Lew Ayres | WatchedThis

Lew Ayres

Lew Ayres

Acting

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.

Filmography Movies

Acting

Poster for All Quiet on the Western Front
MOVIE

All Quiet on the Western Front

7.7(0.9K)
All Quiet on the Western Front
Paul Bäumer
Poster for End of the World
MOVIE

End of the World

3.9(0.0K)
End of the World
Com. Joseph Beckerman
Poster for Battle for the Planet of the Apes
MOVIE

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

5.7(1.1K)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Mandemus
Poster for Of Mice and Men
MOVIE

Of Mice and Men

7.5(0.0K)
Of Mice and Men
Candy
Poster for Damien - Omen II
MOVIE

Damien - Omen II

6.4(0.8K)
Damien - Omen II
Bill Atherton
Poster for Suddenly, Love
MOVIE

Suddenly, Love

8.3(0.0K)
Suddenly, Love
Mr. Graham
Poster for The Kiss
MOVIE

The Kiss

6.4(0.0K)
The Kiss
Pierre Lassalle
Poster for Shakedown
MOVIE

Shakedown

9.0(0.0K)
Shakedown
Bob Sanderson
Poster for The Doorway to Hell
MOVIE

The Doorway to Hell

6.5(0.0K)
The Doorway to Hell
Louie Ricarno
Poster for Donovan's Brain
MOVIE

Donovan's Brain

6.2(0.0K)
Donovan's Brain
Dr. Patrick J. Cory

Production

Gallery

Lew Ayres portrait
Lew Ayres portrait
Lew Ayres portrait