Lew Ayres

Acting · 1.4 popularity

Age

117

Movies

Born: December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996
From: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Biography

Lew Ayres was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in San Diego, California. A college dropout, he was found by a talent scout in the Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles and entered Hollywood as a bit player. He was leading man to Greta Garbo in The Kiss (1929), but it was the role of Paul Baumer in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) that was his big break. He was profoundly affected by the anti-war message of that film, and when, in 1942, the popular star of Young Dr. Kildare (1938) and subsequent Dr. Kildare films was drafted, he was a conscientious objector. America was outraged, and theaters vowed never to show his films again, but quietly he achieved the Medical Corps status he had requested, serving as a medic under fire in the South Pacific and as a chaplain's aid in New Guinea and the Phillipines. His return to film after the war was undistinguished until Johnny Belinda (1948) - his role as the sympathetic physician treating the deaf-mute Jane Wyman won him an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. Subsequent movie roles were scarce; an opportunity to play Dr. Kildare in television was aborted when the network refused to honor his request for no cigarette sponsorship. He continued to act, but in the 1970s put his long experience into a project to bring to the west the philosophy of the East - the resulting film, Altars of the World (1976), while not a box-office success, won critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award. Lew Ayres died in Los Angeles, California on December 30, 1996, just two days after his 88th birthday.

Works

99 films

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

19735.7

All Quiet on the Western Front

19307.8

Damien - Omen II

19786.4

Battlestar Galactica

19786.9

The Dark Mirror

19467.0

Holiday

19387.3

Don Camillo

19845.7

Advise & Consent

19627.2

That's Entertainment, Part II

19767.0

Johnny Belinda

19486.9

The Carpetbaggers

19645.9

The Unfaithful

19475.9

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

19918.0

The Lottery Lover

19354.3

The Capture

19506.2

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

19405.8

End of the World

19773.9

The Man

19726.5

The Last Train from Madrid

19374.8

The Kiss

19296.4

The Biscuit Eater

19726.3

Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart

19946.9

The Questor Tapes

19745.9

Suddenly, Love

19788.3

Earth II

19715.6

King of the Newsboys

19384.8

From the Ends of the Earth

19395.0

Fingers at the Window

19425.7

Under Siege

19867.5

The Stranger

19733.9

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

19406.7

Donovan's Brain

19536.2

Dr. Kildare Goes Home

19406.8

The Secret of Dr. Kildare

19396.1

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

19406.8

Rich Man, Poor Girl

19386.1

Calling Dr. Kildare

19396.6

The Doorway to Hell

19306.5

The Golden Fleecing

19405.9

Letters from Frank

19798.0

Maisie Was a Lady

19417.0

State Fair

19336.3

The Ice Follies of 1939

19395.7

Checking Out: Grand Hotel

20047.0

The Impatient Maiden

19329.0

Young Dr. Kildare

19386.7

New Mexico

19513.6

No Escape

19534.7

Cocoon

19688.5

These Glamour Girls

19395.9

Okay, America!

19325.8

Night World

19326.8

Remember?

19396.0

Broadway Serenade

19396.6

East Is West

19305.3

Servants' Entrance

19348.0

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare

19417.0

The Spirit of Notre Dame

19317.3

Iron Man

19315.7

Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident

19767.0

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

19404.8

Of Mice and Men

19817.5

Spring Tonic

19356.5

Spring Madness

19384.9

Heatwave!

19746.1

Murder with Pictures

19365.4

Cast the First Stone

19897.0

The Leathernecks Have Landed

19367.0

Blow-Ups of 1946

19466.0

Heaven on Earth

19315.3

Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities

196910.0

Reunion

19808.0

Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

19416.8

She Waits

19725.9

Big News

19294.5

The Crime Nobody Saw

19375.5

Hold 'Em Navy

19374.7

The Sophomore

19295.3

Scandal Street

19388.0

My Weakness

19337.0

She Learned About Sailors

19344.0

Dr. Kildare's Victory

19426.2

The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood

19327.0

Lady Be Careful

19365.5

Panic on the Air

19365.8

Many a Slip

193110.0

The Upper Chamber

1963

The Story of Noah

19782.0

Let’s Be Ritzy

193410.0

Silk Hat Kid

19356.5

Cross Country Cruise

19346.7

Shakedown

19369.0

Bruised Celluloid

1984

The Family Nobody Wanted

1956

The Way of Peace

19476.0

Don't Bet on Love

19338.0

Up for Murder

19314.8

Common Clay

193010.0

One Against Many

1956