About
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...
Known for
ColumboSeries • 1971
The Love BoatSeries • 1977
Magnum, P.I.Series • 1980
Hawaii Five-OSeries • 1969
The A-TeamSeries • 1983
Knots LandingSeries • 1979
Little House on the PrairieSeries • 1974
L.A. LawSeries • 1986
The VirginianSeries • 1962
Quincy, M.E.Series • 1976
Dick Powell's Zane Grey TheatreSeries • 1956
My Three SonsSeries • 1960
Climax!Series • 1954
The Mary Tyler Moore ShowSeries • 1970
Simon & SimonSeries • 1981
Highway to HeavenSeries • 1984
The Big ValleySeries • 1965
Ben CaseySeries • 1961
The F.B.I.Series • 1965
HotelSeries • 1982
Route 66Series • 1960
Kraft Suspense TheatreSeries • 1963
Cagney & LaceySeries • 1982
Trapper John, M.D.Series • 1979