Leon Ames (actor)
| Leon Ames | |
|---|---|
as Kyle Sackett from the trailer for the film
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) |
|
| Born |
Harry Wycoff January 20, 1902 Portland, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 1993 (aged 91) Laguna Beach, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1931–1986 |
| Spouse(s) | Christine Gossett (1938-1993; his death; 2 children) (1912-2005) |
| Children | Shelley Ames (b. 1940) Leon Ames Jr. (b. 1943) |
Leon Ames (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 Judy Garland as one of his daughters, Little Women (1949), On Moonlight Bay (1951), and By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). The fathers whom Ames portrayed were often somewhat stuffy and exasperated by the younger generation, but ultimately kind and understanding. His most famous role came as DA Kyle Sackett from the film The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).
Leon Ames was born Harry Wycoff on January 20, 1902, in Portland, Indiana, son of Charles Elmer Wycoff and his wife Cora A. De Moss.. Some sources list his original last name as "Wykoff" or "Waycoff", and in his early films, he acted under the name Leon Waycoff.
Ames made his film debut in Quick Millions (1931). During the 1940s, he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Ames made his first radio appearance in January 1947 on Grand Central Station.
Ames appeared in a featured role in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) as district attorney Kyle Sackett. He also appeared in the Doris Day-Gordon MacRae film On Moonlight Bay, its sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Peyton Place (1957). He played the role of Samuel Eaton, Alfred Eaton's (Paul Newman) father, in From the Terrace (1960). He appeared in the 1961 Walt Disney comedy The Absent-Minded Professor as Medfield College President Rufus Daggett and in the 1963 sequel, Son of Flubber. In 1970, he played Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox in the action war film Tora! Tora! Tora!. His last film role was in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), as Kathleen Turner's character's grandfather Barney Alvorg.
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