Ed Ames, the deep-toned baritone pop singer, and actor who portrayed the faithful Cherokee sidekick Mingo on the 1960s NBC series Daniel Boone, has died. He was 95.
Ames died at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his wife, Jeanne told the press. A native of Massachusetts and a son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Ames starred as the Oxford-educated Mingo opposite Fess Parker as Daniel Boone.
Ames grew up in a poor household. He attended the Boston Latin School and was educated in classical and opera music, as well as literature.
Ames pursued acting in the ’60s and studied at the Herbert Berghof Drama School in New York. He starred off-Broadway as John Proctor in a revival of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
Ames was in the national touring company of Carnival. His dark complexion and sharp facial features led to his being cast regularly as a Native American.
While maintaining his career, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles, receiving his degree in theater and cinema arts in 1975.
At the age of 47, Ames, saying I am a secular Jew, but I feel strongly about Israel and the Jewish communities of Europe, became president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Zionist Organization of America.