Lew Ayres
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1908-12-28
Day of Death
1996-12-30 (88 years old)
Place of Birth
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Lew Ayres
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.
Known For
Acting
(2004)
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
as Self (archive footage)
(1994)
Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart
as Professor Cabel
(1991)
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1989)
Cast the First Stone
as Martin
(1986)
Under Siege
as John Pace
(1984)
Don Camillo
as Doc
(1984)
Bruised Celluloid
as Himself
(1981)
Of Mice and Men
as Candy
(1980)
Reunion
as Bob Hollander
(1979)
Letters from Frank
as Dan Miller
(1978)
Damien - Omen II
as Bill Atherton
(1978)
Battlestar Galactica
as President Adar
(1978)
Suddenly, Love
as Mr. Graham
(1978)
The Story of Noah
as Noah
(1977)
End of the World
as Com. Joseph Beckerman
(1976)
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
(1976)
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
as Allen Dulles
(1974)
The Questor Tapes
as Vaslovik
(1974)
Heatwave!
as Dr. Grayson
(1973)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
as Mandemus
(1973)
The Stranger
as Prof. Dylan MacAuley
(1972)
She Waits
as Dr. Sam Carpenter
(1972)
The Man
as Noah Calvin
(1972)
The Biscuit Eater
as Mr. Ames
(1971)
Earth II
as President Charles Carter Durant
(1969)
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
as Dr. Andrew Swanson
(1968)
Cocoon
as The Governor
(1964)
The Carpetbaggers
as 'Mac' McAllister
(1962)
Advise & Consent
as The Vice President
(1960)
Dr. Kildare (Unaired Pilot)
as Dr. Kildare
(1956)
One Against Many
as Dr. John Mohler
(1953)
Donovan's Brain
as Dr. Patrick J. Cory
(1953)
No Escape
as John Howard Tracy
(1951)
New Mexico
as Capt. Hunt
(1950)
The Capture
as Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown
(1948)
Johnny Belinda
as Dr. Robert Richardson
(1947)
The Unfaithful
as Larry Hannaford
(1947)
The Way of Peace
as Narrator (voice)
(1946)
The Dark Mirror
as Dr. Scott Elliott
(1946)
Blow-Ups of 1946
as Self
(1942)
Fingers at the Window
as Oliver Duffy
(1942)
Dr. Kildare's Victory
as Dr. James Kildare
(1941)
Maisie Was a Lady
as Bob Rawlston
(1941)
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
as Dr. James Kildare
(1941)
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare
(1940)
The Golden Fleecing
as Henry Twinkle
(1940)
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
as Dr. James Kildare
(1940)
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
as Dr. James Kildare
(1940)
(1940)
(1940)
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
as Dr. James Kildare
(1939)
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare
(1939)
Remember?
as Sky Ames
(1939)
Broadway Serenade
as James Geoffrey 'Jimmy' Seymour
(1939)
These Glamour Girls
as Philip S. Griswold III
(1939)
The Ice Follies of 1939
as Eddie Burgess
(1939)
Calling Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare
(1939)
From the Ends of the Earth
as Self
(1938)
Holiday
as Ned Seton
(1938)
King of the Newsboys
as Jerry Flynn
(1938)
Spring Madness
as Sam Thatcher
(1938)
Scandal Street
as Joe McKnight
(1938)
Rich Man, Poor Girl
as Henry Thayer
(1938)
Young Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare
(1937)
The Last Train from Madrid
as Bill Dexter
(1937)
Hold 'Em Navy
as Tommy Graham
(1937)
The Crime Nobody Saw
as Nick Milburn
(1936)
Shakedown
as Bob Sanderson
(1936)
Murder with Pictures
as Kent Murdock
(1936)
Lady Be Careful
as Chester aka Dynamite
(1936)
The Leathernecks Have Landed
as Woodruff 'Woody' Davis
(1936)
Panic on the Air
as Jerry Franklin
(1935)
Spring Tonic
as Caleb Enix
(1935)
The Lottery Lover
as Cadet Frank Harrington
(1935)
Silk Hat Kid
as Eddie Howard
(1934)
Servants' Entrance
as Erik Landstrom
(1934)
Let’s Be Ritzy
as Jimmy Sterling
(1934)
Cross Country Cruise
as Norman Winthrop
(1934)
She Learned About Sailors
as Larry Wilson
(1933)
State Fair
as Pat Gilbert
(1933)
My Weakness
as Ronnie Gregory
(1933)
Don't Bet on Love
as Bill McCaffrey
(1932)
Night World
as Michael Rand
(1932)
The Impatient Maiden
as Dr. Myron Brown
(1932)
Okay, America!
as Larry Wayne
(1932)
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood
as Lew Ayres
(1931)
The Spirit of Notre Dame
as Edward Aloysius "Bucky" O'Brian
(1931)
Iron Man
as Kid Mason
(1931)
Heaven on Earth
as States
(1931)
Many a Slip
as Jerry Brooks
(1931)
Up for Murder
as Robert Marshall
(1930)
All Quiet on the Western Front
as Paul Bäumer
(1930)
The Doorway to Hell
as Louie Ricarno
(1930)
Common Clay
as Hugh Fullerton
(1930)
East Is West
as Billy Benson
(1929)
Big News
as Copyboy (uncredited)
(1929)
The Kiss
as Pierre Lassalle
(1929)
The Sophomore
as Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited)
Crew
(1976)
Altars of the World
Director
(1936)
Hearts in Bondage
Director