Something about his acting seemed SO sleek and smooth and natural, in his scenes it made the other actors look almost cartoonish

What a beautiful human. I feel his gentleness is all his roles! RIP

He was so brilliant in Johnny Belinda

@MsBackstager

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, I was about to write that.

He was unforgettable in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), and Johnny Belinda (1948). Great actor and classy man.

@MsBackstager

3 жыл бұрын

He was also great late in life as the grandfather in HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN.

@moriahjacobs6131

2 жыл бұрын

He was the original Dr. Kildare

Loved him in the Dr. Kildare series on film and radio. Him and Lionel Barrymore had great chemistry. Not surprised they became personal friends. Love them both!

Lew was a conscientious objector during ww2 that movie all quiet on the western front must have had quite an impact on him he did however become an combat medic in the pacific and saved many lives, hats off to him for standing up for what he belived in, rest in peace lew you have more guts than many.

Beautiful man -- inside and out.

I was 10 when I saw him in an old Dr. Kildare movie on Channel 9. I told my mother, "Someday I,'m going to meet him." She said, "That's nice dear." It took 28 years, but met him at The Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz. He gave a talk entitled The God of Evolution, which was his take on resolving science & religion. It was extremely well thought out & presented. He was elderly & frail, but still handsome. Some people lined up after the talk. When I got to meet him, I couldn't resist leaning up & giving him a kiss on his cheek. People seemed to react positively & he most graciously said, "I enjoyed that.". He was very special. Love you Lee Ayres.

I've always been a fan of this man. This is the first time I've heard his story. He was always so handsome and a professional and seemed so genteel. I remember when he was playing a blind date to Mary Tyler Moore to her character in the 70's and still looked great 👍 and watching him here he hasn't skipped a beat. So sharp and youthful even here. Not the biggest name in Hollywood but he sure had endurance. ❤😊

Loved Lew in Holiday with Kate Hepburn.

@lemorab1

2 жыл бұрын

He was brilliant in "Holiday."

@loge10

2 жыл бұрын

Totally agree! His character's personal dilemma and his understanding and affection for Hepburn's character was very moving.

@lemorab1

2 жыл бұрын

@@loge10 Lew Ayers' performance in "Holiday" never fails to move me. He says so much about that broken man without having to verbalize it. It's also one of my favorite Hepburn and Cary pairings. Philip Barry was the best at writing characters and dialogue.

@rhyfeddu

2 жыл бұрын

Plus I just learned he was really a musician, as he was in Holiday, so he likely was really playing piano, banjo etc ☺️

Les Ayers a class act.

a real treasure ...fine actor..loved him and Lionel Barrymore together

I swear he should have played Jack Lemmons dad!

@Writeowl

9 ай бұрын

He would've been HILARIOUS!!!

Gave a brilliant performance in All Quiet on the western Front should have won an Oscar. I loved him too in Johnny Belinda with Jane Wyman.

What a lovely man !

@citizen1163

3 жыл бұрын

What they say about after a certain age you get the face you deserve. He's still gorgeous!

@privatedeborah1004

3 жыл бұрын

@@citizen1163 True, he had a very kind face in old age. Same goes for Betty White, she is still a very pretty lady.

So happy TCM did these interviews. These are PRICELESS.

Lew is such a pleasant gentlemen with a soothing voice.

Just saw "Doorway to Hell" and he was terrific in it

@castries

2 жыл бұрын

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Funny that he doesn't mention his first big break as Garbo's leading man in her last silent, "The Kiss"(1929).

Holiday (from 1938) has a wonderful Lew Ayres performance that isn't talked about much. He's Katharine Hepburn's brother, a frustrated musician in a very wealthy family. One of his best!

He absolutely and totally nailed the part of high school teacher Jason Burke in Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot !! Fabulous performance !! 🙂👌👌🙏🙏💯

Look at him. He's still got it. ;)

What an amazing life... and an amazing man! They don't make them like Ayres anymore.

Ginger Rogers said he was the best of her husbands and she thought the world of him.

@ronaldcammarata3422

3 жыл бұрын

What if you were her, say, fourth favorite husband. Would you think: hey, at least I'm not fifth?

@Muirmaiden

3 жыл бұрын

@@ronaldcammarata3422 Her other husbands either treated her badly or they were simply not compatible.

@MsBackstager

3 жыл бұрын

@@Muirmaiden So who divorced who?

@Muirmaiden

3 жыл бұрын

@@MsBackstager Ginger went through with the divorce because she thought she had no choice. Howard Hughes put it in motion.

@linniem5982

6 ай бұрын

Most of Ginger's husbands were alcoholics. She had a habit of picking losers. But not with Lew.

Lew, talking about All is Quiet on the Western Front, made a mistake: the German soldier, Paul Bäumer, was not trying to touch a bird when he was shot by a French sniper. He was reaching out to a butterfly that had landed just outside the trench Paul was in. Lew is, however, one of my most favourite male actors. I watch his Kildare series over and over just to watch his smooth and natural acting, his soothing voice, and his calm demeanor. He was a jewel of a man.

