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