Lew Ayres

Vocation

Notable

Family

American actor onscreen from 1929. His films include the Oscar-winning "All Quiet on the Western Front," 1930 and "Johnny Belinda," 1948, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. He originated the character Dr. Kildare on film in 1938. As a youth, Ayres studied medicine at the University of Arizona, but the musical life called him, and he toured with bands as a banjo, piano and guitar player. His first important acting role was opposite Garbo in her last silent film, "The Kiss." During WW II, Hollywood shunned him for being a conscientious objector; his reputation was restored when he served in the Army for 3 1/2 years as a medic and Chaplain's Assistant. He retired in 1953 for a worldwide spiritual quest of ten years, in which he made documentaries of the world's religions. Ayres later resumed a career in films and TV, but without his former acclaim. During the '90s he was still playing character roles in TV dramas. Ayres made three marriages, to actresses Lola Lane (1931-33) and Ginger Rogers (1934-41). For 25 years he lived an almost ascetic life, painting, studying and traveling before his third marriage to much younger Diana Hall in 1964; his first child, Justin, was born when he was age 60, on 12/27/1968. Ayres died quietly on 12/30/1996 after being in a coma for several days, Los Angeles, CA Link to Wikipedia biography