Jim Ameche (August 6, 1915 – February 4, 1983)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Page 29. was an American radio actor who is most notable for his role as radio's original Jack Armstrong on '' Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy''.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 11.

Career

Born James Amici in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

,.Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s--A Biographical Dictionary''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 10-11. When his elder brother, Don, left his position as the host and announcer for '' The Chase and Sanborn Hour'' in the early 1940s, Jim took over for the remainder of the show's run. He also was heard as mountie Jim West on ABC's ''Silver Eagle'' (1951–55). Other shows Ameche was heard on included ''Grand Hotel'', ''

Hollywood Playhouse ''Hollywood Playhouse'', also known as ''Woodbury Hollywood Playhouse'', is a radio anthology drama series that featured adaptations of plays and short stories. Created as a showcase for Tyrone Power, the series began October 3, 1937, on the B ...

'', and '' Big Sister''. In the 1940s, he had several programs on WGN radio in Chicago. He was heard on stations in Los Angeles and Palm Springs in the late 1950s and early 60s. For many years he was a popular local radio personality in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

area. By the late 1960s, he was working as an announcer on New York's WHN and the TV pitchman for a Longines Symphonette Society mail-order

record album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

featuring clips of

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

broadcasts. In the 1960s he also read radio advertisements for Gibson wines. For many years, he was the afternoon announcer on WQXR, the classical radio station of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and was a familiar and beloved voice. He also recorded numerous radio ads in Phoenix, Arizona in his later years.

Film

He portrayed

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

in the 1957 film '' The Story of Mankind,'' a role his brother Don played in 1939's '' The Story of Alexander Graham Bell''.

Family

Jim Ameche married Elizabeth "Betty" A. Harris of

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

in 1936. The couple had six children. Alan Ameche, the professional football player, was a cousin of Jim.

Death

Jim Ameche died February 4, 1983, of lung cancer at Tucson Medical Center at age 67.

References

External links

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Video clip featuring Jim Ameche's ad campaign for the ''Remembering the Golden Days of Radio'' LP set (1971)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ameche, Jim 1915 births 1983 deaths American male radio actors Radio personalities from New York City Jubilee Records artists Deaths from lung cancer in Arizona Actors from Kenosha, Wisconsin 20th-century American male actors American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Scottish descent