Line #14 Creator/DonAmeche


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/placeholder.jpg]]
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3	->''"Remember Don Ameche, the actor? He lives here."''
4	-->-- '''Cloudy Russo''' to '''Popeye Doyle''', while staking out an apartment building in ''Film/TheFrenchConnection''
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6	Don Ameche (born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was a famous American actor and singer from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood who revived his career in his twilight years.
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8	Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin to an Italian father and Irish-German mother, Ameche was one of eight children. His original career path was to become a lawyer, but the acting bug caught him at an early age in university. A chance role in a theatre production geared his focus entirely on acting. His Hollywood career began in radio, but eventually, Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck discovered him and put him in several film roles. In the mid to late 1930s he co-starred in a number of successful musical comedies, usually starring Creator/TyronePower and Alice Faye. There he showcased his urbane charm, delightful baritone, and pencil moustache.
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10	Ameche was at the top of his game in the late '30s and early '40s. His famous roles included ''The Story of Alexander Graham Bell'', which made Ameche's name synonymous with the telephone; ''Film/{{Midnight\|1939}}'', for which he was loaned out to Creator/{{Paramount}} and co-starred with Creator/ClaudetteColbert; and ''Film/AlexandersRagtimeBand'', where he solidified his leading man status.
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12	In 1940, Ameche was successfully paired with Creator/BettyGrable in ''Film/DownArgentineWay'' which made Grable a star and was the first film for Portuguese/Brazilian sensation Creator/CarmenMiranda.
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14	Although starring in several films by celebrated directors like Creator/ErnstLubitsch and Creator/DouglasSirk, Ameche’s star began to fade. He did, however, continue to work on radio; specifically, the influential serial called ''The Bickersons'' with Frances Langford. An interval of around 40 years passed where Ameche was only featured in five films, did a bit of TV, and mostly worked on the stage.
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16	Fortuitously, when Creator/RayMilland dropped out of Creator/JohnLandis' 1983 film ''Film/TradingPlaces'', Ameche took his place. The rest as they say is history: Ameche experienced a career resurgence that few actors of the Golden Age ever received, after 40 years of film irrelevance. He continued to work steadily throughout his twilight years, gaining critical acclaim right until his death in 1993, at the age of 85.
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18	----
19	!!Don Ameche on [=TVTropes=]:
20	* ''Film/LoveIsNews'' (1937)
21	* ''Film/InOldChicago'' (1938)
22	* ''Film/AlexandersRagtimeBand'' (1938)
23	* ''Film/{{Midnight\|1939}}'' (1939)
24	* ''Film/DownArgentineWay'' (1940)
25	* ''Film/MoonOverMiami'' (1941)
26	* ''Film/{{Heaven Can Wait\|1943}}'' (1943)
27	* ''Series/{{Columbo}}'', episode "[[Recap/ColumboS01E04 Suitable for Framing]]" (1971)
28	* ''Film/TradingPlaces'' (1983)
29	* ''Film/{{Cocoon}}'' (1985) -- Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor
30	* ''Film/ComingToAmerica'' (1988) (cameo)
31	* ''Film/ThingsChange'' (1988)
32	* ''Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney'' (1993)

Context Creator / DonAmeche