Ramsay Ames (born Ramsay Phillips, March 30, 1919 – March 30, 1998) was a leading 1940s American B movie actress, model, dancer,

pin-up girl A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

and television host. As a dancer, she was billed as Ramsay D'el Rico. She appeared in the film ''

The Mummy's Ghost ''The Mummy's Ghost'' is a 1944 American horror film directed by Reginald Le Borg. It is the second of three sequels to that company's ''The Mummy's Hand'' of 1940. The film is the sequel to ''The Mummy's Tomb'' (1942). Lon Chaney, Jr. again take ...

'' (1944), where she played Princess Ananka.

Career

Of Spanish/English descent, Ames was born on Long Island. Athletic in high school, she excelled as a swimmer. Ames first was recognized as a dancer/singer before moving into sultry-eyed 1940s film roles. Ames had attended the Walter Hillhouse School of Dance, specializing in Latin-style dance. She later became part of a dance team under the name Ramsay D'el Rico and appeared as a model at the Eastman Kodak-sponsored fashion show at the 1939 New York World's Fair. An injury forced her to alter her dance career plans. She took up singing and became the vocalist with a top rhumba band. During a trip to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to visit her mother, Ramsay had a chance meeting at the airport with

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

President Harry Cohn. The meeting resulted in a screen test and then her movie debut in ''Two Señoritas from Chicago'' (1943). From there, she moved to

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, where she was featured in such films as ''

Calling Dr. Death ''Calling Dr. Death'' is a 1943 Inner Sanctum mystery film. The "Inner Sanctum" franchise originated with a popular radio series and all of the films star Lon Chaney, Jr. The movie stars Chaney, Jr. and Patricia Morison, and was directed by Reg ...

'' and ''

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who hear ...

''. She later appeared in a Monogram Pictures drama, '' Below the Deadline'' (1946), and in Republic serials including ''The Black Widow'' (1947) and '' G-Men Never Forget'' (1948). After her career subsided in the 1940s, Ames and her husband lived in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where she had her own television interview show and occasionally took on support roles in films produced in Europe. She was wed to "Man of La Mancha" playwright

Dale Wasserman Dale Wasserman (November 2, 1914 – December 21, 2008) was an American playwright, perhaps best known for his book for Man of La Mancha. Early life Dale Wasserman was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, the child of Russian immigrants Samuel ...

, and the couple later lived in a villa called "La Mancha" on the Costa del Sol. According to director

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: '' Dick Tracy Returns'', '' G-Men vs. the Bl ...

, some of Republic Pictures' stuntmen suffered more injuries running on rooftops to get a better look at Ramsay Ames walking across the backlot than were hurt performing dangerous action sequences in the studio's westerns.

Personal life

She was married to and later divorced

, a Tony Award-winning musical writer. She died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in 1998 on her 79th birthday.

Selected filmography

* ''

Two Señoritas from Chicago ''Two Señoritas from Chicago'' is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Frank Woodruff and starring Joan Davis, Jinx Falkenburg and Ann Savage.Stephens p.24 The film's sets were designed by the art director Lionel Banks. Cast * Joan D ...

'' (1943) as Louise Hotchkiss * '' Crazy House'' (1943) as Herself (as Ramsay Ames and Her Tropicanans) * ''

'' (1943) as Maria Steele * ''

'' (1944) as Nalu * ''

Ladies Courageous ''Ladies Courageous'' (also called ''Fury in the Sky'' in a 1950 Realart re-release) is a 1944 war film based on the novel ''Looking For Trouble'' (1941) by Virginia Spencer Cowles. Directed by John Rawlins, the film stars Loretta Young and Gera ...

'' (1944) (uncredited) * '' Hat Check Honey'' (1944) as Mona Mallory * '' Follow the Boys'' (1944) as Laura * ''

Ghost Catchers ''Ghost Catchers'' is a 1944 American comedy horror film. Ole Olson and Chic Johnson are nightclub owners, helping their neighbors rid an old house of ghosts. Their club's headwaiter Jerry (Leo Carrillo) is really a gangster trying to scare off th ...

