What happened to Ed Ames?

American singer and actor, Ed Ames has been reported dead by his family. He died on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at age 95, in his home in Los Angeles. No cause of death was announced, however, it is believed that he died of old age.

He made his acting debut acting in an Off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and went on to star in others including The Fantasticks, Carnival, and more. He was regularly cast as a Native American due to his dark complexion and sharp facial features. He played Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. 

Ames also starred in the 20th Century Fox and played the role of the Cherokee tribesman, Mingo on the NBC television series Daniel Boone, with Fess Parker. His character’s father was an English officer, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, played in the show by Walter Pidgeon. In that show, Mingo was the Earl’s eldest son and thus entitled to claim the title as the fifth Earl but decided to remain part of the Cherokee Nation.

Before his acting career, he made an entrance into the entertainment industry as part of the Ames Brothers band, with his brothers. While they were still in high school, they formed a quartet and often won competitions around the Boston area.

Three of the brothers later formed the Amory Brothers quartet and went to New York City, where they were hired by bandleader Art Mooney. The Ames Brothers were first signed on with Decca Records in 1947, but because of the Musician Union’s ban in 1948, (a holdover from the 1942-1944 musicians’ strike). The Ames brothers disbanded in the early 1960s, and Ed Ames started pursuing an acting career, studying at the Herbert Berghof School.