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.
Career Statisics
| Season | Age | Movie | Role | Result | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 41 | Johnny Belinda (1948) | Leading Actor | Nom | 0 | |
| Career | 0 |
Transaction History
| Date | Location | Team | Receives | Team | Receives | Team | Receives |
|---|
Credits
| Year | Title | Character | |
|---|---|---|---|
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1994-03-25 | Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart | Professor Cabel |
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1989-11-13 | Cast the First Stone | Martin |
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1986-02-09 | Under Siege | John Pace |
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1984-02-08 | Don Camillo | Doc |
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1981-11-29 | Of Mice and Men | Candy |
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1980-10-14 | Reunion | Bob Hollander |
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1979-11-22 | Letters from Frank | Dan Miller |
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1978-12-04 | Suddenly, Love | Mr. Graham |
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1978-11-19 | The Story of Noah | Noah |
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1978-09-16 | Battlestar Galactica | President Adar |
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1978-06-09 | Damien - Omen II | Bill Atherton |
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1977-08-01 | End of the World | Com. Joseph Beckerman |
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1976-09-29 | Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident | Allen Dulles |
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1974-01-27 | Heatwave! | Dr. Grayson |
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1974-01-23 | The Questor Tapes | Vaslovik |
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1973-06-15 | Battle for the Planet of the Apes | Mandemus |
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1973-02-26 | The Stranger | Prof. Dylan MacAuley |
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1972-07-19 | The Man | Noah Calvin |
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1972-03-22 | The Biscuit Eater | Mr. Ames |
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1972-01-28 | She Waits | Dr. Sam Carpenter |
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1971-11-28 | Earth II | President Charles Carter Durant |
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1969-03-26 | Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities | Dr. Andrew Swanson |
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1968-09-20 | Cocoon | The Governor |
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1964-04-08 | The Carpetbaggers | 'Mac' McAllister |
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1962-06-06 | Advise & Consent | The Vice President |
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1960-01-01 | Dr. Kildare (Unaired Pilot) | Dr. Kildare |
|
1956-03-07 | One Against Many | Dr. John Mohler |
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1953-09-30 | Donovan's Brain | Dr. Patrick J. Cory |
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1953-07-31 | No Escape | John Howard Tracy |
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1951-05-18 | New Mexico | Capt. Hunt |
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1950-04-08 | The Capture | Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown |
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1948-09-14 | Johnny Belinda | Dr. Robert Richardson |
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1947-07-01 | The Unfaithful | Larry Hannaford |
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1946-10-17 | The Dark Mirror | Dr. Scott Elliott |
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1942-04-22 | Fingers at the Window | Oliver Duffy |
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1942-02-04 | Dr. Kildare's Victory | Dr. James Kildare |
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1941-08-22 | Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day | Dr. James Kildare |
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1941-05-02 | The People Vs. Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare |
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1941-01-10 | Maisie Was a Lady | Bob Rawlston |
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1940-11-29 | Dr. Kildare's Crisis | Dr. James Kildare |
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1940-09-06 | Dr. Kildare Goes Home | Dr. James Kildare |
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1940-08-16 | The Golden Fleecing | Henry Twinkle |
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1940-04-12 | Dr. Kildare's Strange Case | Dr. James Kildare |
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1939-12-19 | Remember? | Sky Ames |
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1939-11-24 | The Secret of Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare |
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1939-08-18 | These Glamour Girls | Philip S. Griswold III |
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1939-04-28 | Calling Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare |
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1939-04-07 | Broadway Serenade | James Geoffrey 'Jimmy' Seymour |
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1939-03-10 | The Ice Follies of 1939 | Eddie Burgess |
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1938-11-11 | Spring Madness | Sam Thatcher |
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1938-10-14 | Young Dr. Kildare | Dr. James Kildare |
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1938-08-12 | Rich Man, Poor Girl | Henry Thayer |
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1938-05-26 | Holiday | Ned Seton |
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1938-03-18 | King of the Newsboys | Jerry Flynn |
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1938-02-11 | Scandal Street | Joe McKnight |
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1937-11-04 | Hold 'Em Navy | Tommy Graham |
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1937-06-25 | The Last Train from Madrid | Bill Dexter |
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1937-03-12 | The Crime Nobody Saw | Nick Milburn |
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1936-09-24 | Murder with Pictures | Kent Murdock |
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1936-09-03 | Lady Be Careful | Chester aka Dynamite |
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1936-07-17 | Shakedown | Bob Sanderson |
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1936-04-10 | Panic on the Air | Jerry Franklin |
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1936-02-17 | The Leathernecks Have Landed | Woodruff 'Woody' Davis |
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1935-07-19 | Silk Hat Kid | Eddie Howard |
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1935-06-27 | Spring Tonic | Caleb Enix |
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1935-02-05 | The Lottery Lover | Cadet Frank Harrington |
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1934-09-25 | Servants' Entrance | Erik Landstrom |
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1934-06-28 | She Learned About Sailors | Larry Wilson |
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1934-05-01 | Let’s Be Ritzy | Jimmy Sterling |
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1934-01-16 | Cross Country Cruise | Norman Winthrop |
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1933-09-22 | My Weakness | Ronnie Gregory |
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1933-06-30 | Don't Bet on Love | Bill McCaffrey |
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1933-02-10 | State Fair | Pat Gilbert |
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1932-09-08 | Okay, America! | Larry Wayne |
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1932-05-04 | Night World | Michael Rand |
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1932-03-27 | The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood | Lew Ayres |
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1932-03-01 | The Impatient Maiden | Dr. Myron Brown |
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1931-11-27 | Heaven on Earth | States |
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1931-10-13 | The Spirit of Notre Dame | Edward Aloysius "Bucky" O'Brian |
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1931-05-26 | Up for Murder | Robert Marshall |
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1931-04-29 | Iron Man | Kid Mason |
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1931-03-02 | Many a Slip | Jerry Brooks |
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1930-10-23 | East Is West | Billy Benson |
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1930-10-18 | The Doorway to Hell | Louie Ricarno |
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1930-08-01 | Common Clay | Hugh Fullerton |
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1930-04-29 | All Quiet on the Western Front | Paul Bäumer |
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1929-11-15 | The Kiss | Pierre Lassalle |
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1929-09-06 | Big News | Copyboy (uncredited) |
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1929-08-24 | The Sophomore | Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited) |