Samuel Howard Ash (August 28, 1884 – October 20, 1951) was an American vaudeville performer, singer, and movie actor who appeared in minor roles in over 200 films, including It's a Wonderful Life.

He was born in Campbell County, Kentucky,^[1] of English-born parents who had immigrated to the US. By 1900 he was living with his parents and siblings in Cincinnati, Ohio,^[2] and in 1910 lived in Chicago.^[3] He was unrelated to Sam Ash, born Samuel Ashkynase (1897–1956), founder of the eponymous musical instrument store, despite some erroneous claims^[4] that they were one and the same person.

He first recorded as a tenor singer for Columbia Records in 1914,^[5] credited as Samuel Ash, and the following year found success in a duet with Elida Morris, "Hello Frisco!" from the Broadway musical Ziegfeld Follies of 1915.^[6] In December 1915 he appeared on the Broadway stage, in a leading role in Rudolf Friml's operetta Katinka, which ran for over 200 performances.^[7] He recorded regularly for Columbia over the next few years.^[5] In 1915 he made one of his most commercially successful recordings, "America, I Love You",^[6] and in 1917 he recorded "Cleopatra Had a Jazz Band".^[4] His regular appearances in Broadway revues included Doing Our Bit (1917), Monte Cristo Jr. (1919), and Oh, What A Girl! (1919) among others.^[8] In the 1920s he continued to record for Columbia as well as for a number of other record labels, including Little Wonder, Gennett, Grey Gull, and OKeh.^[1][6] He also continued to appear in Broadway musicals, including Some Party in 1922, The Passing Show of 1922, and Houseboat on the Styx in 1928.^[8]

From 1929, he was based in Hollywood. He made his film debut that year, third on the bill as a suspect in the Craig Kennedy mystery Unmasked, starring Robert Warwick in his first "talkie".^[7] Over the next two decades he had hundreds of small parts in movies, playing characters such as waiters, news vendors, ship stewards, and reporters.^[7] In Mad Love, starring Peter Lorre, his role was one of the detectives seeking the murderer. In It's a Wonderful Life, in 1946, he played the part of the nervous bank teller trying to calm the crowd when they demand their savings.^[1] Ash also featured in a number of popular film serials such as Dick Tracy, The Masked Marvel, and Captain America.^[1] He appeared in 205 movies between 1929 and 1953; his last two films were released posthumously.

He died in Hollywood in 1951, at the age of 67, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.