Oscar Winner Dom Ameche: Iowa Time Machine December 6, 1993

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On December 6, 1993, Oscar-winning actor Dom Ameche passed away. Long before Ameche found his way onto the silver screen, he spent significant time on the streets and stages of Iowa.

Ameche’s path to stardom began far from Hollywood. Born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1908, he moved through a string of Catholic schools as his family sought opportunity in the Upper Midwest, including a period at St. Berchman’s Seminary in Marion and later Columbia Academy and Columbia College (now a part of Loras College) in Dubuque. In those Iowa years, he captained the basketball team, discovered a flair for performance, and fell under the influence of teachers who nurtured his dramatic talent on the school stage.

Family expectations pushed him toward law, leading to brief stints at Marquette, Georgetown, and the University of Wisconsin. Yet, he never finished a degree and gravitated instead to the microphone and spotlight. By the early 1930s, Chicago radio had become his launchpad, turning the young man with the polished baritone into a familiar voice on variety programs and dramas that reached listeners across the country.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he became a reliable leading man in 20th Century Fox productions, from historical dramas to romantic comedies, and earned particular notice for playing the inventor in “The Story of Alexander Graham Bell,” a role so memorable that “to Ameche” briefly entered slang as a verb for making a phone call. When studio roles slowed in the postwar years, he shifted to Broadway musicals, touring productions, and television, showing a willingness to keep working in whatever medium would have him. Then, in a remarkable late‑career resurgence, he returned to the big screen in the 1980s in films like “Trading Places” and “Cocoon,” winning the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1986 and reminding audiences that an aging character actor could still command attention. #Iowa #OTD #History #Hollywood #Actor