No tears: he had a good, long life, and off-stage, never had to claim to actually be an Indian

RIP: Ed Ames, star of TV series ‘Daniel Boone,’ dies at 95.

In the 1960s, Ames shifted careers and began persuing acting. His first starring role was an off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible.’

However, on television, Ames was likely best known for his role as Mingo, the Oxford-educated Native American in the 1960s adventure series “Daniel Boone” that starred Fess Parker as the famous frontiersman.

Due to his role in “Daniel Boone,” Ames became skilled at throwing a tomahawk, which led the actor to one of his most memorable moments of his career during a hilarious appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’ on April 27, 1965.

While on the show, Carson asked Ames to demonstrate his skills by throwing a tomahawk at a target of a cowboy outlined on a wooden panel.

Ames’ throw landed directly in the groin of the wooden cowboy, which caused the studio audience burst into laughter.

It’s a classic moment, which Carson repeated every year in his anniversary show:

This short paragraph neatly sums up the difference between immigrants then and our modern-day invaders from the south:

Born on July 9, 1927, in Malden, Massachusetts, Ames was the youngest of 11 children, four died in childhood. Their parents were Ukrainian immigrants and their mother taught the children to read Shakespeare and to appreciate the music they heard every Saturday on the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.