Image: Wikimedia CommonsLew Ayres
American actor (1908–1996)
- Born December 28, 1908
- 4 movies
Lew Ayres (28 December 1908 to 30 December 1996) was an American actor from Minneapolis whose film and television career spanned 65 years. A banjo player in dance bands before he acted, he became a star as the young German soldier Paul Bäumer in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). He played Dr. James Kildare in nine MGM films and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Johnny Belinda (1948). During the Second World War he declared himself a conscientious objector, then served as an army medic and chaplain's assistant in the Pacific.
Lew Ayres appears in 4 films in The Rerun, from 1946 to 1973. Most of that work is in drama, action and sci-fi.
Known for
- All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Paul Bäumer. The 1930 war film in which he is best known.
- Johnny Belinda (1948). The role that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
- The Dark Mirror (1946). A 1946 film credit from an actor whose career spanned 65 years.
Career
Ayres was discovered in a nightclub, cast opposite Greta Garbo in The Kiss, then made a star by All Quiet on the Western Front. The 1930s brought The Doorway to Hell, State Fair opposite Janet Gaynor and some work as a director. His turn in Holiday (1938) led MGM to sign him for the Kildare series, which ran until 1942, when his conscientious objector stance caused a public outcry. He served three and a half years in the Medical Corps, including the Leyte landings.
After the war he returned in The Dark Mirror opposite Olivia de Havilland and earned his Oscar nomination for Johnny Belinda. Later work moved to television, with an Emmy nomination for Kung Fu and a Golden Globe for his documentary Altars of the World.
Where to start
- Johnny Belinda (1948): his Oscar-nominated doctor, opposite Jane Wyman’s Oscar-winning lead.
- The Dark Mirror (1946): a psychologist caught between identical twins in a sleek noir.
- All Quiet on the Western Front (1930): the anti-war landmark that made him.
- Holiday (1938): a quietly devastating supporting part beside Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
Movies
Quick answers
- What movies and TV shows has Lew Ayres been in?
- Lew Ayres appears in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), The Carpetbaggers (1964), Johnny Belinda (1948) and The Dark Mirror (1946) on The Remote.
- When was Lew Ayres born?
- Lew Ayres was born on 28 December 1908.
Before you go