the early 1930s and proved a overnight success, performing in hundreds of “First Nighter” roles, as well as on “Grand Hotel” and “The Little Theater Off Times Square.” Other radio performances included a regular radio detective show, “Milligan and Milligan,” on WGN.

In 1935, despite Mr. Ameche having failed a screen test, Darryl Zanuck at 20th Century Fox gave him a contract and the roles that made him a major star. One of his early performances was as Adam opposite screen siren Mae West. Many religious groups protested the movie, especially the casting of West as Eve.

His performance in “The Story of Alexander Graham Bell” in 1939 led to a unique identification of actor and historical person in the public’s mind. He made more than 50 films, being paired with Alice Faye in “In Old Chicago,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and “Hollywood Cavalcade.”

Mr. Ameche also performed in stage musicals and dinner theaters. He recalled his opening in “Silk Stockings” on Broadway as his greatest theatrical thrill.

In the 1960s, he starred as host of a circus show, “International Showtime,” on NBC. He appeared in more than 100 episodes, crisscrossing Europe dozens of times and going to the Orient for material.

His film career was revived in 1983 when he was cast as an avaricious businessman in “Trading Places,” starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Mr. Ameche also appeared in “Coming to America” and “Oscar.”

In 1985, he won his Oscar for his performance in “Cocoon,” a fantasy about a group of Florida retirees on whom extraterrestrials bestow eternal youth. Several years later, he shared the best actor award at the Venice Film Festival with co-star Joe Mantegna in David Mamet’s “Things Change.”

In the first week of November, Mr. Ameche finished his role in “Corrina, Corrina,” a movie with Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta.

Survivors, besides his son, include three other sons, Larry, Tom and Ron; two daughters, Bonnie and Connie; 13 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

A memorial mass will be said Monday in Scottsdale.

Originally Published: December 8, 1993 at 1:00 AM CST