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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Don Camillo | Doc | 1984-02-08 |
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Geschundenes Zelluloid - Das Schicksal des Kinoklassikers "Im Westen nichts Neues" | Himself | 1984-01-01 |
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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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Battlestar Galactica | President Adar | 1978-09-16 |
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Suddenly, Love | Mr. Graham | 1978-12-04 |
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Damien – Omen II | Bill Atherton | 1978-06-09 |
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The Story of Noah | Noah | 1978-11-19 |
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End of the World | Com. Joseph Beckerman | 1977-08-01 |
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That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
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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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Heatwave! | Dr. Grayson | 1974-01-27 |
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The Questor Tapes | Vaslovik | 1974-01-23 |
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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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The Biscuit Eater | Mr. Ames | 1972-03-22 |
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The Man | Noah Calvin | 1972-07-19 |
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She Waits | Dr. Sam Carpenter | 1972-01-28 |
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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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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 Way of Peace | Narrator (voice) | 1947-04-23 |
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The Unfaithful | Larry Hannaford | 1947-07-01 |
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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 Goes Home | Dr. James Kildare | 1940-09-06 |
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Dr. Kildare's Crisis | Dr. James Kildare | 1940-11-29 |
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Dr. Kildare's Strange Case | Dr. James Kildare | 1940-04-12 |
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The Golden Fleecing | Henry Twinkle | 1940-08-16 |
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A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound | Self | 1940-10-24 |
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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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Broadway Serenade | James Geoffrey 'Jimmy' Seymour | 1939-04-07 |
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These Glamour Girls | Philip S. Griswold III | 1939-08-18 |
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Calling Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare | 1939-04-28 |
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The Ice Follies of 1939 | Eddie Burgess | 1939-03-10 |
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The Secret of Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare | 1939-11-24 |
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King of the Newsboys | Jerry Flynn | 1938-03-18 |
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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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Young Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare | 1938-10-14 |
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Scandal Street | Joe McKnight | 1938-02-11 |
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The Last Train from Madrid | Bill Dexter | 1937-06-11 |
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Hold 'Em Navy | Tommy Graham | 1937-11-04 |
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The Crime Nobody Saw | Nick Milburn | 1937-03-12 |
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Shakedown | Bob Sanderson | 1936-07-17 |
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Lady Be Careful | Chester aka Dynamite | 1936-09-03 |
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Murder with Pictures | Kent Murdock | 1936-09-24 |
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The Leathernecks Have Landed | Woodruff 'Woody' Davis | 1936-02-17 |
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Panic on the Air | Jerry Franklin | 1936-04-10 |
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The Lottery Lover | Cadet Frank Harrington | 1935-02-05 |
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Spring Tonic | Caleb Enix | 1935-06-27 |
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Silk Hat Kid | Eddie Howard | 1935-07-19 |
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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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She Learned About Sailors | Larry Wilson | 1934-06-28 |
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Don't Bet on Love | Bill McCaffrey | 1933-06-30 |
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My Weakness | Ronnie Gregory | 1933-09-22 |
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State Fair | Pat Gilbert | 1933-02-10 |
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The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood | Lew Ayres | 1932-03-27 |
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Night World | Michael Rand | 1932-05-04 |
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Okay, America! | Larry Wayne | 1932-09-08 |
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The Impatient Maiden | Dr. Myron Brown | 1932-03-01 |
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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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Heaven on Earth | States | 1931-11-27 |
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The Spirit of Notre Dame | Edward Aloysius "Bucky" O'Brian | 1931-10-13 |
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Many a Slip | Jerry Brooks | 1931-03-02 |
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All Quiet on the Western Front | Paul Bäumer | 1930-04-29 |
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The Doorway to Hell | Louie Ricarno | 1930-10-18 |
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East Is West | Billy Benson | 1930-10-23 |
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Common Clay | Hugh Fullerton | 1930-08-01 |
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The Kiss | Pierre Lassalle | 1929-11-15 |
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The Sophomore | Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited) | 1929-08-24 |
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Big News | Copyboy (uncredited) | 1929-09-06 |