Biography for
Lew Ayres More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

28 December 1908, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Date of Death

30 December 1996, Los Angeles, California, USA (complications from a coma)

Birth Name

Lewis Frederick Ayre III

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Biography

Born in Minneapolis he was 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 conscientous 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 1970's 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.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Bruce Cameron

Spouse

Diana Hall	(7 February 1964 - 30 December 1996) (his death) 1 child
Ginger Rogers	(13 November 1934 - 13 March 1940) (divorced)
Lola Lane	(15 September 1931 - 3 February 1933) (divorced)

Trivia

Died in his sleep after being in a coma for several days.

Born at 12:15am-CST

Is buried next to Frank Zappa in Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California.

Portrayed the title character for the syndicated radio show "The Story of Dr. Kildare" (1950-1951).

Big Band pianist before becoming an actor.

One child, Justin, with Diana.

As a child, wanted to be a doctor.

Wife, Diana, is a former flight attendant.

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 22-23. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6385 Hollywood Boulevard and Radio at 1724 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

He was a conscientious objector during World War II, which made him rather unpopular at the studio.

Salary

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

$250.00

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