@-elchoya9832

2 жыл бұрын

the hand of director lewis milestone was used as the hand of lew ayres of him reaching for the butterfly

@danielcombs3207

Жыл бұрын

This was a wonderful interview. He made a small mistake yes, but at his late age he has quite a good memory.

This is amazing, thanks for sharing!!!

Thanks for posting this ! Lew Ayres is one of my favorite actors. - And he was a young people's actor : Battlestar Galactica, Damian Omen II, Highway to Heaven,Love Boat, Little House, Mary Tyler Moore,etc

What a wonderful man, I enjoyed this interview very much! I would love to see the movie he made on the world's religions. Does anyone know where I can find it?

That film he mentioned seeing at age 7 would have been in 1915.

@robdewey317

3 жыл бұрын

Born in 1908, about right

I was just reading Ginger Rogers autobiography. She really loved Lew and goes on and on about how gorgeous he was. She writes at the conclusion of her book that the greatest regret of her life was her divorce from Lew.

@linniem5982

6 ай бұрын

Ginger was excited to get with Lew and was lucky to marry him. She never did settle down. I read her autobiography.

He was just a natural

terrific as dr kildare.

awesome...thank you

LOVED IT!!!!!

Saw him in 1979’s tv movie “Salem’s Lot” and thought he was excellent.

Love it

Lovely to listen to him. Had no idea he was married to Ginger. Interviewer was very loud. Perhaps he had a hearing problem but it was too loud.

The best

Watch him on Johnny Belinda.

I wish I could find that film he did with Lily Damita. imdb doesn't have it listed.

Altars of the World is a 1976 American documentary film By Lew Ayres The film was created as a shorter version of the 1955 American documentary Altars of the East. Altars of the World was the last recipient of the Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary Film before the award was retired in 1977.

What's the date of this interview and how old was Lew Ayres at the time?

@gmaureen

3 жыл бұрын

According to TCM this interview was done in 1995. Lew died in Dec.1996, age 88.

@huntingthekaiser6490

3 жыл бұрын

@@gmaureen Thanks!

@MsBackstager

3 жыл бұрын

@@gmaureen He was still a stud.

Wasn't he the older suitor on MTM?

@brettd1949

3 жыл бұрын

Yes!!

@randysills4418

3 жыл бұрын

"Mary And The Sexagenerian" and my dear friend Bartine Zane played his former girlfriend. She had been a silent screen actress, retired for forty years, and then came back and primarily did commercials.

@rhyfeddu

2 жыл бұрын

I remember him in Cagney and Lacey too!

A true gentleman to say good things about exwife Ginger Rogers. Did she have any affairs while married to Lew?

''Look at me teacher, look at me''

Dr Kildare

Cool bro I'm gonna be the best ever

He's buried next to Zappa

@linniem5982

6 ай бұрын

Yes, Zappa is my relative.

good as as a gangster in DOORWAY TO HELL 1930

Why doesn't he talk about his first film, a silent, with Greta Garbo? The movie was The Kiss from 1929. I am amazed the interviewer never mentions his part in The Kiss with Greta Garbo!! How could playing opposite Greta Garbo be forgotten???

@loge10

Жыл бұрын

I guess, to him it was no big deal- and didn't feel the need to impress. Just a very humble, genuine guy-probably why they cast him as Dr. Kildare...

Lew says he made a film with Lili Damita? What was it? Its NOT on IMDb? And also he claims the the director of "Holiday" (1938) was the SAME director that made "All Quiet On The Western Front" (1929)? However this it not true? As far as I know the director of "Holiday" was George Cukor. And the director of "All Quiet On The Western Front" was Lewis Milestone? I am wondering if Lew was suffering from Dementia? (Also -- the VERY famous final scene in "Western Front", Lew holds his hand out to save a Butterfly, NOT a "bird" as he mentions in this interview? *****LATE EDIT******.... Sorry I've done a bit of research and in 1929 George Cukor was the Dialogue Director - Uncredited, for "All Quiet On The Western Front"... WOW never knew that!!!!!

@ronaldcammarata3422

3 жыл бұрын

In the interview, Ayres was just trying to say that he met Cukor on "All Quiet," but the interviewer misunderstood him.

@QueenOfTheNorth65

3 жыл бұрын

Could he have meant Garbo? And could the silent movie have been “The Kiss?”

@lemorab1

2 жыл бұрын

I think he's definitely suffering significant memory loss, possibly early stage dementia. Also, giving some dates things happened would be nice. It's too bad they waited so long to do this interview. Ten years earlier would've been much better.

@afr43210

Жыл бұрын

@@lemorab1 I had the opposite impression. For an 87 year old, I thought his memory and his recollections were excellent. I was impressed with his communication style and his sincerity.

Love listening to him. Interviewer too loud.

Mr President of 12 colonies.

Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 - December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and for playing Dr. Kildare in nine films. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Johnny Belinda (1948). Ayres was married three times. First to actress Lola Lane from 1931 until 1933, although they were separated much of that period. He met actress Ginger Rogers while starring in the film Don't Bet on Love in 1933 and they wed 1934. They separated in 1936 and divorced in March 1940. His third marriage, to Diana Hall, lasted from 1964 until his death in 1996.

Doorway to hell!!!