Lewis Frederick Ayres III, known as Lew Ayres, was an American film and television actor whose career spanned over 65 years. Best known for his role as German soldier Paul Baumer in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and the role of Dr. Kildare in 9 films. For his role in the film "Johnny Belinda" (1948) won an Oscar. By religion - Lutheran.
Biography
Lew Eyres was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His parents Irma Bevernik and Louis Ayres divorced when the boy was 4 years old. Shortly thereafter, his father, an amateur musician and reporter, remarried.
Lew and her mother, stepfather William Gilmore and half-sister moved to San Diego, California.
In high school, Liu formed a small group that toured Mexico. Ayrs never received a secondary education. I tried to start an acting career, but my main income was as a musician. Liu has played the banjo and guitar for large bands, including the Henry Halstead Orchestra. He recorded one of the earliest shorts for the Vitafon film, Carnival Night in Paris (Warner Brothers, 1927).
Subsequently, Liu left music in order to devote all his strength to the career of an actor.
Career
Aires was taken under his patronage by the talented agent Ivan Kan. He made his debut with Greta Garbo in The Kiss (1929), and played his first major role in the original version of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). It was this role that made him famous and secured a contract with Universal Studios.
He starred in several "forgotten" B films for Universal Studios, as well as Iron Man (1931) with Jean Harlow. His most successful roles at the time were in films filmed in other studios. These are Doorway to Hell (1930) with James Kapney, State Fair (1933) with Janet Gaynor, and Servant Entrance (1934), which combines live actors and Walt Disney animation. They were all filmed by Fox Films.
Lew Ayres soon left Universal Studios to sign with Fox Films. Already in 1934, he was a second-tier star in this film company.
To begin a second career as a director, Ayres signed a contract with Republic Pictures and directed the film Heart in Captivity (1936), starring James Dunn and May Clarke. But soon he moved to Paramount Pictures, and in 1938 - to Metro Goldwin Mayers. In the same 1938 he starred in Paramount as an actor in the film "Vacation" (1938).
His work in the latest film has attracted significant attention from critics and the public and Metro Goldwin Mayers contracts with Lew to star in the series as Dr. James Kielder. As a result, in the period from 1938 to 1942, he starred in 9 episodes of this series, while playing roles in light comedies for Metro Goldwin Mayers: "Spring Madness" (1938), "Rich Man, Poor Man" (1938), "Icy Madness" (1939) and Fingers at the Window (1942).
In March 1942, he refused to participate in World War II "for reasons of conscience", and this circumstance almost destroyed his reputation. Therefore, he had to serve as a non-combatant from 1942 to 1946 to restore his name.
Liu returned to filming in 1946, starring in The Dark Mirror (1946) with Olivia Havilland, The Infidels (1947) with Anne Sheridan. For his role in Johnny Belinda (1948), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Leading Actor, while his co-star was nominated for Best Leading Actress.
Then Ayres gradually moved to television, playing guest roles in various anthology series. In 1958, Liu worked in 11 original episodes of the anthological television series, Western, "Lynching." He was offered the role of Dr. Kielder on the NBC series, but for various reasons the offer was withdrawn in favor of Richard Chamberlain. In 1964, he appeared as Vice President in Counseling and Consent and in the film Carpetbaggers (1964). By this time, he finally became a television actor, playing only cameo roles.
For his guest role in the TV series "Kung Fu" (episode "Vanishing Image", 1974) Ayres was nominated for an Emmy.
The documentary Altars of the East (1976), directed by Liu as part of the series Altars of Peace, brought Eastern philosophical beliefs on screen and earned him critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary 1977.
In the same 1977, Ayres starred in the episode "Bionic Woman" of the TV series "Doomsday - Tomorrow" (1977) as a guest actor as Elijah Cooper, an elderly nuclear physicist who is trying to blackmail the whole world.
In 1985 he played the regular role of Robert Wagner's father in the short series Lime Street. The last role for Liu was the same role, but in the 1994 film "Hart and Hart: Crimes of the Heart".
Participation in World War II
In March 1942, Ayres refused to participate in World War II "for reasons of conscience." As expected, the fact that the Hollywood actor who opposed the war caused a storm of public outrage and outrage.
Within a month, Liu requested military permission to serve as a non-combat medic. However, the military was also outraged, since their policy did not imply the fact that the military could ask for a place of service at will.
As a result, in May 1942 Ayres was enlisted in the US Army as a first aid instructor. Thereafter, he was demoted to the Pacific as an assistant medical officer and chaplain. During the invasion of Leyte, he helped establish evacuation hospitals and helped soldiers and civilians in the Philippines and New Guinea. All the money he earned as a military man, Liu donated to the American Red Cross.
During three and a half years of service in the Medical Corps, Ayres was able to restore his name and receive three Battle Stars. After the war, he was able to resume his career as an actor and director, participated in the filming of many films, but never achieved his pre-war Hollywood fame.
Personal life
Lew Eyres has been married three times. The first wife is actress Lola Lane, whose marriage lasted from 1931 to 1933. The second wife is actress Ginger Rogers, whose marriage lasted from 1934 to 1940. He met her on the set of the film Don't Hold on to Love in 1933. They parted with both the first and second spouses much earlier than they formalized an official divorce.
The third wife, actress Diana Hall, married Liu at a later age - in 1964. She lived with him until his death in 1996. They had one child - a son, Justin, born in 1968.
Death
In 1960, Lew Ayres was immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars. His movie star is located at 6385 Hollywood Boulevard, and his radio star is at 1724 Vinnaya Street.
Ayres died on December 30, 1996, two days after his 88th birthday. His wife survived Liu by 32 years. The once famous actor is buried under a simple headstone at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.
