Job Actor
Years active 1931-1986
Known for Dapper man-about-town types, faintly harassed fathers
Top Roles Banker George 'Father' Winfield, Ralph Watson, Edgar Draque, Major James Morton, Derace Kingsby
Top GenresDrama, Comedy, Romance, Crime, Musical, Action
Top TopicsBook-Based, World War II, Aviation
Top Collaborators (Producer), (Producer), (Producer), (Director)
Shares birthday with Patricia Neal, George Burns, Bretaigne Windust  see more..

Leon Ames Overview:

Character actor, Leon Ames, was born Leon (or Harry) Waycoff on Jan 20, 1902 in Portland, IN. Ames appeared in over 155 film and TV roles. His best known films include Meet Me in St. Louis (as Mr. Alonzo Smith, Judy Garland's father), On Moonlight Bay (as George Winfield, Doris Day's dad), 1949's Little Women (as Mr. March) and From the Terrace (Alfred Eaton, Paul Newman's father). He also co-starred on the Mister Ed TV series from 1963 to 1966 as Wilbur's neighbor, Gordon "The Colonel" Kirkwood. Ames died at the age of 91 on Oct 12, 1993 in Laguna Beach, CA and was laid to rest in Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills) Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA.

MINI BIO:

Stocky and moustachioed, Leon Ames began his career in semi-leading roles, but never seemed quite at home in them, and moved from dapper, man-about-town types in the 1930s to faintly harassed fathers in later years. His two most successful television series reflected this: Life with Father and Father of the Bride. Ames was still active into his early eighties, having returned from retirement in 1970. He acted as Leon Waycoff in all his early films, up to and including Reckless in 1935.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Illustrated Dictionary of Film Character Actors).

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Leon Ames Quotes:

Rose Smith, Esther Smith: [singing] Meet me in St. Louie, Louie, meet me at...
Mr. Alonzo Smith: For heaven's sake, stop that screeching!
Rose Smith: We're sorry, Papa.
Mr. Alonzo Smith: The fair won't open for seven months, and that's all anybody ever sings about or talks about. I wish they would all meet at the fair and leave me alone.


Rose Smith: Money. I hate, loathe, despise and abominate money.
Mr. Alonzo Smith: You also spend it.


The Chaplain: [at an interfaith service for the soldiers] Now it's nearly Christmas... and here we are in beautiful Bastogne enjoying the winter sports. And the $64 question is: "Was this trip necessary?" I'll try to answer that. But my sermons, like everything else in the army... depend on the situation and the terrain. So I assure you this is going to be a quickie. Was this trip necessary? Let's look at the facts. Nobody wanted this war but the Nazis. A great many people tried to deal with them, and a lot of them are dead. Millions have died... for no other reason except that the Nazis wanted them dead. So, in the final showdown, there was nothing left to do except fight. There's a great lesson in this. Those of us who've learned it the hard way aren't going to forget it. We must never again let any force dedicated to a super-race... or a super-idea, or super-anything... become strong enough to impose itself upon a free world. We must be smart enough and tough enough in the beginning... to put out the fire before it starts spreading. My answer to the sixty-four dollar question is yes, this trip was necessary. As the years go by, a lot of people are going to forget. But you won't. And don't ever let anybody tell you you were a sucker to fight in the war against fascism. And now, Jerry permitting, let us pray. Almighty God...
[artillery drowns him out]
The Chaplain: The organist is hitting those bass notes a little too loud for me to be heard. So let each of us pray in his own way, to his own God.


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Leon Ames Facts
Had two children: Shelley and Leon.

In June of 1933 Ames, with 18 other actors, held a meeting to organize the Screen Actors Guild. He held SAG card number 15.

In the 1960s, he owned 4 California Ford dealerships. They were located in Studio City, Encino, Redondo Beach, on Pacific Coast Highway near Prospect, and Los Angeles. In the latter part of the 1970's Leon Ames Ford was sold/bought out by Payton Craymer Ford. This in turn was sold to Power Ford. The Redondo Beach dealership closed and was moved further up the Pacific Coast highway towards Lomita. The Los Angeles dealership remains in business today and is now called "Midway Ford". It's located at 200 N. Vermont.

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