Leon Ames (January 30, 1902–October 14, 1993) was a character actor celebrated for his many fatherly roles and recognized as one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild. He joined The Lambs in 1936.
Born Leon Waycoff in Portland, Indiana, Ames was the son of Russian immigrants. After performing with several touring troupes, he joined a theater company in Cincinnati. During the 1920s, he moved to New York, where he sold shoes on 42nd Street and gained experience in stock companies before making his Broadway debut in It Pays to Sin in 1933. He later appeared in several other productions, including Bright Honor, The Male Animal, Slightly Married, and Winesburg, Ohio.
Ames began his film career in 1932, making his debut as the hero in Murders in the Rue Morgue. His role in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) led to a long run of kindly but firm father characters that became his signature in both film and television. He starred in the series Life With Father (1953–55) and Father of the Bride (1961–62). Though often cast as a benevolent patriarch, he also took on more serious parts, such as the prosecuting attorney in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), and portrayed villains in several Mr. Moto films.
Over the course of his career, Ames appeared in more than 100 films, including Little Women, Peyton Place, The Absent-Minded Professor, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, and Tora! Tora! Tora! His final film appearance came in 1986 in Peggy Sue Gets Married, in which he played the grandfather of Kathleen Turner’s character. On television, he was also well known for his role as Gordon Kirkwood, the amiable neighbor on the 1960s series Mr. Ed.
On February 12, 1964, Ames and his wife were held hostage in their home by an intruder demanding $50,000. Ames contacted his business partner, who secured the money from a bank and delivered it as instructed. After examining the cash, the kidnapper left Ames bound in the house and forced Mrs. Ames to drive him away in the couple’s car. He also compelled the business partner and a houseguest into the trunk. Police—who had been secretly alerted—intercepted the car and rescued the hostages.
Before his death on October 14, 1993, at age 91, Ames was the last surviving member of the group of 19 actors who met secretly in June 1933 to form the Screen Actors Guild. He initially served on the Guild’s board of directors only briefly, but returned in 1945 to replace Charles Boyer. Over the next three decades he served as recording secretary, first vice president, and, in 1957, national president. When he retired from the board in 1979, he was honored with the title of president emeritus.
In addition to his contributions to the Guild, Ames served on the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and acted as a trustee of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
–-Researched and written by Lamb Bruce Roberts, 2025.