Arts & Entertainment Music

Ed Ames, singer of the famous quartet Ames Brothers has died

In the fifties four brothers were protagonists of the television program "The Ames Brothers Show" and 49 songs entered the charts before the dissolution of the vocal group in 1963

26/05/2023

Ed Ames, a member of the Ames Brothers quartet of American singers who starred in the television series "Daniel Boone" and in episodes of many other TV series, died Sunday, May 21 at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 95. The announcement of the disappearance was reported today by "Variety".

Ed Ames and his brothers Vic, Joe and Gene had success with their version of "Rag Mop" in 1950. As a soloist he had success in 1965 with the single "Try to Remember", followed by other songs, including "My Cup Runneth Over" (1967) and "Who Will Answer?" (1968).

In the fifties four brothers were featured in the television program "The Ames Brothers Show" and 49 songs entered the charts before the dissolution of the vocal group in 1963. Ed Ames later embarked on an acting career, which included off-Broadway stage roles in "The Crucible" and "The Fantasticks," as well as a Broadway starring role in "Carnival!" He starred with Kirk Douglas, Gene Wilder and William Daniels in the Broadway production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Although his origins were Russian Jewish, Ed Ames was cast several times as a Native American and played Mingo, a Cherokee Indian with an English father, for several seasons of Fess Parker's western "Daniel Boone" (1964–68). He became known for his skill in tomahawk throwing and on the 1965 "Tonight Show" he demonstrated his skill to Johnny Carson on a wooden panel with the silhouette of a cowboy. When Ames hit the figure in the groin, Carson commented, "I didn't even know you were Jewish!" and then "Welcome to Frontier Bris." The piqued response made the studio audience laugh for four minutes, which is reportedly the longest laugh from a studio audience in television history.

And Ames has also made appearances on TV shows such as "A Sheriff in New York," "The Lady in Yellow," "Inspector Tibbs," "McCloud." Born on July 9, 1927 in Malden, Massachusetts, Ed Ames was the youngest of nine children and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in theater and film arts.