Ed Ames of ‘Daniel Boone’ & Ames Brothers Fame Dies @ 95

Singer and actor Ed Ames, whose poor marksmanship with a tomahawk made for the most hilarious Tonight Show blooper, died at his L.A. home on May 21, Variety reports.

Ames's music was counterprogramming during the hippie era. (Image via RCA)

He was 95.

Ames played Mingo, a Native American, on TV's Daniel Boone (1964-1968), though he was of Jewish descent. His ancestry came up during his 1965 Tonight Show gaffe — faced with the outline of a man, Ames pitched his tomahawk right into the crotch area, cracking up Johnny Carson and the audience.

No Jewish man has been asked to throw a tomahawk on TV since. (GIF via GIPHY)

"I didn't even know you were Jewish!" Carson joked. "Welcome to Frontier Bris!" The laughter has been called the longest sustained reaction in TV history.

Ames recorded with his siblings as part of the phenomenally successful Ames Brothers from 1947-1963, racking up almost 50 charting hits.

The group's biggest hit was 1950's with "Rag Mop"/"Sentimental Me," and they also had their own 15-minute series at the dawn of the television era.

Ames had been the group's last survivor. He was preceded in death by Joe (1921-2007), Gene (1924-1997) and Vic (1925-1978).

Ames was also a success as a solo singer, especially with the singles "My Cup Runneth Over" (1967) and "Who Will Answer?" (1968). Three of his released hit no. 1 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart in the '60s.

Ames, who was born July 9, 1927, in Malden, Massachusetts, Ames was Jewish, also had extensive stage experience. His most high-profile performance was as Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1963.

Preceded in death by his daughter, Ames is survived by his wife Jeanne, his two children, his stepson, his seven grandchildren, and his five great-grandchildren.

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