Lew Ayres
Biography
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.
Known For
Columbo
1971
The Love Boat
1977
Hawaii Five-O
1969
Hawaii Five-O
1969
Hawaii Five-O
1969
Magnum, P.I.
1980
Knots Landing
1979
Little House on the Prairie
1974
L.A. Law
1986
Quincy, M.E.
1976
The A-Team
1983
Climax!
1954
Filmography
Columbo
as Howard Nicholson · 1971
The Love Boat
as Carl Hooper · 1977
Hawaii Five-O
as The Governor · 1969
Hawaii Five-O
as Dr. Elias Haig · 1969
Hawaii Five-O
as Comm. Reginald Blackwell · 1969
Magnum, P.I.
as Sidney Dollinger · 1980
Knots Landing
as Andrew Douglas · 1979
Little House on the Prairie
· 1974
L.A. Law
as Lorimar Henderson · 1986
Quincy, M.E.
· 1976
The A-Team
as Bernie Greene · 1983
Climax!
as Bob Kilgore · 1954
The Virginian
as Judge John Markham · 1962
My Three Sons
· 1960
Simon & Simon
· 1981
Hotel
as Nelson O'Neil · 1982
Highway to Heaven
· 1984
Ben Casey
· 1961
Cagney & Lacey
· 1982
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
· 1970
Route 66
· 1960
The Big Valley
as Sheriff Roy Kingston · 1965
The Big Valley
as Jason Fleet · 1965
Trapper John, M.D.
· 1979
The F.B.I.
as Marshall Winslow · 1965
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Clint Howard · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Jud Lester · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Jesse Martin · 1956
Fame
· 1982
Gunsmoke
as Jonathan Cole · 1955
Omnibus
· 1952
The Streets of San Francisco
· 1972
The Bionic Woman
· 1976
Kraft Suspense Theatre
as Dr. Thomas Clay · 1963
Laramie
· 1959
Battlestar Galactica
as President Adar · 1978
Wonder Woman
as Dr. Kenneth Wilson · 1975
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
· 1958
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
as Howard Moon · 1959
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
as Dr. Paul Harris · 1960
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
· 1971
MGM Parade
as self · 1955
McMillan & Wife
· 1971
Cavalcade of America
as Matt Needham · 1952
Screen Director's Playhouse
as Dr. John Mohler · 1955
The Magician
as Max Braden · 1973
Finder of Lost Loves
as Oliver Hawthorne · 1984
Salem's Lot
as Jason Burke · 1979
Bus Stop
· 1961
Here Come the Brides
· 1968
ABC Stage 67
as Arthur · 1966
Flying High
as Wilbur Dodson · 1978
Slattery's People
· 1964
Damien - Omen II
as Bill Atherton · 1978
The Fantastic Journey
as Rayat · 1977
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
as Mandemus · 1973
All Quiet on the Western Front
as Paul Bäumer · 1930
The Interns
· 1970
Saints and Sinners
· 1962
Hawkins
as Gus Bitterman · 1973
MGM: When the Lion Roars
· 1992
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
· 1951
Lime Street
as Henry Wade Culver · 1985
Battlestar Galactica
as President Adar · 1978
San Francisco International Airport
· 1970
Outlaws
· 1986
Holiday
as Ned Seton · 1938
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage) · 1976
Advise & Consent
as The Vice President · 1962
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
as Self · 1940
Fingers at the Window
as Oliver Duffy · 1942
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
as James Kildare · 1940
The Carpetbaggers
as Mac McAllister · 1964
The Biscuit Eater
as Mr. Ames · 1972
Dr. Kildare's Victory
as Dr. James Kildare · 1942
The Last Train from Madrid
as Bill Dexter · 1937
Johnny Belinda
as Robert Richardson · 1948
Don Camillo
as Doc · 1984
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
as Allen Dulles · 1976
End of the World
as Com. Joseph Beckerman · 1977
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1991
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
