Philip J. Amelio, actor who played Lucille Ball's young grandson on the "Life with Lucy" series (1986)
deb...@comcast.net
Am sorry and saddened to report that Philip J. Amelio, the actor who
played Lucille Ball's young grandson on the "Life with Lucy" series
(1986), has died. He was 27.
Philip's dad (Phil, Sr.) contacted us to say:
"Even though it was 19 years ago, we always enjoyed telling people
about the terrific experience we had doing 'Life with Lucy.' Even
though the show was cancelled and we heard some awful comments about
it, we were always proud to tell everyone about how Lucy loved Philip.
Philip stopped acting at age 13. He concentrated on school, and decided
to become an English teacher (at the high school level). He was
graduated from Suny Albany, and went right to The College at St. Rose
to get his Masters in Education. He was also an accomplished stone
mason like me. He worked with me for 14 summers, learning the trade. He
also became a great baseball coach, something we enjoyed doing
together.
Philip was healthy as a horse all of his life. The beginning of March,
while attending a coaches' clinic at Cooperstown, he had a pain in his
back. The doctors thought it was just a herniated disc or syatica. No
one thought to give him a blood test... If they had, they would have
discovered the pain was caused by a bacterial infection that had lodged
on his heart valve and started to grow. He fought like hell until he
died on April 1.
Philip was a terrific citizen, a friend to all... In his years from age
7 to 27, he wrote many poems, short stories, and screenplays.... We are
now going to try to publish all of his work.
Philip's experiences in show business resulted in him being a good
teacher. Show business taught him so much about responsibility,
dedication, and confidence. He was so loved at his school that they are
starting another English program in his name, based on literature that
Philip wrote and loved to read. We are also starting a Philip J. Amelio
II Scholarship Fund, so Phil can continue to educate students."
Following is an obituary/story about Philip than was publish in the
Register Herald newspaper in the mid-Hudson Valley area of New York
State, where Philip and his family lived:
For most people, it takes 60 years or better to attain their goals. But
for others, like Philip John Amelio II, who died on April 4, he lived a
lifetime in a mere 27 years. "He was always able to reach his next
goal," said brother, Ryan. "Everything he did, he had a good time
doing. He was always ready for the next challenge," he said. "He had an
intellectual maturity," said Nolan, Ryan's twin. "He kept to himself
unless you talked to him about baseball or politics." Nolan said one of
his favorite memories of his older brother, who died from an infection,
was a compliment he received.
A coach
"Once, while playing a Little League game, I made a nice play at second
base," said Nolan. "When I came off the field, he shook my hand and
said, 'nice play.' It meant so much to me. He always let you know when
you did something good," he said.
"I've been coaching baseball since 1966, but he could look at a player
and see what was wrong with his swing or his throw. He would evaluate
kids for me that I could never do as well as he. We worked well
together," said his father, Phil.
"He was a real student of the game. He read every book on baseball that
he could get his hands on," said his father.
A letter from one of his former players expressed the sentiment of many
of the players he coached.
"He was a great coach," said Eric Fiacco, in a letter to Amelio's
family. "Without him, it wouldn't be an honor to play baseball today."
"He was the epitome of, if you worked hard enough, you could do
anything you wanted," said Ryan.
Ryan recounted a story about a screenplay written by Philip while in
college.
"It was based on 'Black' by Pearl Jam," said Ryan. "The teacher liked
it so much that out of all the other submissions, he read it in front
of the 400-person class. For him to write that script was unbelievable.
His writing led me to be more of a writer."
"He acted kind of uncomfortable around his niece," said sister,
Lindsey, about her daughter, Kaitlyn. "But shopping for Christmas, he
didn't go crazy except for the baby. Then, there was no limit. He had
his own way of doing things and he always surprised you."
An actor
"Our intent was to get enough money for his college," said his father,
about his son's acting career, which included stints on "All My
Children" and on Lucille Ball's final TV show, "Life with Lucy." "He
knew when he wanted to leave, he could," said Phil. Phil said that his
son was the first spokesman for Jell-O Pudding Pops and performed in
hundreds of other commercials. "He could sell anything," said Phil. "A
piece of chicken or a car."
Ryan said Philip could've continued his acting career, but put it aside
to teach.
"He decided he didn't want to act anymore," said Ryan. "He wanted to
teach, so he just did it."
Philip earned a bachelor's degree in English and social studies at the
University of Albany and a master's degree in education at the College
of St. Rose before going on to teach at Duanesburg High School.
A teacher
Ryan said he read one of Philip's evaluations as a second-year teacher
at Duanesburg.
"It said he had skills that only a veteran teacher would have," said
Ryan.
"Philip was 5' 4" and people looked up to him," said Nolan. "I'm really
going to miss the way his players looked at him. They knew that he knew
what it would take to make them better players and they respected
that."
"I'm going to miss the big brother role model to look up to," said
Ryan. "He was always able to get people to listen to him. He could say
just one sentence out of his mouth and you would know he knew what he
was talking about."
Both brothers also appreciated his sense of humor. "It was a smart
sense of humor," said Ryan. "He never ragged on you, even if you did
something stupid. He had a dry, sarcastic sense of humor that made
people laugh."
Ryan said that it amazed him that a person, such as Philip, an
accomplished actor who could've had a big ego, "didn't have an ounce of
self-conceit."
Phil said his son, in front of the camera, was professional and
self-confident, but off-stage he was quiet and humble.
A lover
"He never talked about growing up on the stage," agreed Ami Feulner,
Amelio's girlfriend of four years. "He didn't want to draw attention to
himself. He always said he was no better than anyone else." "He was a
very outstanding person for having been a famous kid," said Martha
Holmes, a resident of Pine Plains who directed Amelio in a feature for
National Geographic.
"He'd become a very cosmopolitan person, but he didn't leave behind a
single bit of his natural self. There was no braggadocio or a sense
that he felt he was better than anyone else," she said.
"He was an accomplished stone mason," said Phil. "He worked for me
every summer for 14 years. Last year, after his mom died, he spent the
summer with me working on two jobs. He kept me from going nuts because
work was the only thing channeling me away from my loss."
Feulner said he treated her better than anyone she had ever known.
"What I will miss about him the most is his strength," she said. "He
never got upset about anything. He never lost his temper. He always
calmed me down when I was upset and did things for me when I couldn't
do them."
"I wish I could pass the temper thing onto his niece," said Lindsey,
with a laugh from her brothers and father.
"Since we have all the movies and commercials, she can see him and,
hopefully, it will give her a sense of what he was like - that he was
real person and not someone we just talk about," said Lindsey. The
Amelios asked that people who would like to contribute to the Philip
John Amelio II scholarship fund to benefit students of the Pine Plains
and Duanesburg Central School districts should send donations to the
fund to 93 Hoffman Rd. in Pine Plains,NY 12567.