Don Ameche

Don Ameche (lahir Dominic Felix Amici; 31 Mei 1908 – 6 Desember 1993) adalah seorang aktor dan penghibur radio Amerika yang karirnya berlangsung selama lebih dari enam dekade. Dikenal karena penampilannya yang menawan, rapi, dan kumisnya yang khas, Ameche menjadi salah satu tokoh utama 20th Century Fox sepanjang tahun 1930-an dan 1940-an. Lahir di Kenosha, Wisconsin, dari ayah imigran Italia dan ibu keturunan Eropa, ia mengadaptasi nama belakang keluarganya dari "Amici" menjadi "Ameche" untuk mempertahankan pengucapan aslinya dalam bahasa Italia di Amerika Serikat. Dia memulai karir hiburannya di vaudeville dan radio, di mana dia mencapai ketenaran nasional sebagai pembawa acara siaran populer seperti The Chase dan Sanborn Hour. Dia beralih ke film pada tahun 1935, membintangi serangkaian komedi dan drama musikal yang sukses, terutama Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), dan komedi klasik Ernst Lubitsch Heaven Can Wait (1943). Ketika peran film melambat pada tahun 1950-an, Ameche bekerja secara ekstensif di teater dan televisi langsung. Karir layarnya mengalami kebangkitan yang terkenal pada tahun 1980an, dimulai dengan perannya sebagai broker komoditas licik Mortimer Duke di Trading Places (1983). Dua tahun kemudian, ia memenangkan Academy Award untuk Aktor Pendukung Terbaik atas perannya sebagai pensiunan yang direvitalisasi dalam film Cocoon karya Ron Howard (1985). Di tahun-tahun terakhirnya, Ameche memperkenalkan dirinya kepada generasi baru penonton film yang memberikan suara hangat dan patriarkal dari Shadow the Golden Retriever di Disney's Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), sebelum menyelesaikan penampilan layar terakhirnya di Corrina, Corrina (1994). Ameche menikah dengan Honore Prendergast dari tahun 1932 hingga kematiannya pada tahun 1986; pasangan itu memiliki enam anak. Ameche meninggal karena kanker prostat di Scottsdale, Arizona, pada tahun 1993 pada usia 85 tahun.

Don Ameche (born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor and radio entertainer whose career spanned over six decades. Known for his charming, dapper presence and signature mustache, Ameche became one of 20th Century Fox's premier leading men throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to an Italian immigrant father and a mother of European descent, he adapted his family's surname from "Amici" to "Ameche" to preserve its original Italian pronunciation in the United States. He began his entertainment career in vaudeville and radio, where he achieved nationwide fame as the host of popular broadcasts like The Chase and Sanborn Hour. He transitioned to film in 1935, starring in a string of successful musical comedies and dramas, most notably Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), and Ernst Lubitsch’s classic comedy Heaven Can Wait (1943). As film roles slowed in the 1950s, Ameche worked extensively in live theatre and television. His screen career experienced a celebrated renaissance in the 1980s, beginning with his role as the scheming commodities broker Mortimer Duke in Trading Places (1983). Two years later, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a revitalized retiree in Ron Howard’s Cocoon (1985). In his final years, Ameche introduced himself to a new generation of filmgoers providing the warm, patriarchal voice of Shadow the Golden Retriever in Disney's Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), before completing his final screen appearance in Corrina, Corrina (1994). Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986; the couple had six children. Ameche died of prostate cancer in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1993 at the age of 85.