1908-12-28 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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.
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Checking Out: Grand Hotel | Self (archive footage) | 2004-02-03 |
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Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart | Professor Cabel | 1994-03-25 |
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Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker | actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1991-10-28 |
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Cast the First Stone | Martin | 1989-11-13 |
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Under Siege | John Pace | 1986-02-09 |
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Geschundenes Zelluloid - Das Schicksal des Kinoklassikers "Im Westen nichts Neues" | Himself | 1984-01-01 |
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Don Camillo | Doc | 1984-02-08 |
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Of Mice and Men | Candy | 1981-11-29 |
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Reunion | Bob Hollander | 1980-10-14 |
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Letters from Frank | Dan Miller | 1979-11-22 |
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The Story of Noah | Noah | 1978-11-19 |
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Battlestar Galactica | President Adar | 1978-09-16 |
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Damien - Omen II | Bill Atherton | 1978-06-09 |
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Suddenly, Love | Mr. Graham | 1978-12-04 |
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End of the World | Com. Joseph Beckerman | 1977-08-01 |
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Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident | Allen Dulles | 1976-09-29 |
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That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
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The Questor Tapes | Vaslovik | 1974-01-23 |
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Heatwave! | Dr. Grayson | 1974-01-27 |
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The Stranger | Prof. Dylan MacAuley | 1973-02-26 |
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Battle for the Planet of the Apes | Mandemus | 1973-06-15 |
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She Waits | Dr. Sam Carpenter | 1972-01-28 |
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The Man | Noah Calvin | 1972-07-19 |
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The Biscuit Eater | Mr. Ames | 1972-03-22 |
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Earth II | President Charles Carter Durant | 1971-11-28 |
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Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities | Dr. Andrew Swanson | 1969-03-26 |
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Cocoon | The Governor | 1968-09-20 |
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The Carpetbaggers | 'Mac' McAllister | 1964-04-08 |
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Advise & Consent | The Vice President | 1962-06-06 |
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Dr. Kildare (Unaired Pilot) | Dr. Kildare | 1960-01-01 |
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One Against Many | Dr. John Mohler | 1956-03-07 |
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No Escape | John Howard Tracy | 1953-07-31 |
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Donovan's Brain | Dr. Patrick J. Cory | 1953-09-30 |
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New Mexico | Capt. Hunt | 1951-05-18 |
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The Capture | Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown | 1950-04-08 |
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Johnny Belinda | Dr. Robert Richardson | 1948-09-14 |
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The Unfaithful | Larry Hannaford | 1947-07-01 |
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The Way of Peace | Narrator (voice) | 1947-04-23 |
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The Dark Mirror | Dr. Scott Elliott | 1946-10-17 |
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Blow-Ups of 1946 | Self | 1946-12-31 |
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Dr. Kildare's Victory | Dr. James Kildare | 1942-02-04 |
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Fingers at the Window | Oliver Duffy | 1942-04-22 |
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Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day | Dr. James Kildare | 1941-08-22 |
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Maisie Was a Lady | Bob Rawlston | 1941-01-10 |
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The People Vs. Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare | 1941-05-02 |
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Hollywood: Style Center of the World | Self | 1940-05-29 |
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Dr. Kildare's Strange Case | Dr. James Kildare | 1940-04-12 |
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A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound | Self | 1940-10-24 |
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Dr. Kildare Goes Home | Dr. James Kildare | 1940-09-06 |
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The Golden Fleecing | Henry Twinkle | 1940-08-16 |
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Dr. Kildare's Crisis | Dr. James Kildare | 1940-11-29 |
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From the Ends of the Earth | Self | 1939-05-28 |
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Remember? | Sky Ames | 1939-12-19 |
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Calling Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare | 1939-04-28 |
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Broadway Serenade | James Geoffrey 'Jimmy' Seymour | 1939-04-07 |
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The Ice Follies of 1939 | Eddie Burgess | 1939-03-10 |
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These Glamour Girls | Philip S. Griswold III | 1939-08-18 |
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The Secret of Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare | 1939-11-24 |
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Rich Man, Poor Girl | Henry Thayer | 1938-08-12 |
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Holiday | Ned Seton | 1938-05-26 |
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Spring Madness | Sam Thatcher | 1938-11-11 |
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King of the Newsboys | Jerry Flynn | 1938-03-18 |
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Scandal Street | Joe McKnight | 1938-02-11 |
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Young Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare | 1938-10-14 |
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The Crime Nobody Saw | Nick Milburn | 1937-03-12 |
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Hold 'Em Navy | Tommy Graham | 1937-11-04 |
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The Last Train from Madrid | Bill Dexter | 1937-06-25 |
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Lady Be Careful | Chester aka Dynamite | 1936-09-03 |
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The Leathernecks Have Landed | Woodruff 'Woody' Davis | 1936-02-17 |
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Murder with Pictures | Kent Murdock | 1936-09-24 |
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Panic on the Air | Jerry Franklin | 1936-04-10 |
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Shakedown | Bob Sanderson | 1936-07-17 |
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Silk Hat Kid | Eddie Howard | 1935-07-19 |
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Spring Tonic | Caleb Enix | 1935-06-27 |
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The Lottery Lover | Cadet Frank Harrington | 1935-02-05 |
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She Learned About Sailors | Larry Wilson | 1934-06-28 |
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Cross Country Cruise | Norman Winthrop | 1934-01-16 |
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Let’s Be Ritzy | Jimmy Sterling | 1934-05-01 |
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Servants' Entrance | Erik Landstrom | 1934-09-25 |
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State Fair | Pat Gilbert | 1933-02-10 |
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My Weakness | Ronnie Gregory | 1933-09-22 |
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Don't Bet on Love | Bill McCaffrey | 1933-06-30 |
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Okay, America! | Larry Wayne | 1932-09-08 |
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Night World | Michael Rand | 1932-05-04 |
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The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood | Lew Ayres | 1932-03-27 |
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The Impatient Maiden | Dr. Myron Brown | 1932-03-01 |
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The Spirit of Notre Dame | Edward Aloysius "Bucky" O'Brian | 1931-10-13 |
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Heaven on Earth | States | 1931-11-27 |
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Many a Slip | Jerry Brooks | 1931-03-02 |
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Up for Murder | Robert Marshall | 1931-05-26 |
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Iron Man | Kid Mason | 1931-04-29 |
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The Doorway to Hell | Louie Ricarno | 1930-10-18 |
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Common Clay | Hugh Fullerton | 1930-08-01 |
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East Is West | Billy Benson | 1930-10-23 |
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All Quiet on the Western Front | Paul Bäumer | 1930-04-29 |
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The Kiss | Pierre Lassalle | 1929-11-15 |
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Big News | Copyboy (uncredited) | 1929-09-06 |
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The Sophomore | Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited) | 1929-08-24 |
