Lew Ayres

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Lew Ayres (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor.

Born Lewis Frederick Ayre III in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in San Diego, California, Ayres began acting in bit player roles in films in 1927. He played opposite Greta Garbo in 1929's The Kiss, but it was his starring role in 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front which made him a star. He played the title role in Young Dr. Kildare in 1938, and became a matinee idol, starring in several Kildare films.

Mirroring his anti-war and medical roles in his film work, Ayres was a pacifist who sought to become a member of the Medical Corps during World War II. The military would not guarantee him that position, so he declared as a conscientious objector, and reported to a CPS camp. Having such a well-known public figure take this stance was poor publicity for the military, and it led to changes in the rules, at which point Ayres was then able to join the Medical Corps, serving in the Pacific and in New Guinea.

In 1948 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Johnny Belinda, but his career was sparse after the war. Fatefully his Johnny Belinda costar, Jane Wyman fell in love with Ayres and left her husband, Ronald Reagan, for him, albeit unsuccessfully.

He was offered the part of Doctor Kildare in a television series, but his (now prescient) request that the show not have cigarette ads torpedoed that.

He played the role of the governor in the pilot episode of the TV series, Hawaii Five-O. He chose not to move to Hawaii to do the series, but did appear in the show in other roles from time to time. He also had many guest roles in a variety of other TV series.

His 1976 documentary film Altars of the World brought his Eastern philosophical beliefs to the screen and earned him critical acclaim. He played a pacifist politician in the original Battlestar Galactica film in 1978.

Late in life, he appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as the father of the Murray Slaughter character played by Gavin MacLeod. The episode involved Mary's May-November romance with Mr. Slaughter, Senior.

Ayres was married three times. He was married to actress Lola Lane from 1931 until 1933 and to actress Ginger Rogers from 1934 until 1940. His third marriage, to Diana Hall, lasted from 1964 until his death from complications while in a coma at the age of 88.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6385 Hollywood Blvd.

[edit] External links

• Lew Ayres at the Internet Movie Database

• [1] Classic Images

• Find A Grave

Lew Ayres was discovered in 1927 playing banjo in Henry Halstead's Big Band Orchestra as Halstead was recording with Warner Brothers the 1st Movie Short with talking sound called "Carnival Night in Paris" Photo of this band with Ayres playing Banjo is available.