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.
99 movies · 59 shows
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
2004·7.0
Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart
1994·6.9
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991·8.0
Cast the First Stone
1989·7.0
Under Siege
1986·7.5
Don Camillo
1984·5.7
Bruised Celluloid
1984·0.0
Of Mice and Men
1981·7.5
Reunion
1980·8.0
Letters from Frank
1979·8.0
Suddenly, Love
1978·8.3
The Story of Noah
1978·2.0
Battlestar Galactica
1978·6.9
Damien - Omen II
1978·6.4
End of the World
1977·3.8
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
1976·7.0
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976·7.0
Heatwave!
1974·6.1
The Questor Tapes
1974·5.9
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973·5.7
The Stranger
1973·3.9
The Man
1972·6.5
The Biscuit Eater
1972·6.3
She Waits
1972·5.9
Earth II
1971·5.6
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
1969·10.0
Cocoon
1968·8.5
The Carpetbaggers
1964·5.9
The Upper Chamber
1963·0.0
Advise & Consent
1962·7.2
The Family Nobody Wanted
1956·0.0
One Against Many
1956·0.0
Donovan's Brain
1953·6.2
No Escape
1953·4.7
New Mexico
1951·3.6
The Capture
1950·6.2
Johnny Belinda
1948·6.8
The Unfaithful
1947·5.9
The Way of Peace
1947·6.0
Blow-Ups of 1946
1946·6.0
The Dark Mirror
1946·7.0
Fingers at the Window
1942·5.7
Dr. Kildare's Victory
1942·6.2
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
1941·6.8
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
1941·7.0
Maisie Was a Lady
1941·7.0
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940·6.7
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
1940·6.8
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940·6.8
The Golden Fleecing
1940·5.9
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940·5.8
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940·4.8
Remember?
1939·6.0
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
1939·6.1
These Glamour Girls
1939·5.9
From the Ends of the Earth
1939·5.0
Calling Dr. Kildare
1939·6.6
Broadway Serenade
1939·6.6
The Ice Follies of 1939
1939·5.7
Spring Madness
1938·4.9
Young Dr. Kildare
1938·6.7
Rich Man, Poor Girl
1938·6.1
Holiday
1938·7.3
King of the Newsboys
1938·4.8
Scandal Street
1938·8.0
Hold 'Em Navy
1937·4.7
The Last Train from Madrid
1937·4.8
The Crime Nobody Saw
1937·5.5
Murder with Pictures
1936·5.4
Lady Be Careful
1936·5.5
Shakedown
1936·9.0
Panic on the Air
1936·5.8
The Leathernecks Have Landed
1936·7.0
Silk Hat Kid
1935·6.5
Spring Tonic
1935·6.5
The Lottery Lover
1935·4.3
Servants' Entrance
1934·8.0
She Learned About Sailors
1934·4.0
Let’s Be Ritzy
1934·10.0
Cross Country Cruise
1934·6.7
My Weakness
1933·7.0
Don't Bet on Love
1933·8.0
State Fair
1933·6.3
Okay, America!
1932·5.8
Night World
1932·6.8
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood
1932·7.0
The Impatient Maiden
1932·9.0
Heaven on Earth
1931·5.3
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931·7.3
Up for Murder
1931·4.8
Iron Man
1931·5.7
Many a Slip
1931·10.0
East Is West
1930·5.3
The Doorway to Hell
1930·6.5
Common Clay
1930·10.0
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930·7.8
The Kiss
1929·6.4
Big News
1929·4.5
The Sophomore
1929·5.3