Lew Ayres
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
Credits
- 2004 · Checking Out: Grand Hotel as Self (archive footage)
- 1994 · Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart as Professor Cabel
- 1992 · MGM: When the Lion Roars as
- 1991 · Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1989 · Cast the First Stone as Martin
- 1986 · Outlaws as
- 1986 · L.A. Law as Lorimar Henderson
- 1986 · Under Siege as John Pace
- 1985 · Lime Street as Henry Wade Culver
- 1984 · Finder of Lost Loves as Oliver Hawthorne
- 1984 · Highway to Heaven as
- 1984 · Don Camillo as Doc
- 1984 · Bruised Celluloid as Himself
- 1983 · The A-Team as Bernie Greene
- 1982 · Hotel as
- 1982 · Cagney & Lacey as
- 1982 · Fame as
- 1981 · Of Mice and Men as Candy
- 1981 · Simon & Simon as
- 1980 · Magnum, P.I. as
- 1980 · Reunion as Bob Hollander
- 1979 · Knots Landing as Andrew Douglas
- 1979 · Letters from Frank as Dan Miller
- 1979 · Salem's Lot as Jason Burke
- 1979 · Trapper John, M.D. as
- 1978 · Suddenly, Love as Mr. Graham
- 1978 · The Story of Noah as Noah
- 1978 · Flying High as
- 1978 · Battlestar Galactica as President Adar
- 1978 · Battlestar Galactica as President Adar
- 1978 · Damien: Omen II as Bill Atherton
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Carl Hooper
- 1977 · End of the World as Com. Joseph Beckerman
- 1977 · The Fantastic Journey as
- 1976 · Quincy, M.E. as
- 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 · The Bionic Woman as
- 1975 · Wonder Woman as Dr. Kenneth Wilson
- 1974 · Little House on the Prairie as
- 1974 · Heatwave! as Dr. Grayson
- 1974 · The Questor Tapes as Vaslovik
- 1973 · The Magician as Max Braden
- 1973 · Battle for the Planet of the Apes as Mandemus
- 1973 · Hawkins as Gus Bitterman
- 1973 · The Stranger as Prof. Dylan MacAuley
- 1972 · Kung Fu as
- 1972 · The Streets of San Francisco as
- 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 · McMillan and Wife as
- 1971 · Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law as
- 1971 · Columbo as Howard Nicholson
- 1970 · San Francisco International Airport as
- 1970 · The Mary Tyler Moore Show as
- 1970 · The Interns as
- 1969 · Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities as Dr. Andrew Swanson
- 1968 · Here Come the Brides as
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as The Governor
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as Dr. Elias Haig
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as Comm. Reginald Blackwell
- 1968 · Cocoon as The Governor
- 1966 · ABC Stage 67 as Arthur
- 1965 · The F.B.I. as Marshall Winslow
- 1965 · The Big Valley as Sheriff Roy Kingston
- 1965 · The Big Valley as Jason Fleet
- 1964 · Slattery's People as
- 1964 · The Carpetbaggers as 'Mac' McAllister
- 1963 · Kraft Suspense Theatre as Dr. Thomas Clay
- 1962 · The Virginian as Judge John Markham
- 1962 · Saints and Sinners as
- 1962 · Advise & Consent as The Vice President
- 1961 · Ben Casey as
- 1961 · Bus Stop as
- 1960 · Route 66 as
- 1960 · My Three Sons as
- 1960 · The Barbara Stanwyck Show as Dr. Paul Harris
- 1959 · The DuPont Show with June Allyson as Howard Moon
- 1959 · Laramie as
- 1958 · Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse as
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Clint Howard
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Jud Lester
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Jesse Martin
- 1956 · One Against Many as Dr. John Mohler
- 1955 · Screen Director's Playhouse as Dr. John Mohler
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Jonathan Cole
- 1954 · Climax! as Bob Kilgore
- 1953 · Donovan's Brain as Dr. Patrick J. Cory
- 1953 · No Escape as John Howard Tracy
- 1952 · Omnibus as
- 1952 · Cavalcade of America as Matt Needham
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as
- 1951 · New Mexico as Capt. Hunt
- 1950 · The Capture as Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown
- 1950 · The Ken Murray Show as
- 1948 · Johnny Belinda as Dr. Robert Richardson
- 1947 · The Unfaithful as Larry Hannaford
- 1947 · The Way of Peace as Narrator (voice)
- 1946 · Blow-Ups of 1946 as Self
- 1946 · The Dark Mirror as Dr. 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 · A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound as Self
- 1940 · Dr. Kildare Goes Home as Dr. James Kildare
- 1940 · The Golden Fleecing as Henry Twinkle
- 1940 · Hollywood: Style Center of the World as Self
- 1940 · Dr. Kildare's Strange Case as Dr. James Kildare
- 1939 · Remember? as Sky Ames
- 1939 · The Secret of Dr. Kildare as Dr. James Kildare
- 1939 · These Glamour Girls as Philip S. Griswold III
- 1939 · From the Ends of the Earth as Self
- 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 Franklin
- 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 Lassalle
- 1929 · Big News as Copyboy (uncredited)
- 1929 · The Sophomore as Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited)