Florenz Ames (born Florenz Sebastian Kolb) was an American film and theater actor, dancer, and singer.
Contents
Biography
Florenz Ames was born in Rochester, New York in a family with German roots. He began his acting career very late. With the support of his older brother, playwright Winthrop Ames, a prominent theater and music hall producer in New York at the time, he started out as a singer and dancer in vaudeville, often performing small scenes with his wife, Alice "Adelaide" Winthrop. Under the name "Ames and Winthrop", they appeared in a revue called Alice in Blunderland, with Winthrop in the title role and Ames playing the other parts. He eventually established himself on Broadway and appeared in a number of shows and musicals from before World War I through the Korean War, including the original productions of Of Thee I Sing, and Oklahoma!, as well as several Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
From 1950 to 1956, he played Inspector Richard Queen in the first television adaptation of Ellery Queen detective series, sharing the title role with Lee Bowman. From then on, his screen career took off, with numerous film and television roles appearing between 1950 and 1958. He appeared alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood of the 1950s: Grace Kelly, Robert Mitchum, Barry Sullivan, Marlon Brando, Anthony Quinn, Glenn Ford, Greer Garson, Doris Day, and others.
Broadway musicals
1917: Hitchy-Koo
1920: Frivolities
1923: Lady Butterfly
1923: Nifties
1924-1925: Madame Pompadour
1925: Sky High
1926: The Great Temptations
1928-1929: Angela
1929: The Silver Swan
1930: The Count of Luxembourg
1930: Who Cares?
1931: The Singing Rabbi
1931 to 1933: Of Thee I Sing
1933: A Church Mouse
1933-1934: Let 'Em Eat Cake
1935-1952: First Lady
1937-1938: I'd Rather Be Right
1940: The Return of the Vagabond
1941: Snookie
1941: Mr. Big
1942: The Pirates of Penzance
1943 to 1948: Oklahoma!
1950: Arms and the Girl
Filmography
Movies
1930: Let's Merge (short)
1939: A Swing Opera (short) as The Coach
1952: Viva Zapata! as Senor Espejo
1954: The Human Jungle as Leonard Ustick
1955: Texas Lady as Wilson
1955: Man with the Gun as Doc Hughes
1956: That Certain Feeling as Senator Winston
1956: The Fastest Gun Alive as Joe Fenwick
1956: He Laughed Last as George Eagle
1956: The Girl He Left Behind as Mr. Hillaby
1956: The King and Four Queens as Josiah Sweet
1957: The Big Caper as Paulmeyer
1957: The Deadly Mantis as Professor Anton Gunther
1958: Teacher's Pet as JR Ballantyne
Television
1950-1956: The Adventures of Ellery Queen as Inspector Richard Queen.
1953: Robert Montgomery Presents
1953: Johnny Jupiter as Gregory Latham
1953–1954: Kraft Television Theater
1954-1955: Studio One as Dave Sears
1954-1956: Cavalcade of America
1954-1957: Lux Video Theater
1955: The Star and the Story
1955: Screen Directors Playhouse as JB Vandemeer.
1955: Four Star Playhouse as Mr. Scratch.
1955: The Philco Television Playhouse
1956: The People's Choice as Judge Cagle
1956: The Hardy Boys as Mr. Applegate
1956: Broken Arrow as Emperor Norton
1956-1957: Telephone Time as Barber
1957: The O. Henry Playhouse as Simon Harrington
1957: Gunsmoke as John Peavy
1957: Hey, Jeannie! as Hesby
1957: Crossroads as Mr. Kramer
1957: Climax!, episode "The Gold Dress"
1957: Blondie as JC Dithers
