Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor.
Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the son of Barbara, who was of Irish and German descent, and Felix Ameche, an immigrant from Italy whose original surname was “Amici.” He had three brothers, Omberto, James, and Louis and three sisters, Jane, Elizabeth and Catherine.
Ameche attended Marquette University, Loras College and the University of Wisconsin, where his cousin Alan Ameche played football and won the Heisman Trophy in 1954. Ameche had gone to university to study law but found theatricals far more interesting and so decided on a stage career.
Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986. They had six children. One, Ron Ameche, owned the restaurant “Ameche’s Pumpernickel” in Coralville, Iowa. Ameche’s younger brother, Jim Ameche, was also an actor in radio and films. His other brother, Bert, is an Architect who worked for many years for the U S Navy at Port Hueneme, CA and towards the end of his career for the U S Postal Service in Los Angeles, CA.