Tom Amandes
Amandes in 2013, Photo by DFree/www.bigstockphoto.com/
Birth Name: Thomas Peter Amandes
Place of Birth: Richmond, Illinois, U.S.
Date of Birth: March 9, 1959
Ethnicity:
*father – Greek
*mother – German, Irish
Tom Amandes is an American actor and director.
His father was the son of Greek parents, from Turkey. His mother was of half German and half Irish descent. He is married to actress Nancy Everhard, with whom he has three children.
Tom’s paternal grandfather was named Constantine George/Gust/Gus Amandes/Armandes/Amanadites. Gust was born in Ordu, Trapizond, Turkey, and was of Greek descent.
Tom’s paternal grandmother was Deborah Derebey (the daughter of Theophilos Derebey and Magdaline Marifoglou). Deborah was born in Broussa, Turkey, and spoke Greek. Her surname is possibly of Turkish origin. Theophilos likely was the son of Apostolos Derebey and Eleni Philoxenides.
Tom’s maternal grandfather was William Walter Kottke (the son of Charles C. Kottke and Bertha Zimmerman). William was born in Illinois. Charles was German. Bertha was born in Illinois, to German parents.
Tom’s maternal grandmother was Esther Shaughnessy (the daughter of Edward J. Shaughnessy and Bridget Poland). Esther was born in Illinois. Edward and Bridget were born in Illinois, both of them to Irish parents.
Sources: Tom’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Tom’s father – http://files.usgwarchives.net
Marriage record of Tom’s paternal grandparents, Constantine George/Gust/Gus Amandes/Armandes/Amanadites and Deborah Derebey – https://www.familysearch.org
Tom’s maternal grandfather, William Walter Kottke, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Tom’s maternal grandmother, Esther Shaughnessy, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
He does look part Southern European indeed.
Deborah arrived with her sister in 1920. According to ship log, she was from Bursa, Turkey, and was Greek. Their contact in the U.S. was their uncle Dr. Christus Apostolos Derebey. Christus was the son of Apostolos Derebey and Eleni Philoxenides. Deborah’s parents were Theophilos Derebey and Magdaline Marifoglou. Theophilos’ parents were likely the same as Christus’.
Could he have Turkish ancestry? Derebey is apparently a Turkish word for some type of feudal lord in the Ottoman empire., but I don’t know if it means anything. His grandmother is listed as Greek on the 1930 census.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derebey
I’ll check it out, but it’s not at all unusual for people in former Ottoman empire to have Turkish last names, especially if their meaning is related to a proffesion or a title (see Rita Ora, whose last name Sahatçiu is of Turkish origin and means clockmaker, and her mother’s maiden name is Bajraktari which means flag-bearer).
Ora is Albanian and has a muslim father, so it wouldn’t surprise me much that they got along well enough with the Turks to adopt some surnames from them. I’m not that well-read on the history of the Ottoman empire, but doesn’t the hostility between Greeks and Turks go back quite some time?
I’m not sure what you mean by her father being muslim? It’s not like her last name is Hoxha.
I can see now why it was unclear. I meant that both the Albanians (at least most) and the Turks are Muslims, and thus integration between the two groups would’ve made more sense than between Greeks and Turks. I might be wrong.