| Ed Ames |
Ed Ames
Popular singer and member of the Ames Brothers vocal quartet. The
son of Russian Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine, Ed Ames was born
into a large family (five brothers and four sisters in all). He and
brothers Joe, Gene, and Vic were taught a love for music at an early
age. Though they won several amateur singing contests during their
youth they didn't turn professional until after they had finished school.
All four were good students and athletes and initially chose to pursue
careers other than pop stardom. Ed became a table tennis champ.
Avid sports fans, Eddie, Gene, and Victor, along with their cousin,
Lennie, would often hang around the baseball park, where they were
sometimes asked to sing. That exposure helped them land their first
audition. The group, then known as the Amory Brothers, after Vic's
middle name, began playing Army and Navy bases and were offered a
job at the Fox's and Hound's nightclub, one of the fanciest spots in
Boston. Joe eventually rejoined them and the four brothers moved to
New York, where they landed a job with bandleader Art Mooney. Their
big break came when, while trying out a new number at Leeds
Publishing one day, they were heard by an executive from Decca
Records, who asked them record a few sides, which they did.
The recording ban of 1948 sidetracked their career briefly, but when
the ban was finally lifted the following year they signed with Coral
Records, becoming the first artist to record for that label. Their name
was also shortened, to the Ames Brothers. In 1949 they scored a hit,
''Forever and Ever,'' with Russ Morgan's orchestra, and in 1950 they
had their first number one, a double-sider, ''Rag Mop/Sentimental Me.''
The brothers went on to chart several more hits during the early part
of the decade and ended up with a regular spot on Arthur Godfrey's
television show. They also became one of the first acts to appear on
Ed Sullivan's original television program, Toast of the Town. In 1956
they landed their own fifteen-minute television program, The Ames
Brothers Show. It was the first television show to be shown in
syndication. The brothers also worked with such bandleaders as Les
Brown, Hugo Winterhalter and Esquivel.
Rock and Roll took its toll on the brother's popularity during the late
1950s. They began to chart less and less. Ed left the group in 1961 to
spend more time with his family. He pursued an acting career, earning
roles in several theatrical productions. He went on to star in two
Broadway productions, Carnival and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest, where his role as Chief Bromden led to his being cast on
television's Daniel Boone as Daniel's close friend, Mingo, an
Oxford-educated Cherokee. His popularity in that role led to his
starring in several television musical events and help him launch a
solo singing career in the mid-1960s. He continued acting, writing and
producing through the 1990s.
Popular singer and member of the Ames Brothers vocal quartet. The
son of Russian Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine, Ed Ames was born
into a large family (five brothers and four sisters in all). He and
brothers Joe, Gene, and Vic were taught a love for music at an early
age. Though they won several amateur singing contests during their
youth they didn't turn professional until after they had finished school.
All four were good students and athletes and initially chose to pursue
careers other than pop stardom. Ed became a table tennis champ.
Avid sports fans, Eddie, Gene, and Victor, along with their cousin,
Lennie, would often hang around the baseball park, where they were
sometimes asked to sing. That exposure helped them land their first
audition. The group, then known as the Amory Brothers, after Vic's
middle name, began playing Army and Navy bases and were offered a
job at the Fox's and Hound's nightclub, one of the fanciest spots in
Boston. Joe eventually rejoined them and the four brothers moved to
New York, where they landed a job with bandleader Art Mooney. Their
big break came when, while trying out a new number at Leeds
Publishing one day, they were heard by an executive from Decca
Records, who asked them record a few sides, which they did.
The recording ban of 1948 sidetracked their career briefly, but when
the ban was finally lifted the following year they signed with Coral
Records, becoming the first artist to record for that label. Their name
was also shortened, to the Ames Brothers. In 1949 they scored a hit,
''Forever and Ever,'' with Russ Morgan's orchestra, and in 1950 they
had their first number one, a double-sider, ''Rag Mop/Sentimental Me.''
The brothers went on to chart several more hits during the early part
of the decade and ended up with a regular spot on Arthur Godfrey's
television show. They also became one of the first acts to appear on
Ed Sullivan's original television program, Toast of the Town. In 1956
they landed their own fifteen-minute television program, The Ames
Brothers Show. It was the first television show to be shown in
syndication. The brothers also worked with such bandleaders as Les
Brown, Hugo Winterhalter and Esquivel.
Rock and Roll took its toll on the brother's popularity during the late
1950s. They began to chart less and less. Ed left the group in 1961 to
spend more time with his family. He pursued an acting career, earning
roles in several theatrical productions. He went on to star in two
Broadway productions, Carnival and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest, where his role as Chief Bromden led to his being cast on
television's Daniel Boone as Daniel's close friend, Mingo, an
Oxford-educated Cherokee. His popularity in that role led to his
starring in several television musical events and help him launch a
solo singing career in the mid-1960s. He continued acting, writing and
producing through the 1990s.
Trivia
One of Ed Ames most memorable moments in
television was when he threw his famous tomahawk
on the "Tonight Show Starring Johhny Carson" in
1965. He threw the tomahawk and it landed right
between the target's legs, thus prompting "I didn't
even know you were Jewish." This event prompted
one of the longest laughs in television history.
One of Ed Ames most memorable moments in
television was when he threw his famous tomahawk
on the "Tonight Show Starring Johhny Carson" in
1965. He threw the tomahawk and it landed right
between the target's legs, thus prompting "I didn't
even know you were Jewish." This event prompted
one of the longest laughs in television history.
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