Robert Ames
Encyclopedia
Robert Downing Ames was an American stage and film actor whose career was cut short by his untimely death at age 42.
, wher 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.
which led to a role in Miller’s production of The Great Divide by William Vaughn Moody
. Ames would spend eleven seasons with Miller’s company before moving on to Jessie Boustelle’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
in Come Out of the Kitchen by A. E. Thomas. Ames played leading roles in The Hero (1921) by Gilbert Emery
, Lights Out (1922) by Paul Dickey
and Mann Page
, Icebound(1923) by Owen Page, We've Got to Have Money (1923) by Edward Laska and The Desert Flower (1924) by Don Mullally.,
, A Lady to Love (1930) with Vilma Banky
and Edward G. Robinson
, and the 1930 version of Holiday, opposite Ann Harding
in the role later taken by Cary Grant
in the better remembered 1938 remake.
, only to divorce three years hence. His last marriage to socialite Muriel Oakes also 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 night club 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
.
. 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
. 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
most likely brought on by his sudden abstinence from alcohol.
Birth
Robert Ames was born on March 23, 1889 at Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, wher 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.
Stage career
Ames first big break as an actor came when a friend brought him to the attention of Henry Miller (actor)Henry Miller (actor)
Henry Miller was an English-born American actor, director, theatrical producer and manager.Born as John Pegge in London, Miller's parents immigrated to Canada where he started acting as a juvenile. He became the leading man in Charles Frohman's stock company in New York City's Empire Theatre in 1893...
which led to a role in Miller’s production of The Great Divide by William Vaughn Moody
William Vaughn Moody
William Vaughn Moody was a United States dramatist and poet. Author of The Great Divide, first presented under the title of The Sabine Woman at the Garrick Theatre in Chicago on April 12, 1906...
. Ames would spend eleven seasons with Miller’s company before moving on to Jessie Boustelle’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
Ruth Chatterton was an American actress, novelist, and early aviatrix.- Early life :Chatterton was born in New York City, on Christmas Eve 1892, to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton...
in Come Out of the Kitchen by A. E. Thomas. Ames played leading roles in The Hero (1921) by Gilbert Emery
Gilbert Emery
Gilbert Emery was the stage name of Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle, an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945.- Early years :...
, Lights Out (1922) by Paul Dickey
Paul Dickey
Paul Dickey , was an American playwright and silent screen writer. He wrote 17 films between years 1914 and 1953.He was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in New York, New York, aged 50....
and Mann Page
Mann Page
Mann Page III was an American lawyer and planter from Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He was a delegate for Virginia to the Continental Congress. He was the half-brother of Virginia Governor John Page....
, Icebound(1923) by Owen Page, 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 in the mid 1920s to concentrated 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 (1929) with Gloria SwansonGloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, A Lady to Love (1930) with Vilma Banky
Vilma Bánky
Vilma Bánky was a Hungarian-born American silent film actress, although the early part of her acting career began in Budapest, spreading to France, Austria, and Germany...
and Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, and the 1930 version of Holiday, opposite Ann Harding
Ann Harding
Ann Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.-Early years:Born Dorothy Walton Gatley at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to George G. Gatley and Elizabeth "Bessie" Crabb. The daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life...
in the role later taken by Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
in the better remembered 1938 remake.
Marriages
Robert Ames married four times. His first, to Alice Gerry, occurred around 1907 and produced 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 SegalVivienne Segal
Vivienne Sonia Segal was an American actress and singer.Segal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best remembered for creating the role of Vera Simpson in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Pal Joey and introduced the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"...
, only to divorce three years hence. His last marriage to socialite Muriel Oakes also 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 night club 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
Ina Claire
Ina Claire was an American stage and film actress.-Career:Born Ina Fagan in 1893 in Washington, D.C., Claire began her career appearing in vaudeville...
.
Death
On November 27, 1931, Robert Downing Ames was found dead in his room at the Hotel Delmonico in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. 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
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. 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
Delirium tremens is an acute episode of delirium that is usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol, first described in 1813...
most likely brought on by his sudden abstinence from alcohol.