Nick Ramus
American actor (1929–2007)
title: "Nick Ramus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1929-births", "2007-deaths", "blackfeet-tribe-people", "native-american-male-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "male-actors-from-seattle", "people-from-benson,-arizona", "20th-century-american-male-actors"] description: "American actor (1929–2007)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Ramus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor (1929–2007) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| birth_name | Nickolas George Ramus |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Seattle, Washington, US |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Benson, Arizona, US |
| occupation | Actor |
| :: |
| image = | birth_name = Nickolas George Ramus | birth_date = | birth_place = Seattle, Washington, US | death_date = | death_place = Benson, Arizona, US | occupation = Actor Nickolas George Ramus, also known and credited as Nick Ramus, (September 9, 1929 – May 30, 2007) was a Blackfoot Native American actor, best known for his appearances on television.
Early life
Ramus was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Spokane, but as a boy, his family moved to the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana.
He eventually moved back to Washington, obtaining a bachelor's degree in chemistry, while minoring in zoology. After dropping out of his first year in medical school, he migrated south, competing in boxing and motorcycle races.
In San Francisco, Ramus received coaching in drama and voice, eventually leading to work in commercials. Several years later, he moved to Los Angeles and picked roles in films and television.
Career
Being of both Blackfoot and Greek ancestry, Ramus portrayed American Indian and Hispanic characters during his 30-year career.
Ramus' television debut was a role in the ABC series, The Wide World of Mystery (1973).
In television movies and miniseries, he appeared as Grey Cloud in Born to the Wind (1981), as Arapaho Chief Lost Eagle in Centennial (1978-1979), as Tehohane in The Chisholms (1980), and as Red Cloud in Son of the Morning Star (1991). Ramus also appeared as Mangus Colorado in the TNT film Geronimo (1993).
In television series, Ramus had a recurring role in the soap opera Falcon Crest as Gus Nunouz, and as Chief Black Kettle in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Guest appearances also included Gunsmoke, Harry and the Hendersons, Little House on the Prairie, MacGyver, Northern Exposure, Stingray, and Walker, Texas Ranger, among others.
On the big screen, Ramus' film debut was a role in Black Eye (1974). He would go on to star in the first Native American language film, Windwalker (1980). Other film roles include The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) as Indian Chief, Invasion U.S.A. (1985), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) as Saratoga Helmsman, Love at Stake (1987) as Chief Wannatoka, Journey to Spirit Island (1992), and 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995), among others.
In 2006, Ramus took the role as Local Guy in the independent short film, Alma (2007) featuring Carmen Corral (as Alma) who portrays a Mexican-immigrant teenager, unaware that she is undocumented. The film's executive producer was Victoria Westover, a program director for the Hanson Film Institute at the University of Arizona.
Ramus also wrote An Evening with Sitting Bull in the 1990s, from which he performed a one-man show.
Personal life
Ramus married Harriet Mary Howard and had three children. He was remarried to Kaysie McCallister in 1995, and moved to the San Pedro River valley area, near Benson, Arizona in 2002. By that time he had retired, except for occasional appearances.
Death
Ramus developed pneumonia in January of 2007, and doctors found a neoplasm in his lungs. He opted out of surgery that could have potentially been debilitating. On May 30, 2007, Ramus died in Benson, Arizona at age 77.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Black Eye | ||
| 1979 | last1=Sarno | first1=Art | title=Academy Awards |
| 1980 | Windwalker | Smiling Wolf / Crow Brother / Narrator | |
| 1985 | Invasion U.S.A. | Clark Little Hawk | |
| 1986 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | Saratoga Helmsman | |
| 1987 | Love at Stake | Chief Wannatoka | |
| 1988 | title=The Motion Picture Annual | date=1989 | publisher=CineBooks |
| 1989 | last1=Maltin | first1=Leonard | title=Leonard Maltin's Family Film Guide |
| 1995 | 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up | Chief Roundcreek | |
| 2006 | The Treasure of Painted Forest | Mr. Godfrey | |
| 2007 | Alma | Local Guy | Independent Short Film |
| 2007 | Rapturious | Voice | Final film role |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | The Wide World of Mystery | ||
| 1974 | Gunsmoke | Lynit | Episode: "The Iron Blood of Courage" |
| 1975 | last1=Bowker | first1=R.R. | title=Bowker's Complete Video Directory: Volumes 1-4 |
| 1976 | The Quest | Iron Hawk | TV movie |
| 1977 | Little House on the Prairie | Little Crow | Episode: "Freedom Flight" |
| 1977 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | Tioga | Episode: "Kit Carson and the Mountain Men: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1978–1979 | Centennial | Lost Eagle | 4 episodes |
| 1979 | The Chisholms | Tehohane | TV miniseries |
| 1981–1982 | Falcon Crest | Gus Nunouz | 13 episodes |
| 1982 | The Legend of Walks Far Woman | Left Hand Bull | TV movie |
| 1982 | Born to the Wind | Grey Cloud | TV series |
| 1982 | last1=Parish | first1=James Robert | last2=Pitts |
| 1985 | last1=Marill | first1=Alvin H. | title=Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders |
| 1987 | Capitol | General Abdullah | Episode #1.1270 |
| 1987 | Stingray | Alexander Bondy | Episode: "The Neniwa" |
| 1989 | Paradise | Chief Black Cloud | Episode: "The Burial Ground" |
| 1989 | Monsters | Temple Guide | Episode: "Half as Old as Time" |
| 1990 | Northern Exposure | Chief | Episode: "Soapy Sanderson" |
| 1991 | Harry and the Hendersons | Medicine Man | Episode: "Roots, The Herb" |
| 1991 | MacGyver | Standing Wolf | Episode: "Trail of Tears" |
| 1993 | Geronimo | Mangus Colorado | TV movie |
| 1993–1995 | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Chief Black Kettle | 10 episodes |
| 1995 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Bright Water | Episode: "On Sacred Ground" |
| :: |
References
References
- (4 December 2019). "American Indian Image Makers of Hollywood". McFarland.
- (April 12, 1975). "Special depicts Indian surrender". The Tampa Times.
- (15 June 2007). "Nick Ramus: Actor was 'a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind". Arizona Daily Star.
- (2011). "Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010". McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
- (1999). "American Indian Review: Issues 19-29". Twin Light Trail.
- (4 February 1991). "Television: Home of the Braves". New York Magazine.
- (16 October 2015). "Native Americans in the Movies: Portrayals from Silent Films to the Present". Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
- (2010). "Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present". University of Texas Press.
- (1990). "Beyond the Stars: Stock characters in American popular film: Volume 1". Bowling Green University Popular Press.
- (17 May 2011). "The Star Trek Encyclopedia". Pocket Books/Star Trek.
- (1989). "Screen World: Volume 40". Crown Publishers.
- (1999). "American Indian Review: Issues 19-29". Twin Light Trail.
- (2008). "Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture". McFarland.
- (1989). "Black Action Films: Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 235 Theatrical and Made-for-television Releases". McFarland.
- (1980). "Academy Awards". E S E California.
- (1989). "The Motion Picture Annual". CineBooks.
- (1999). "Leonard Maltin's Family Film Guide". Penguin Group.
- (1992). "Bowker's Complete Video Directory: Volumes 1-4". R R Bowker Publishing.
- (1988). "The Great Western Pictures II". Scarecrow Press.
- (June 2011). "Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders". Scarecrow Press.
- (1990). "TV Guide: Volume 38, Issues 17-21". Triangle Publications.
- (25 February 2013). "Terror Television: American Series, 1970-1999". McFarland.
- (2001). "Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Television shows". McFarland.
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