Lew Ayres: Hollywood's Conscientious Objector

264 Pages·2012·3.078 MB·English

by  Lesley L. Coffin, Marya E. Gates

Lew Ayres
Hollywood legends series
Carl rollyson, general editor
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Lew
Ay r e s
Hollywood’s ConsCientious objeCtor
Lesley L. Coffin
Foreword by Marya E. Gates
University Press of Mississippi • Jackson
www.upress.state.ms.us
The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of
American University Presses.
Copyright © 2012 by University Press of Mississippi
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing 2012
∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Coffin, Lesley L.
Lew Ayres : Hollywood’s conscientious objector / Lesley L. Coffin ;
foreword by Marya E. Gates.
p. cm. — (Hollywood legends series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61703-637-8 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-1-61703-638-5 (ebook)
1. Ayres, Lew, 1908–1996. 2. Actors—United States—Biography. 3. World
War, 1939–1945—Conscientious objectors—United States—Biography. I.
Title.
PN2287.A95C64 2012
791.43’028’0924—dc23
[B] 2012011625
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
To Cecelia Purcell, my grandmother
I find that I understand people far better from reading what great men, who have spent their lives
studying the human race, have found out about them and from reading my own reactions to things.
Lew Ayres, 1938
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Contents
Prologue ix
Foreword xi
Preface and Acknowledgments xv
ChApter 1. Grandma’s Boy 3
ChApter 2. Young Musician in Search of a Movie 8
ChApter 3. The Kind of Role that Casts a Shadow 17
ChApter 4. A New Kind of Star 25
ChApter 5. Romantic Comedy 43
ChApter 6. At the Helm 53
ChApter 7. A Short Stay on Poverty Row 59
ChApter 8. “The Comeback King of 1938” 66
ChApter 9. Introducing Dr. Kildare 72
ChApter 10. A Doctor, A Comic 84
ChApter 11. Echoes of War 90
ChApter 12. Lew Ayres, Conscientious Objector 97
ChApter 13. A Camp in Oregon 102
ChApter 14. “Like a Bomb Was Dropped” 105
ChApter 15. Public Debate 116
ChApter 16. Basic Training 120
ChApter 17. In Search of Something 124
ChApter 18. A Hero Returns to Hollywood 134
ChApter 19. The Comeback of 1946 140
ChApter 20. Awards and Affairs 146
ChApter 21. The Return of Dr. Kildare 151
viii Contents
ChApter 22. Magnificent Obsession 155
ChApter 23. A Man of Honor and Faith 160
ChApter 24. The Older Gentleman 165
ChApter 25. Altars of the World 169
ChApter 26. As Time Goes By 175
ChApter 27. Reaching for the Butterfly 181
Appendix 186
Notes 194
Filmography 214
Selected Bibliography 236
Index 237
proLogue
On April 3, 1942, Americans awoke to learn that in the midst of World
War II, a Hollywood star had declared himself a conscientious objector
and had been ordered to a conscientious objector camp in Oregon. Actor
Lew Ayres was best known for his performances as the titular character
in the MGM film series Dr. Kildare. The press even referred to him by his
alter ego’s name. It was an irony lost on no one that he had first been
famous for the antiwar film All Quiet on the Western Front.
Newspapers across the country ran stories, saying that it was the ex-
perience of making this film that led him to oppose all forms of violence
and particularly war. Others assumed that the role of Dr. Kildare had
gone to his head and he was suffering from a case of mistaken identity,
mistaking himself for the good-hearted doctor who lived by the Hippo-
cratic Oath, “First do no harm.”
In truth, it was a decision Ayres made with very little connection to
his career as an actor and without any concern for his professional life.
He was simply choosing to truly live by his moral views after years of
quiet self-discovery.
Always inquisitive, Lew’s film career had afforded him the opportu-
nity to pursue a multitude of interests, including science, music, art, re-
ligion, and philosophy. Through these studies, Lew developed an “intel-
lectual” interest in religion that, though he did not identify with a single
organized religion, evolved into a deeply personal view of God’s will. By
1940, only a small group of friends were aware of his spiritual beliefs.
However, as war loomed, Lew came to terms with the fact that he could
not participate in the impending violence. It was his decision and he was
willing to live with the consequences.
ix