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Information About

Ed Ames




  Background solo_singer
  Birth Name Edward Dantes Urick
  Origin Malden, Massachusetts
  Genre Pop , Adult Contemporary
  Occupation Singer , Actor
  Years Active 1955 &ndashPresent
  Label Decca Records , RCA Victor Records
  Associated Acts The Ames Brothers


Ed Ames (born '''Edmund Dantes Urick''' on July 9 , 1927 ) is an American Popular Singer and Actor . He is best known for his Pop and Adult Contemporary hits of the 1960s like "When the Snow Is On the Roses". He also was originally part of a popular Singing group of 1950s called The Ames Brothers .


BIOGRAPHY


Early life

Ames was born in Malden, Massachusetts to Russian Jew ish immigrants.1 He was one of nine children, five of them boys and four of them girls. Ames grew up in a poor household, but was educated in Classical and Opera music, as well as in Literature, such as Shakespeare . Ames was very athletic as a child and teenager, but he always knew that music would one day become his future destiny, as well as for his brothers; Gene, Mac, Vic and Joe. Together, while still in High School , the brothers formed a quartet and won competitions a lot around the Boston area in Massachusetts . Three of the brothers formed the Amory Brothers quartet later and went to New York , where they were hired by bandleader Art Mooney . A playwright entertainer at the time, who helped the brothers along the way (named Abe Burroughs ) had suggested the brothers change their names to the Ames Brothers .


Early career

They were first signed on with Decca Records in 1948 . However, because of the Musician Union's ban, their records from Decca were never released. Instead, they signed on with another label, Coral Records , a subsidiary of Decca. They had their first major hit in the 1950s with the double-sided "Ragg Mopp" and "Sentimental Me". Following, the Brothers continued to have success throughout the 50s with many hits like, "It Only Hurts For a Little While", "Man With a Banjo" and "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane". The brothers also made appearances regularly on variety shows, and even for a short period of time had their very own 15 minute variety show in 1955 .


Acting career

In 1960 , The Ames Brothers decided to split up and go in different directions. Ed decided that he wanted to pursue a career in Acting , so he went to acting school called the Herbert Berghoff School . His first starring role was in an Off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller 's '' The Crucible '', going on to starring performances in '' The Fantasticks '' and '' Carnival '', which was on Broadway . He was also in the national touring company of ''Carnival''.

Although Ames was Jewish, his dark complexion led to his being cast regularly as an American Indian . His greatest success as a stage actor came when he played Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest '', opposite Kirk Douglas . Talent scouts at 20th Century Fox saw Ed in the production and invited him to play the Native American Mingo on the television show '' Daniel Boone ''.

While playing Mingo on television, Ames developed some skill in throwing a Tomahawk . This led to the most memorable moments of his career, when he appeared on the '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson '' on April 29 , 1965 . During the course of the show, Ames and Johnny Carson were discussing Ames' tomahawk throwing abilities. When Ames claimed that he could hit a target from across the room, Carson asked Ames if he could demonstrate this skill. Ames agreed, and a wood panel with a chalk outline of a cowboy was brought on to the stage. Ames proceeded to throw the tomahawk, which hit the "cowboy" in the tip of the crotch. This led to a very long burst of laughter from the audience and Carson's famous ad-libs; "I didn't even know you were Jewish" and "Welcome to Frontier Bris ".


Singing career

During the 1960s , Ed returned to Singing , this time however as a solo artist. He released his first single called " Try To Remember " in 1965 . The song however, barely made the charts. However, a bigger success came in 1967 with " My Cup Runneth Over ". The song was both a Pop hit and an Adult Contemporary hit. He had less success on the Pop charts soon after, and only had Adult Contemporary hits. The hits were "When the Snow Is On the Roses", "Time Time" and "Timeless Love". He did make the Pop Top Twenty one last time in his singing career with the song "Who Will Answer" in 1968 .


Personal life

While maintaining his career, he attended UCLA , receiving his degree in theater and cinema arts, with highest honors, in 1975 . He continues to be actively-involved in plays like '' South Pacific '', '' Camelot '' and '' Fiddler On The Roof ''. He also continues to make many more TV show appearances and concert appearances. Today, he currently lives on his horse ranch in Utah .


TRIVIA

  • Ed Ames speaks several languages.

  • He is an Abraham Lincoln scholar.

  • He has traveled for the State Department to the Far East to encourage much ecological and environmental interest.

  • He has also worked for the American and Russian Marine biologist in the same areas as above.

  • He is very generous to charitable events, like the political right and fairness to the Native Americans .

  • He also played as Mingo, Daniel Boone's sidekick in the Daniel Boone TV Show from 1964-1970.



DISCOGRAPHY


Singles



FOOTNOTES



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