HWOF

1930s

Source: nndb.com

Lew Ayres was an American actor. A college dropout, Ayres was found by a talent scout in the Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles and entered Hollywood as a bit player in 1927. It was not before long that he was a leading man opposite Greta Garbo in The Kiss (1929). However, 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, Ayres, the popular star of Young Dr. Kildare (1938) and subsequent Dr. Kildare films, was drafted, he was a conscientous objector. The American public was outraged, and theaters vowed to never 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 his role in Johnny Belinda (1948) won him an Academy Award nomination as best actor. He continued to act, but in the 1970’s put his long experience into a project to bring Eastern philosophy to the West: the resulting film Altars of the World (1976) won critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award.

• Born: Lewis Frederick Ayres III December 28, 1908 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
• Died: December 30, 1996 (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
• Occupation: Actor
• Years active: 1929–1994
• Spouse: Lola Lane (m. 1931–1933) «start: (1931)–end+1: (1934)»“Marriage: Lola Lane to Lew Ayres” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Ayres) (divorced) Ginger Rogers (m. 1934–1940) «start: (1934)–end+1: (1941)»“Marriage: Ginger Rogers to Lew Ayres” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Ayres) (divorced) Diana Hall (m. 1964–1996) «start: (1964)–end+1: (1997)»“Marriage: Diana Hall to Lew Ayres” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Ayres) (his death)

Read more about Lew Ayres at Wikipedia or at the Internet Movie Database

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