Ed Ames was born in Malden Massachusetts, as Edmund Dantes Urick, on July 9, 1927, to Russian/Jewish immigrant parents. He was known for his Pop and Adult Contemporary hits of the 1960s and was part of a popular 1950s singing group called The Ames Brothers.

EARLY LIFE: Ames grew up in a poor household but attended the prestigious [Boston Latin School] and was educated in classical and opera music, as well as literature.

While still in high school, Ed and his brothers formed a quartet and called themselves, The Amory Brothers. They often won competitions around the Boston area. They eventually went to New York, where Milt Gabler of Decca Records, heard them singing and had them cut a few sides for Decca. Gabler suggested suggested the brothers change their names to the Ames Brothers{1}.

EARLY CAREER: In 1960, The Ames Brothers disbanded, and Ed, pursuing a career in acting, studied at the Herbert Berghoff School in Grenwich Village, New York. His first starring role was in an Off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller's [The Crucible.] He went on to star in performances of [The Fantasticks] and [Carnival!,] on Broadway and in the national touring company.

Although Ames is Jewish, his dark complexion led to his being cast regularly as an American Indian (Native American). His greatest success as a stage actor came when he played Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,] opposite Kirk Douglas. Talent scouts at 20th Century Fox saw Ed in the production and invited him to play the Indian (Native American) Mingo on the television show [Daniel Boone,] (1964-1970) with Fess Parker as "Dan'l" Boone, Patricia Blair as Rebecca Boone, Darby Hinton as Israel Boone, and Veronica Cartwright as Jemima Boone.

While playing Mingo on television, Ames developed some skill in throwing a tomahawk. This led to one of the most memorable moments of his career, when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 29, 1965. During the course of the show, Ames and Johnny Carson were discussing Ames' tomahawk throwing abilities. When Ames claimed that he could hit a target from across the room, Carson asked him if he could demonstrate this skill. Ames agreed, and a wood panel with a chalk outline of a cowboy was brought onto the stage. Ames proceeded to throw the tomahawk, which hit the "cowboy" square in the groin. This led to a very long burst of laughter from the audience and one of Carson's famous ad-libs. "I didn't even know you were Jewish," and "Welcome to Frontier Bris{2}." Ames then asked Carson if he'd like to take a turn throwing, to which Carson replied, "I can't hurt him any more than you did."

SINGING CAREER: Ames first recorded under the name "Eddie Ames" while still with the Ames Brothers, releasing the single, "Bean Song (Which Way to Boston?)" in 1957.

During the 1960s, after the brothers broke up, Ames returned to singing, but this time as a solo artist. He released his first RCA Victor chart single, "Try to Remember," in 1965. The song barely made the charts. A bigger success came in 1967 with "My Cup Runneth Over." The song was both a Pop hit and an Adult Contemporary hit. He had less success on the Pop charts soon after, and only had Adult Contemporary hits with "When the Snow Is On the Roses," "Time Time" and "Timeless Love". He did make the Pop Top Twenty one last time in his singing career in 1968, with the song, "Who Will Answer."

Ames's distinctive baritone is a regular radio presence during Christmas season, too, thanks to his version of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Written originally in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the song received its best-selling treatment from Bing Crosby in 1962, but Ames' version, recorded a few years later, is in frequent holiday rotation.

PERSONAL LIFE: While maintaining his career, he attended UCLA, receiving his degree in theater and cinema arts in 1975. He continues to be actively involved in plays, and continues to make TV show and concert appearances. Today, he lives in Santa Ynez, California. He often visits his Daniel Boone co-star, Fess Parker, who lives only 15 minutes away.

At the age of 82, Ames became president of the Zionist Organization of America's (ZOA), Los Angeles chapter.

DISCOGRAPHY SINGLES: Year / Single / US AC / US Pop / Canada / Album ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1965 / "Try to Remember" / 17 / 73 / 39 / [Try to Remember] 1967 / "My Cup Runneth Over" 1 / 8 / 9 / [My Cup Runneth Over] 1967 / "Time, Time" / 1 / 61 / - / [Time, Time] 1967 / "Timeless Love" / 2 / - / - / [Timeless Love] 1967 / "When the Snow is on the Roses" / 1 / 98 / - / [When the Snow is on the Roses] 1968 / "Who Will Answer?" / 6 / 19 / 6 / [Who Will Answer & Other Songs of our Time] 1968 / "Apologize" / 10 / 79 / 47 / [Apologize] 1968 / "All My Love's Laughter" / 12 / 122 / - / [Apologize] 1968 / "Kiss Her Now" / 22 / - / - / [The Hits of Broadway and Hollywood] 1969 / "Changing, Changing" / 11 / 130 / - / [The Windmills of Your Mind] 1969 / "Son of a Travelin' Man" / 21 / 92 / - / [The Windmills of Your Mind] 1969 / "Think Summer" (with Marilyn Maye) / 17 / - / - / [The Windmills of Your Mind] 1969 / "Leave Them a Flower" / 19 / - / - / [Love of the Common People] 1969 / "Thing Called Love" / 21 / - / - / [Love of the Common People] 1970 / "Three Good Reasons" / 38 / - / - / [Sing Away the World] 1970 / "Chippewa Town" / 36 / - / - / [Sing Away the World]

• ALBUMS:
• [Try to Remember,] RCA Victor 2781, 1964.
• [More I Cannot Wish You,] RCA Victor 3636, 1966.
• [My Cup Runneth Over,] RCA Victor 3774, 1967.
• [Time, Time,] RCA Victor 3834, 1967.
• [Christmas with Ed Ames,] RCA Victor 3838, 1967.
• [When the Snow Is on the Roses,] RCA Victor 3913, 1968.
• [Who Will Answer?,] RCA Victor 3961, 1968.
• [Apologize,] RCA Victor 4028, 1968.
• [The Hits of Broadway and Hollywood,] RCA Victor 4079, 1968.
• [The Windmills of Your Mind] RCA Victor LSP 4172, 1969.
• [A Time For Living, A Time For Hope,] RCA Victor 4128, 1969.
• [Love of the Common People,] RCA Victor 4249, 1969.
• [Sing Away The World,] RCA Victor 4381, 1970.
• [This is Ed Ames,] RCA VPS-6023, 2 Record Set, 1970.
• [Christmas is the Warmest Time of the Year,] RCA Victor 4385, 1970.
• [Sings the Songs of Bacharach and David,] RCA Victor 4453, 1971.
• [Somewhere My Love] RCA Camden CAS 2598, 1972.
• [Ed Ames Remembers Jim Reeves,] RCA Victor 4683, 1972.
• [Lost Horizon,] RCA Victor 4808, 1972. ____________________________________________________________________________ {1}You can read more about the Ames Brothers on mp3lyrics.org at: The Ames Brothers

{2}See the YouTube clip of the "Tomahawk Incident" at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSUQ3qnwCFU

{3}The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), a pro-Israel group associated with right-wing Israeli politics, is setting up shop in Los Angeles and, in keeping with California custom, has named a personality from the entertainment industry as its local president.