Biography

Lionel Ames was born on March 6, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Broadway Television Theatre (1952), Thundering Jets (1958) and Playhouse 90 (1956). He was married to Barbara Colton. He died on October 1, 2017 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.

During his army service at the age of 23 he was transferred to Los Alamos where he worked in a chemistry lab (alongside his brother Dr. Maurice Shapiro) on the atomic bomb implosion part. He finished his military career with the rank of staff sergeant and subsequently returned to college in Chicago to complete a degree in industrial engineering.

Despite his qualifications, he abandoned his work as a scientist, changed his surname from Shapiro to Ames and became involved with show business as a singer and actor. He worked for five years in New York before settling permanently in Hollywood.