Ed Ames, Singing Star Who Became a Familiar Face on TV, Dies at 95
Ed Ames, Singing Star Who Became a Familiar Face on TV, Dies at 95
After more than a decade of hit records with his brothers, he found success as a solo performer and a star of the series “Daniel Boone.”
Ed Ames, who first gained fame as the lead singer of the Ames Brothers, a chart-topping group whose success predated the rise of rock ’n’ roll, and who then turned to acting as Fess Parker’s Indian companion on the popular NBC show “Daniel Boone,” died on Sunday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 95.
His wife, Jeanne (Arnold) Ames, said the cause was Alzheimer’s disease.
Mr. Ames’s introduction to the spotlight was a family affair. With their smooth, clean harmonies, the Ames Brothers — Ed, Gene, Joe and Vic — had hit records from the late 1940s through the late ’50s with material ranging from pre-World War I college songs (“The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi”) to folk songs (“Goodnight Irene”) to love songs (“I Love You for Sentimental Reasons”). The quartet had a two-sided No. 1 hit in 1950 with “Sentimental Me” and “Rag Mop.” Their “You, You, You” held the top spot for eight weeks in 1953 and stayed on the charts for nearly eight months. All told, the Ames Brothers sold more than 20 million records.
The Ames Brothers performed at major venues including Ciro’s in Hollywood and the Roxy in New York. They appeared regularly in Las Vegas and on television, as guests of Milton Berle, Perry Como, Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan. In 1956, they had their own syndicated TV series. In 1958, Billboard magazine named them the vocal group of the year
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/26/arts/television/ed-ames-dead.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
but to the contrary, was of Jewish Ukrainian immigrant origin. At a time when Hollywood cared very little about casting authenticity for Native American roles, at least Ames had a compatible facial structure and was a good actor...
RIP 
I just came across an announcement that one from the group Earth Wind & Fire just died only in his 60s but now gone. I can't remember his name. I'm familiar with them as group but not the individual members.
R-I-P Ed Ames 🙏
and every time I hear reference to "Daniel Boone" I think "Fess Parker". 
Didn't realize Ed did the song (or at least a cover of it) and knew he wasn't a Native American (Hollywood used few if any actual non-white ethnic groups to play themselves save for someone like Jay Silverheels).
R.I.P. to him.
…famous clip, but I remember it vividly. 
Operatic in s sense.
R.I.P Ed Ames
I used to watch the Tonight Show every night and remember seeing this the evening it first aired.
RIP
Last edited Sat May 27, 2023, 02:24 PM - Edit history (1)
I had the pleasure of working directly with Mr. Ames when he had one season of shows in a Branson, MO theatre (about 2005-2006)...He was a very talented, nice and funny guy. Not a single straight answer when I helped him fill out a silly employment information sheet the theatre owners required. He brought his well behaved giant poodle with him and it stayed back in the dressing room. He will be missed.
