Lew Ayres
Acting
157 titles
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
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
2004
Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart
1994
MGM: When the Lion Roars
1992
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991
Cast the First Stone
1989
Outlaws
1986
L.A. Law
1986
Under Siege
1986
Lime Street
1985
Finder of Lost Loves
1984
Highway to Heaven
1984
Don Camillo
1984
Bruised Celluloid
1984
The A-Team
1983
Hotel
1982
Cagney & Lacey
1982
Fame
1982
Of Mice and Men
1981
Simon & Simon
1981
Magnum, P.I.
1980
Reunion
1980
Knots Landing
1979
Letters from Frank
1979
Salem's Lot
1979
Trapper John, M.D.
1979
Suddenly, Love
1978
The Story of Noah
1978
Battlestar Galactica
1978
Flying High
1978
Battlestar Galactica
1978
Damien - Omen II
1978
The Love Boat
1977
End of the World
1977
The Fantastic Journey
1977
Quincy, M.E.
1976
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
The Bionic Woman
1976
Wonder Woman
1975
Little House on the Prairie
1974
Heatwave!
1974
The Questor Tapes
1974
The Magician
1973
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973
Hawkins
1973
The Stranger
1973
Kung Fu
1972
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
The Man
1972
The Biscuit Eater
1972
She Waits
1972
Earth II
1971
McMillan & Wife
1971
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1971
Columbo
1971
San Francisco International Airport
1970
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
1970
The Interns
1970
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
1969
Here Come the Brides
1968
Cocoon
1968
Hawaii Five-O
1968
ABC Stage 67
1966
The F.B.I.
1965
The Big Valley
1965
Slattery's People
1964
The Carpetbaggers
1964
Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963
The Virginian
1962
Saints and Sinners
1962
Advise & Consent
1962
Ben Casey
1961
Bus Stop
1961
Route 66
1960
My Three Sons
1960
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
Laramie
1959
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
The Family Nobody Wanted
1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
One Against Many
1956
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
MGM Parade
1955
Gunsmoke
1955
Climax!
1954
Donovan's Brain
1953
No Escape
1953
Omnibus
1952
Cavalcade of America
1952
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
New Mexico
1951
The Capture
1950
The Ken Murray Show
1950
Johnny Belinda
1948
The Unfaithful
1947
The Way of Peace
1947
Blow-Ups of 1946
1946
The Dark Mirror
1946
Fingers at the Window
1942
Dr. Kildare's Victory
1942
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
1941
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
1941
Maisie Was a Lady
1941
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
1940
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940
The Golden Fleecing
1940
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940
Remember?
1939
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
1939
These Glamour Girls
1939
From the Ends of the Earth
1939
Calling Dr. Kildare
1939
Broadway Serenade
1939
The Ice Follies of 1939
1939
Spring Madness
1938
Young Dr. Kildare
1938
Rich Man, Poor Girl
1938
Holiday
1938
King of the Newsboys
1938
Scandal Street
1938
Hold 'Em Navy
1937
The Last Train from Madrid
1937
The Crime Nobody Saw
1937
Murder with Pictures
1936
Lady Be Careful
1936
Shakedown
1936
Panic on the Air
1936
The Leathernecks Have Landed
1936
Silk Hat Kid
1935
Spring Tonic
1935
The Lottery Lover
1935
Servants' Entrance
1934
She Learned About Sailors
1934
Let’s Be Ritzy
1934
Cross Country Cruise
1934
My Weakness
1933
Don't Bet on Love
1933
State Fair
1933
Okay, America!
1932
Night World
1932
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood
1932
The Impatient Maiden
1932
Heaven on Earth
1931
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931
Up for Murder
1931
Iron Man
1931
Many a Slip
1931
East Is West
1930
The Doorway to Hell
1930
Common Clay
1930
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930
The Kiss
1929
Big News
1929
The Sophomore
1929