Leon Ames
Leon Ames (born Harry Leon Wycoff;[1][2][3] January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing father figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) with Lucille Bremer, Margaret O'Brien and Judy Garland as his daughters, Little Women (1949), On Moonlight Bay (1951) and By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). His best-known dramatic role may have been as District Attorney Kyle Sackett in the crime film The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).
For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Red Ames.
Leon Ames
October 12, 1993 (aged 91)
Leon Waycoff
Actor
1931–1986
3
Early years[edit]
Leon Ames was born Harry Leon Wycoff on January 20, 1902 in Portland, Indiana to Charles Elmer Wycoff and Cora Alice (DeMoss) Wycoff.[4] Some sources list his original last name as Wykoff or Waycoff, and in his early films, he acted under the name of Leon Waycoff. In 1935, Ames explained that he had changed his name because Waycoff was often misspelled and mispronounced. Ames was his mother's maiden name.[5]
In the 1910 census, when his family was residing in Fowler, Indiana, Ames' name was given as Harry L. Wycoff and his father was listed as a manager of a meat market.[1] During World War I, Ames served in the field artillery of the U.S. Army and later in the flying corps (the Army Air Service).[6]
Stage[edit]
Ames' involvement with entertainment began when he worked as a stage manager for the Charles K. Champlin Theatre Company. He ventured into acting with the group and progressed to the lead in a production of Tomorrow and Tomorrow in Los Angeles.[7] He acted for three years with the Stuart Walker Stock Company in Cincinnati.[8]
He debuted on Broadway in It Pays to Sin (1933). His other Broadway credits include Howie (1958), Winesburg, Ohio, (1958), Slightly Married (1943), The Russian People (1942), Little Darling (1942), Guest in the House (1942), The Land Is Bright (1941), The Male Animal (1940), Thirsty Soil (1937), A House in the Country (1937) and Bright Honor (1936).[9]
Radio and television[edit]
Ames' first radio broadcast was in January 1942 on Grand Central Station.[10]
His television roles included leads in the adaptations of Life with Father (1953–55)[11]: 604 and Father of the Bride (1961–62).[11]: 336-337 His role in Father of the Bride was soon increased because he had become the series' dominant character.[12]
Ames had the title role of judge John Cooper in the syndicated series Frontier Judge[11]: 370 and played Howard McMann in Bewitched.[11] He joined the cast of Mister Ed (1963–66) as a neighbor[11]: 701 following the death of actor Larry Keating. Ames also appeared in episodes of the NBC anthology series The Barbara Stanwyck Show and on the short-lived CBS legal drama Storefront Lawyers. He played a grandfather in the 1975 The Jeffersons episode “Jenny’s Grandparents”.
Other professional activities[edit]
Ames was a founder of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933,[3] and he served as its president in 1957. During the 1960s, Ames owned several Ford dealerships in California.
Personal life[edit]
Ames was the father of Robert Fletcher, who was left with his mother when she and Ames split up in 1923.[13][14]
Ames wed actress Christine Gossett in 1938. The couple had a daughter, Shelley (b. 1940), and a son, Leon (b. 1943). Christine retired early from acting to raise their family. They remained married until Ames' death in 1993.[15]
Ames supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.[16]
Kidnapping[edit]
On February 12, 1964, Ames and his wife were held hostage in their home as an intruder demanded $50,000 before he would free them. Ames called his business partner, who obtained the money from a bank and delivered it to the house as instructed. After inspecting the cash, the kidnapper left Ames in the house, bound with tape, and instructed Mrs. Ames to drive him in the couple's car. He also forced both the business partner and a guest in the Ames house into the trunk. Eventually, police (who had been alerted by the partner while he was picking up the money) surrounded the car and freed the hostages.[17]
Death[edit]
On October 12, 1993, Ames died at the age of 91 in Laguna Beach, California of complications after suffering a stroke.[18] His gravesite is at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.[19]
Recognition[edit]
In 1980, after 50 years in showbusiness, Ames received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.[20]