Lew Ayres
95 movies · 57 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Dec 28, 1908
- Died
- Dec 30, 1996 (age 88)
- Place of birth
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Also known as
- Lewis Frederick Ayre III
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.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Lew Ayres: movies and TV shows
Acting (150)
- 1994 Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart
as Professor Cabel
- 1992
- 1991 Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1989 Cast the First Stone
as Martin
- 1986
- 1986
- 1986 Under Siege
as John Pace
- 1985
- 1984
- 1984
- 1984 Don Camillo
as Doc
- 1983
- 1982
- 1982
- 1982
- 1981 Of Mice and Men
as Candy
- 1981
- 1980
- 1980 Reunion
as Bob Hollander
- 1979
- 1979 Letters from Frank
as Dan Miller
- 1979
- 1979
- 1978 Suddenly, Love
as Mr. Graham
- 1978 The Story of Noah
as Noah
- 1978 Battlestar Galactica
as President Adar
- 1978
- 1978
- 1978 Damien - Omen II
as Bill Atherton
- 1977
- 1977 End of the World
as Com. Joseph Beckerman
- 1977
- 1976
- 1976 Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
as Allen Dulles
- 1976 That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
- 1976
- 1975
- 1974
- 1974 Heatwave!
as Dr. Grayson
- 1974 The Questor Tapes
as Vaslovik
- 1973
- 1973 Battle for the Planet of the Apes
as Mandemus
- 1973
- 1973 The Stranger
as Prof. Dylan MacAuley
- 1972
- 1972
- 1972 The Man
as Noah Calvin
- 1972 The Biscuit Eater
as Mr. Ames
- 1972 She Waits
as Dr. Sam Carpenter
- 1971 Earth II
as President Charles Carter Durant
- 1971
- 1971
- 1971
- 1970
- 1970
- 1970
- 1969
- 1969 Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
as Dr. Andrew Swanson
- 1968
- 1968 Cocoon
as The Governor
- 1966
- 1965
- 1965
- 1964
- 1964 The Carpetbaggers
as Mac McAllister
- 1963
- 1963
- 1962
- 1962
- 1962 Advise & Consent
as The Vice President
- 1961
- 1961
- 1960
- 1960
- 1960
- 1959
- 1959
- 1958
- 1956 The Family Nobody Wanted
as Carl Doss
- 1956
- 1956 One Against Many
as Dr. John Mohler
- 1955
- 1955
- 1954
- 1953 Donovan's Brain
as Dr. Patrick J. Cory
- 1953 No Escape
as John Howard Tracy
- 1952
- 1951
- 1951 New Mexico
as Captain Hunt
- 1950 The Capture
as Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown
- 1950
- 1948 Johnny Belinda
as Robert Richardson
- 1947 The Unfaithful
as Larry Hannaford
- 1947 The Way of Peace
as Narrator (voice)
- 1946 The Dark Mirror
as Scott Elliott
- 1942 Fingers at the Window
as Oliver Duffy
- 1942 Dr. Kildare's Victory
as Dr. James Kildare
- 1941 Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
as Dr. James Kildare
- 1941 The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare
- 1941 Maisie Was a Lady
as Bob Rawlston
- 1940 Dr. Kildare's Crisis
as Dr. James Kildare
- 1940 Dr. Kildare Goes Home
as Dr. James Kildare
- 1940 The Golden Fleecing
as Henry Twinkle
- 1940 Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
as James Kildare
- 1939 Remember?
as Sky Ames
- 1939 The Secret of Dr. Kildare
as James Kildare
- 1939 These Glamour Girls
as Philip S. Griswold III
- 1939 Calling Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare
- 1939 Broadway Serenade
as James Geoffrey 'Jimmy' Seymour
- 1939 The Ice Follies of 1939
as Eddie Burgess
- 1938 Spring Madness
as Sam Thatcher
- 1938 Young Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare
- 1938 Rich Man, Poor Girl
as Henry Thayer
- 1938 Holiday
as Ned Seton
- 1938 King of the Newsboys
as Jerry Flynn
- 1938 Scandal Street
as Joe McKnight
- 1937 Hold 'Em Navy
as Tommy Graham
- 1937 The Last Train from Madrid
as Bill Dexter
- 1937 The Crime Nobody Saw
as Nick Milburn
- 1936 Murder with Pictures
as Kent Murdock
- 1936 Lady Be Careful
as Chester aka Dynamite
- 1936 Shakedown
as Bob Sanderson
- 1936 Panic on the Air
as Jerry
- 1936 The Leathernecks Have Landed
as Woodruff 'Woody' Davis
- 1935 Silk Hat Kid
as Eddie Howard
- 1935 Spring Tonic
as Caleb Enix
- 1935 The Lottery Lover
as Cadet Frank Harrington
- 1934 Servants' Entrance
as Erik Landstrom
- 1934 She Learned About Sailors
as Larry Wilson
- 1934 Let’s Be Ritzy
as Jimmy Sterling
- 1934 Cross Country Cruise
as Norman Winthrop
- 1933 My Weakness
as Ronnie Gregory
- 1933 Don't Bet on Love
as Bill McCaffrey
- 1933 State Fair
as Pat Gilbert
- 1932 Okay, America!
as Larry Wayne
- 1932 Night World
as Michael Rand
- 1932 The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood
as Lew Ayres
- 1932 The Impatient Maiden
as Dr. Myron Brown
- 1931 Heaven on Earth
as States
- 1931 The Spirit of Notre Dame
as Edward Aloysius "Bucky" O'Brian
- 1931 Up for Murder
as Robert Marshall
- 1931 Iron Man
as Kid Mason
- 1931 Many a Slip
as Jerry Brooks
- 1930 East Is West
as Billy Benson
- 1930 The Doorway to Hell
as Louie Ricarno
- 1930 Common Clay
as Hugh Fullerton
- 1930 All Quiet on the Western Front
as Paul Bäumer
- 1929 The Kiss
as Pierre
- 1929 Big News
as Copyboy (uncredited)
- 1929 The Sophomore
as Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited)
Behind the camera (2)
- 1976 Altars of the World
Director
- 1936 Hearts in Bondage
Director
Talk shows and appearances (8)
- 2004
- 1984
- 1955 MGM Parade
1 episode
- 1952 Omnibus
1 episode
- 1946
- 1940
- 1940
- 1939