
Robert Downing Ames (March 23, 1889 – November 27, 1931) was an American actor.
Early life
Ames was born in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, where his father, Louis Mason Ames, was employed as an accountant for an insurance company and his mother, Mary Elma (née Downing) Ames, worked as a voice coach.
Career
Non-acting
Ames's first association with the theater came when he worked as a clerk in the box office of Parsons's Theater. In 1907, he left that job to become treasurer of the Academy of Music at Fall River He returned to Parsons's Theater in 1908, once more selling tickets.
Stage career
Ames's first big acting break came when a friend brought him to the attention of the actor
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...
, which led to a role in Miller's production of ''The Great Divide'' by
William Vaughn Moody. Ames spent eleven seasons with Miller's company before moving on to Jessie Bonstelle's stock company for eight seasons and the Municipal Stock Company for three. His first Broadway success came in 1916 playing Charles Daingerfield (alias Brindlebury) opposite
Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American stage, film, and television actress, aviator and novelist. She was at her most popular in the early to mid-1930s, and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator, ...
in ''Come Out of the Kitchen'' by A.E. Thomas. Ames played leading roles in ''The Hero'' (1921) by
Gilbert Emery
Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle (June 11, 1875 – October 28, 1945), known professionally as Gilbert Emery, was an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945. He was also a playwright, author of seven Broadway pla ...
, ''Lights Out'' (1922) by
Paul Dickey and
Mann Page, ''
Icebound'' (1923) by
Owen Davis, ''We've Got to Have Money'' (1923) by Edward Laska, and ''The Desert Flower'' (1924) by Don Mullally.
Film career
After a brief stint in vaudeville, Ames moved to
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
in the mid 1920s to concentrate on film work, though on occasion he would return to perform on the New York stage. He co-starred in several early talkies, including ''
The Trespasser
Trespasser is, in the law of tort, property law and criminal law, a person who commits the crime of trespassing on a property.
Trespasser or ''variant'' may refer to:
* Trespasser (video game), ''Trespasser'' (video game), a 1998 computer game ma ...
'' (1929) with
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...
, ''A Lady to Love'' (1930) with
Vilma Bánky and
Edward G. Robinson, and the 1930 version of ''
Holiday
A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...
'', in the role later played by
Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
in the better-remembered
1938 remake.
Personal life
Ames married Alice Gerry in May 1908. They had a daughter and son before their divorce nine years later.
His second wife was actress/writer
Frances Goodrich. This union ended in 1923 after six years of marriage. Later that same year Ames married actress/singer
Vivienne Segal. She obtained a divorce from him on June 28, 1926. On February 10, 1927, he married socialite Muriel Oakes in Waukegan, Illinois. That marriage lasted three years before she filed for divorce in 1930. The day after his marriage to Oakes, Ames was slapped with a $200,000 breach-of-promise lawsuit by nightclub entertainer Helen Lambert, who claimed he had promised to marry her after his divorce from Segal. Over the last months of his life, Ames was linked romantically in the press with stage and film actress
Ina Claire.
Death
On November 27, 1931, Ames was found dead in his room at the
Hotel Delmonico in New York City. Ames had traveled to New York from Hollywood to spend time with his family over the Thanksgiving holiday and to begin work on a film for
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
.
At the time of his death, Ames was taking a non-narcotic medication for alcohol withdrawal delirium. A later autopsy could find no trace of alcohol or other medications in his system, only that he was in the early stages of developing heart disease. The official cause of death was attributed to
delirium tremens
Delirium tremens (DTs; ) is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. When it occurs, it is often three days into the withdrawal symptoms and lasts for two to three days. Physical effects may include shaking, sh ...
most likely brought on by his sudden abstinence from alcohol.
[''The New York Times'' Dec 1, 1931] He was interred at
Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut.
Partial filmography
* ''
What Women Want
''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.
The film was released on December 15, 2000 by ...
'' (1920)
* ''
Without Mercy'' (1925)
* ''
The Wedding Song'' (1925)
* ''
Three Faces East'' (1926)
* ''
The Crown of Lies'' (1926)
* ''
Marianne
Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.
Marianne is displayed i ...
'' (1929 silent version)
* ''
Voice of the City'' (1929)
* ''
The Trespasser
Trespasser is, in the law of tort, property law and criminal law, a person who commits the crime of trespassing on a property.
Trespasser or ''variant'' may refer to:
* Trespasser (video game), ''Trespasser'' (video game), a 1998 computer game ma ...
'' (1929)
* ''
Rich People'' (1929)
* ''
Nix on Dames'' (1929)
* ''
Confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...
'' (1929)
* ''
A Lady to Love'' (1930)
* ''
Holiday
A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...
'' (1930)
* ''
War Nurse'' (1930)
* ''
Not Damaged'' (1930)
* ''
Madonna of the Streets'' (1930)
* ''
Millie'' (1931)
* ''
Behind Office Doors'' (1931)
* ''
The Stolen Jools'' (1931 short)
* ''
Rebound'' (1931)
* ''
Three Who Loved
''Three Who Loved'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by George Archainbaud from a screenplay by Beulah Marie Dix based on a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Martin Flavin. The film revolves around a love triangle ( Betty C ...
'' (1931)
* ''
Smart Woman'' (1931)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Robert
1889 births
1931 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male stage actors
American male silent film actors
Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut)
Male actors from Hartford, Connecticut