Editing Lew Ayres (section)

==Career==
Ayres was discovered at a nightclub by talent agent Ivan Kahn. He was cast to play opposite [[Greta Garbo]] in ''[[The Kiss (1929 film)|The Kiss]]'' (1929), but it was his leading role in the original version of ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' (1930) that made him a star, secured him a contract with [[Universal Pictures|Universal]]—and made him a [[conscientious objector]] to World War II.

He made a number of mostly forgotten [[B movie]]s for Universal, with the exception of ''[[Iron Man (1931 film)|Iron Man]]'' (1931), with [[Jean Harlow]]. His most successful movies at this time were those he made on loan to other studios, including ''[[The Doorway to Hell]]'' (1930) with [[James Cagney]] in a [[Supporting actor|supporting role]], and as [[Janet Gaynor]]'s   [[leading man]] in both ''[[State Fair (1933 film)|State Fair]]'' (1933) and ''[[Servants' Entrance]]'' (1934), which featured a combination of live action and [[Walt Disney]] animation in a musical dream sequence, both for [[Fox Film]]s.

Ayres left Universal to sign with Fox Films. In 1934, Fox listed him as one of its second tier stars.<ref>{{cite news| title=TAKING A LOOK AT THE RECORD| last=Churchill| first=Douglas W.| date=November 25, 1934| work=[[The New York Times]]| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/11/25/archives/taking-a-look-at-the-record-hollywood-consults-the-boxoffice-scores.html| url-access=subscription| access-date=October 18, 2020}}</ref>

He moved to [[Poverty Row|poverty row studio]] [[Republic Pictures]] to pursue a second career as a director, including the film ''[[Hearts in Bondage]]'' (1936), starring [[James Dunn (actor)|James Dunn]] and [[Mae Clarke]]. He moved to [[Paramount Pictures]] before finally being signed to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] in 1938. At this time, he was loaned from Paramount to play the role of Ned in ''[[Holiday (1938 film)|Holiday]]'' (1938).

The role earned him considerable critical attention, including interest from MGM to put him under contract specifically for the role of Dr. James Kildare in an upcoming film series. Ayres played the role in nine films from 1938 to 1942 (and again in a 1950s radio series) while also appearing in light comedies for MGM, including ''[[Spring Madness]]'' and ''[[Rich Man, Poor Girl]]'' (both 1938), ''[[The Ice Follies of 1939]]'' (1939), and ''[[Fingers at the Window]]'' (1942).  His final film as Dr. Kildare, ''Born to Be Bad'', was re-edited after he was [[Conscription|drafted]] and declared himself a [[conscientious objector]] in March 1942.
[[File:Lew Ayres in Johnny Belinda trailer.jpg|thumb|left|in ''[[Johnny Belinda (1948 film)|Johnny Belinda]]'' (1948)]]
He returned to acting in the films ''[[The Dark Mirror (1946 film)|The Dark Mirror]]'' (1946) with [[Olivia de Havilland]] and ''[[The Unfaithful (1947 film)|The Unfaithful]]'' (1947) with [[Ann Sheridan]]. For his role in ''[[Johnny Belinda (1948 film)|Johnny Belinda]]'' (1948) he received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]; co-star [[Jane Wyman]] won for Best Actress.

Ayres gradually moved to television, appearing in several [[anthology series]] in   [[Guest appearance|guest roles]]. In the summer of 1958, he hosted eleven original episodes of a [[CBS]] [[western (genre)|Western]] anthology television series called ''[[Frontier Justice (TV series)|Frontier Justice]]'', a production of [[Dick Powell]]'s [[Four Star Television]]. He was offered the part of Dr. Kildare in an [[NBC]] series but his prescient request that the show have no [[tobacco advertising|cigarette advertising]] led to the offer being withdrawn.  (In 1961, the part went to [[Richard Chamberlain]].)  He appeared (as the vice-president) in ''[[Advise & Consent]]'' (1962), and in ''[[The Carpetbaggers (film)|The Carpetbaggers]]'' (1964), but he was, by then, primarily a television actor, with only occasional film work.

For a guest role in ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]'' ("The Vanishing Image", 1974) he was nominated for an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]].
[[File:Doris Day Lew Ayres The Doris Day Show 1970.JPG|thumb|[[Doris Day]] and Ayres in ''The Doris Day Show'' (1970)]]
His documentary film ''[[Altars of the World]]'' (1976), based on a series of documentaries he made titled ''Altars of the East'' (1956), brought his Eastern philosophical beliefs to the screen and earned him critical acclaim and a [[Golden Globe Award]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary Film|best documentary]] [[34th Golden Globe Awards|in 1977]].<ref name=Altars/>

Ayres guest-starred in an episode of ''[[The Bionic Woman]]'' ("Doomsday is Tomorrow", 1977) as Dr. Elijah Cooper, an elderly nuclear scientist who attempts to blackmail the world into peace. In 1973 he played a similar role on [[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]] as a nuclear Scientist who in a twist ending ends up dying of radiation from his own bomb.

In 1985, he was cast in his first series as a regular cast member, as the father of [[Robert Wagner (actor)|Robert Wagner]] in the short-lived series ''[[Lime Street (TV series)|Lime Street]].'' His last role was in the made-for-TV film ''[[Hart to Hart]]: Crimes of the Heart'' (1994), also starring Wagner.

===World War II conscientious objector and medic===
In March 1942, Ayres was identified as a 4E [[conscientious objector]] and sent to a CO camp. As expected, the announcement that a [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] actor objected to the war was a major source of public outcry and debate.<ref name=Altars>{{cite news| last=Broeske| first=Pat H.| date=April 6, 1991| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-06-ca-1733-story.html| title=Ayres Backs His Project Religiously: Film: Actor best known for 'Dr. Kildare' says his documentary, 'Altars of the World,' represents the bigger part of his life today.| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date=October 18, 2020}}</ref>

Within a month it was determined that he had initially requested to be A-O-1, so that he could serve as a non-combat [[Combat medic|medic]]. However, the military's policy that servicemen cannot request, or be guaranteed, where they will serve, forced him to request a 4E status. The U.S. military confirmed that they would place him as a medic and in April 1942, his status was changed. He enlisted in the [[United States Army]] on May 18, 1942.<ref>U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946.</ref>

He served as a [[first aid]] instructor in the United States Army before requesting a drop in rank in order to serve as a medic and chaplain's assistant in the Pacific. He was one of 16 medics who arrived under fire during the [[invasion of Leyte]] to set up evacuation hospitals, and there he provided care to soldiers and civilians in the [[Philippines]] and [[New Guinea]]. He donated all the money he had earned as a serviceman to the [[American Red Cross]].<ref name="Conscientious Objector">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vce1qSA6O60C&pg=PA118| title=Lew Ayres: Hollywood's Conscientious Objector| publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]| last=Coffin| first=Lesley L.| year=2012| page=121| isbn=978-1617036378}}</ref>

Serving for three and a half years in the [[Medical Corps]], he was awarded three [[battle star]]s. After the war, he resumed his career and made scores of movies, but never reached the peak of his early Hollywood stardom.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/01/arts/lew-ayres-actor-dies-at-88-conscience-bound-his-career.html| title=Lew Ayres, Actor, Dies at 88; Conscience Bound His Career| newspaper=The New York Times| date=January 1, 1997| page=47| access-date=October 18, 2020}}</ref>