All Quiet on the Western Front1930
As Paul Bäumer
TMDb 7.8 / 10
Lew Ayres
Born
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 (99)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes1973
As Mandemus
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Damien - Omen II1978
As Bill Atherton
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Battlestar Galactica1978
As President Adar
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Advise & Consent1962
As The Vice President
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Holiday1938
As Ned Seton
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker1991
As actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
TMDb 8.0 / 10
That's Entertainment, Part II1976
As (archive footage)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Carpetbaggers1964
As Mac McAllister
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Don Camillo1984
As Doc
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Johnny Belinda1948
As Robert Richardson
TMDb 6.9 / 10
The Questor Tapes1974
As Vaslovik
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Hollywood: Style Center of the World1940
As Self
TMDb 5.8 / 10
The Biscuit Eater1972
As Mr. Ames
TMDb 6.2 / 10
The Dark Mirror1946
As Scott Elliott
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Maisie Was a Lady1941
As Bob Rawlston
TMDb 7.0 / 10
End of the World1977
As Com. Joseph Beckerman
TMDb 3.9 / 10
Fingers at the Window1942
As Oliver Duffy
TMDb 5.7 / 10
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound1940
As Self
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident1976
As Allen Dulles
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Last Train from Madrid1937
As Bill Dexter
TMDb 4.8 / 10
The Unfaithful1947
As Larry Hannaford
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Cast the First Stone1989
As Martin
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Donovan's Brain1953
As Dr. Patrick J. Cory
TMDb 6.2 / 10
The Ice Follies of 19391939
As Eddie Burgess
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Under Siege1986
As John Pace
TMDb 7.5 / 10
The Secret of Dr. Kildare1939
As James Kildare
TMDb 6.1 / 10
New Mexico1951
As Captain Hunt
TMDb 3.6 / 10
Of Mice and Men1981
As Candy
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart1994
As Professor Cabel
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Dr. Kildare Goes Home1940
As Dr. James Kildare
TMDb 6.8 / 10
The Capture1950
As Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown
TMDb 6.2 / 10
The Man1972
As Noah Calvin
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Dr. Kildare's Victory1942
As Dr. James Kildare
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Dr. Kildare's Crisis1940
As Dr. James Kildare
TMDb 6.7 / 10
From the Ends of the Earth1939
As Self
TMDb 5.0 / 10
The Doorway to Hell1930
As Louie Ricarno
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Stranger1973
As Prof. Dylan MacAuley
TMDb 3.9 / 10
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case1940
As James Kildare
TMDb 4.8 / 10
The Story of Noah1978
As Noah
TMDb 2.0 / 10
Rich Man, Poor Girl1938
As Henry Thayer
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Heatwave!1974
As Dr. Grayson
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day1941
As Dr. James Kildare
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Checking Out: Grand Hotel2004
As Self (archive footage)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Kiss1929
As Pierre
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Spirit of Notre Dame1931
As Edward Aloysius "Bucky" O'Brian
TMDb 7.3 / 10
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare1941
As Dr. James Kildare
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities1969
As Dr. Andrew Swanson
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Broadway Serenade1939
As James Geoffrey 'Jimmy' Seymour
TMDb 6.6 / 10
The Leathernecks Have Landed1936
As Woodruff 'Woody' Davis
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Golden Fleecing1940
As Henry Twinkle
TMDb 5.9 / 10
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood1932
As Lew Ayres
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Murder with Pictures1936
As Kent Murdock
TMDb 5.4 / 10
Letters from Frank1979
As Dan Miller
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Calling Dr. Kildare1939
As Dr. James Kildare
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Night World1932
As Michael Rand
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Earth II1971
As President Charles Carter Durant
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Let’s Be Ritzy1934
As Jimmy Sterling
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Cocoon1968
As The Governor
TMDb 7.7 / 10
The Way of Peace1947
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 6.0 / 10
No Escape1953
As John Howard Tracy
TMDb 4.7 / 10
Reunion1980
As Bob Hollander
TMDb 8.0 / 10
She Waits1972
As Dr. Sam Carpenter
TMDb 5.9 / 10
The Crime Nobody Saw1937
As Nick Milburn
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Don't Bet on Love1933
As Bill McCaffrey
TMDb 8.0 / 10
The Lottery Lover1935
As Cadet Frank Harrington
TMDb 4.3 / 10
East Is West1930
As Billy Benson
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Blow-Ups of 19461946
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
King of the Newsboys1938
As Jerry Flynn
TMDb 4.8 / 10
State Fair1933
As Pat Gilbert
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Spring Madness1938
As Sam Thatcher
TMDb 4.9 / 10
Iron Man1931
As Kid Mason
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Young Dr. Kildare1938
As Dr. James Kildare
TMDb 6.7 / 10
The Family Nobody Wanted1956
As Carl Doss
Suddenly, Love1978
As Mr. Graham
TMDb 8.3 / 10
Panic on the Air1936
As Jerry
TMDb 5.8 / 10
The Impatient Maiden1932
As Dr. Myron Brown
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Common Clay1930
As Hugh Fullerton
TMDb 10.0 / 10
These Glamour Girls1939
As Philip S. Griswold III
TMDb 5.9 / 10
The Sophomore1929
As Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited)
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Many a Slip1931
As Jerry Brooks
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Big News1929
As Copyboy (uncredited)
TMDb 4.5 / 10
Scandal Street1938
As Joe McKnight
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Remember?1939
As Sky Ames
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Heaven on Earth1931
As States
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Servants' Entrance1934
As Erik Landstrom
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Up for Murder1931
As Robert Marshall
TMDb 4.8 / 10
Bruised Celluloid1984
As Himself
She Learned About Sailors1934
As Larry Wilson
TMDb 4.0 / 10
Hold 'Em Navy1937
As Tommy Graham
TMDb 4.7 / 10
Spring Tonic1935
As Caleb Enix
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Okay, America!1932
As Larry Wayne
TMDb 5.8 / 10
My Weakness1933
As Ronnie Gregory
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Silk Hat Kid1935
As Eddie Howard
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Lady Be Careful1936
As Chester aka Dynamite
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Shakedown1936
As Bob Sanderson
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Cross Country Cruise1934
As Norman Winthrop
TMDb 6.7 / 10
One Against Many
One Against Many1956
As Dr. John Mohler
The Upper Chamber
The Upper Chamber1963
Filmography and biography: TMDb