Elsie Ames

One does not have to be a great actor in order to be famous. In the case of Elsie Ames, though, she wasn't even a good actor. Some may go as far as saying, bad. Or at best, an over-actor. And yet, the film work she left behind is as memorable as some of her famous co-stars, that range from Buster Keaton to Gena Rowlands.

A star she was not. A novelty she was. And a memorable one at that. As half of the vaudeville dance team of Ames and Arno, she was more of a knockabout rag doll than an actual dancer. Their rough and tumble dance routine eventually made it to the big screen in the Bing Crosby musical, Double or Nothing. 

In 1940, producer Julies White, of The Three Stooges fame, thought she would be a good partner for Buster Keaton, who had just joined Columbia Pictures growing short subjects department. Keaton, as well as the studio, had high hopes in revitalizing his derailed career, and White felt that teaming him with Elsie Ames would be the perfect match.

However, she would have been a better fit with The Three Stooges, as her style of physical humor was far more knockabout than Buster Keaton's, making the films they made together more interesting than actually good. Like them or not, though, the jaw-dropping pratfalls that Elsie Ames does without a stunt double are a pure joy to witness.

Later in life, she joined up with John Cassavetes and his stock company of actors, appearing briefly in a couple of his films. There's no slapstick in those performances, but she is in a scene in Minnie and Moskowitz where Gena Rowlands falls down some stairs. I have to wonder if Ms. Ames gave Ms. Rowlands some pointers.

Her work with Buster Keaton is definitely worth checking out. And while her acting style is actually quite annoying, her stunts are amazingly memorable, making Elsie Ames my pick today for being Not Very Famous...but should be.