'' (1944) as Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

'' (1944) as Amina Mansouri * '' A Wave, a WAC and a Marine'' (1944) as Betty * '' Mildred Pierce'' (1945) as Party Guest (uncredited) * ''

Too Young to Know ''Too Young to Know'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by Frederick de Cordova, and written by Jo Pagano, and starring Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, Dolores Moran, Harry Davenport, Rosemary DeCamp and Barbara Brown. It was released by Warner ...

'' (1945) as Party Guest #1 * '' The Gay Cavalier'' (1946) as Pepita Geralda * '' Below the Deadline'' (1946) as Lynn Turner * '' Beauty and the Bandit'' (1946) as Jeanne Du Bois * '' The Time, the Place and the Girl'' (1946) as Bar Patron (uncredited) * ''

Philo Vance Returns ''Philo Vance Returns'' is a 1947 American mystery film directed by William Beaudine and starring William Wright, Vivian Austin and Leon Belasco.Marshall p.333 It is one of a series of films featuring private detective Philo Vance. Plot Vance in ...

'' (1947) as Virginia Berneaux * '' The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the West'' (1947) as Betty Winslow * '' Green Dolphin Street'' (1947) as Corinne (uncredited) * '' The Black Widow'' (1947) as Ruth Dayton * '' G-Men Never Forget'' (1948, Serial) as Frances Blake * ''

Vicki Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...

'' (1953) as Café Photographer (uncredited) * '' The Lie'' (1954, TV Movie) as Marlene * ''

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

'' (1956) as Drunken Woman (as Ramsey Ames) * ''

At Five O'Clock in the Afternoon ''At Five O'Clock in the Afternoon'' ( es, A las cinco de la tarde, also released as ''At Five in the Afternoon'') is a 1961 Spanish drama film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and starring Rafael Alcántara. The film was selected as the Spanish ...

'' (1961) as Americana (uncredited) * '' The Running Man'' (1963) as Madge Penderby * '' Una tal Dulcinea'' (1963) (final film role) Soundtrack (5 credits) * ''

'' (1943) (performer: "Coca Chica") * '' Crazy House'' (1943) (performer: "Tropicana" - uncredited) * '' Hat Check Honey'' (1944) (performer: "Nice To Know You") * '' The Gay Cavalier'' (performer: "One Kiss and Ride", "The Gay Caballero") (1946) (writer: "One Kiss and Ride", "The Gay Caballero") * ''

'' (1947) (performer: "Tell Me") Archive footage (5 credits) * '' The Mummy's Ghost (Short)'' (1966) Amina * '' Sombra, the Spider Woman (TV Movie)'' (1966) Ruth Dayton * '' Code 645 (TV Movie)'' (1966) (Frances Blake) * '' Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed (Video documentary short)'' (1999) Amina Mansouri * '' Svengoolie (TV Series)- The Mummy's Ghost (2012)'' (2012) Pictorial Yank (USA)24 December 1943 Yank (USA)20 April 1945 Yank (USA)4 May 1945

References

* '' Screen Sirens Scream (USA)2000, pg. 3-11, by: Paul Parla/Charles P. Mitchell "Reminiscences Of The Doomed Ananka"'' * '' Filmfax (USA)July 1998, Iss. 67, pg. 46-49, by: Paul Parla/Charles P. Mitchell, "Bride Of The Mummy"'' * '' Fantastyka (France)July 1998, Iss. 16, pg. 36-38, by: Paul Parla/Charles P. Mitchell, "Souvenirs D'Ananka La Mandite"'' * '' Movie Collectors World (USA)28 November 1997, Iss. 539, pg. 86-88, by: Paul Parla/Charles P. Mitchell, "Reminiscences Of The Doomed Ananka"'' * '' Scary Monsters Magazine (USA)June 1997, Iss. 23, pg. 47-50, by: Paul Parla, "I Shall Make You Immortal"'' * '' Classic Images (USA)June 1996, Iss. 252, pg. 28-29, by: Paul Parla, "Ramsay Ames-Sultry Latin Beauty"''

External links

*
Answers.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Ramsay 1919 births 1998 deaths Actresses from New York City Deaths from lung cancer in California Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City American film actresses 20th-century American actresses People from Brooklyn