I knew him as ‘Mingo’ on Daniel Boone. The Ames Brothers were before my time. I didn’t know he was still alive in 2021, when I posted Wait… ______ is still alive?.
Without even looking, I know how this one ends.
He was also a singer. Here he is with his brothers singing Ragg Mopp: Rag Mop by the Ames Brothers 1950 - YouTube
And here he is 17 years later, singing My Cup Runneth Over as a solo act: My Cup Runneth Over (From the Musical Production "I Do, I Do") - YouTube
He will mostly be recognized from the Tonight Show moment, but his voice may be as well recognized from singing Turn Around in a once very well known Kodak commercial .
Only knowing him as Mingo, and then hearing him sing is kinda Gomer Pyle-ish.
He was well known as a singer before playing Mingo. He was chosen to play Mingo after playing the Chief in a production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Broadway. He may have done well in that role but any acting ability he had was wasted on Daniel Boone.
I remember back on how AM radio used to be, where you’d hear R&R and country, along side Ames’s “My Heart Runneth Over With Love”. Followed by some goofy novelty song.
He was recently alive? Ed was approaching middle-age in the 1950’s on Daniel Boone. He had a successful singing career with his brothers before tv. That was almost 70 years ago.
Ed’s Indian character added a lot to the show.
RIP Ed.
He was in seasons 1-4 on Daniel Boone, which ran from 1964 to 1970. (The Davy Crockett miniseries was in 1954-1955. Before my time, Never saw it.) Ames was born in 1927, so he would have been around 37 when he was on Daniel Boone – which was about 60 years ago.
Daniel Boone was before my time. I thought it was in the 50’s. But I didn’t check imdb. I mixed it up with Davy Crockett.
I did see Boone in Syndication later.
A bit of trivia. There was a Motown group called the Four Aims who had to change their name so they wouldn’t be confused with the Ames Brothers. Their manager asked them what their “aim” was and when they said “the top”, they got the name The Four Tops.
My dad had several of his records in the 1960s. I didn’t even know he was also an actor for a long, long time.
I would have been VERY disappointed if this hadn’t been right at the top of the thread. I was watching The Tonight Show the night this happened, and I damned near fell out of bed laughing! (What year was it, 1965? And I was ten years old?) 
RIP, Mingo! 