as Self · 1940
Kung Fu
as Beaumont · 1972
The Stranger
as Prof. Dylan MacAuley · 1973
Cast the First Stone
as Martin · 1989
The Unfaithful
as Larry Hannaford · 1947
Maisie Was a Lady
as Bob Rawlston · 1941
Donovan's Brain
as Dr. Patrick J. Cory · 1953
Rich Man, Poor Girl
as Henry Thayer · 1938
The Questor Tapes
as Vaslovik · 1974
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
as James Kildare · 1939
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
as Self (archive footage) · 2004
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare · 1941
The Dark Mirror
as Scott Elliott · 1946
The Doorway to Hell
as Louie Ricarno · 1930
From the Ends of the Earth
as Self · 1939
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
as Dr. James Kildare · 1940
The Man
as Noah Calvin · 1972
King of the Newsboys
as Jerry Flynn · 1938
The Story of Noah
as Noah · 1978
The Ice Follies of 1939
as Eddie Burgess · 1939
Calling Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare · 1939
Panic on the Air
as Jerry · 1936
Let’s Be Ritzy
as Jimmy Sterling · 1934
Under Siege
as John Pace · 1986
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
as Dr. Andrew Swanson · 1969
The Leathernecks Have Landed
as Woodruff 'Woody' Davis · 1936
Blow-Ups of 1946
as Self · 1946
Of Mice and Men
as Candy · 1981
The Spirit of Notre Dame
as Edward Aloysius "Bucky" O'Brian · 1931
The Crime Nobody Saw
as Nick Milburn · 1937
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
as Dr. James Kildare · 1940
Don't Bet on Love
as Bill McCaffrey · 1933
The Capture
as Lin Vanner / Lindley Brown · 1950
The Ken Murray Show
· 1950
Letters from Frank
as Dan Miller · 1979
East Is West
as Billy Benson · 1930
The Family Nobody Wanted
as Carl Doss · 1956
New Mexico
as Captain Hunt · 1951
The Way of Peace
as Narrator (voice) · 1947
Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart
as Professor Cabel · 1994
Heatwave!
as Dr. Grayson · 1974
Earth II
as President Charles Carter Durant · 1971
Reunion
as Bob Hollander · 1980
The Lottery Lover
as Cadet Frank Harrington · 1935
State Fair
as Pat Gilbert · 1933
Night World
as Michael Rand · 1932
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
as Dr. James Kildare · 1941
Broadway Serenade
as James Geoffrey 'Jimmy' Seymour · 1939
The Kiss
as Pierre · 1929
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood
as Lew Ayres · 1932
She Waits
as Dr. Sam Carpenter · 1972
Cocoon
as The Governor · 1968
Hold 'Em Navy
as Tommy Graham · 1937
She Learned About Sailors
as Larry Wilson · 1934
The Impatient Maiden
as Dr. Myron Brown · 1932
Spring Madness
as Sam Thatcher · 1938
Suddenly, Love
as Mr. Graham · 1978
The Golden Fleecing
as Henry Twinkle · 1940
These Glamour Girls
as Philip S. Griswold III · 1939
Heaven on Earth
as States · 1931
Iron Man
as Kid Mason · 1931
Bruised Celluloid
as Himself · 1984
Young Dr. Kildare
as Dr. James Kildare · 1938
Murder with Pictures
as Kent Murdock · 1936
Lady Be Careful
as Chester aka Dynamite · 1936
Common Clay
as Hugh Fullerton · 1930
Okay, America!
as Larry Wayne · 1932
Servants' Entrance
as Erik Landstrom · 1934
Remember?
as Sky Ames · 1939
Big News
as Copyboy (uncredited) · 1929
Shakedown
as Bob Sanderson · 1936
Scandal Street
as Joe McKnight · 1938
No Escape
as John Howard Tracy · 1953
Many a Slip
as Jerry Brooks · 1931
Up for Murder
as Robert Marshall · 1931
Spring Tonic
as Caleb Enix · 1935
The Upper Chamber
· 1963
Silk Hat Kid
as Eddie Howard · 1935
Cross Country Cruise
as Norman Winthrop · 1934
The Sophomore
as Sophomore Fraternity Brother (uncredited) · 1929
My Weakness
as Ronnie Gregory · 1933
One Against Many
as Dr. John Mohler · 1956