Ames, Leon
(20 January 1902–12 October 1993)
- Ann T. Keene
Extract
Ames, Leon (20 January 1902–12 October 1993), actor, was born Leon Waycoff in Portland, Indiana, the son of Russian immigrants whose names are unknown. In the 1880s large deposits of natural gas had been discovered in a region extending through north-central Indiana and Ohio, and the ensuing boom drew many immigrant workers and their families to the area to lay pipelines and then maintain the new infrastructure. Ames attended local schools and early on developed an interest in acting and the theater, its attractiveness heightened by performances of traveling theater troupes that passed through Portland. In high school he starred in several productions, including ...
