Lew Ayres: Hollywood's Conscientious Objector

CHAPTER 4. A New Kind of Star

25 Chapter Four A NEW KIND OF STAR Lew is not the type that will go on for years as a moderate success. he will either be a tremendous hit or a failure. If Lewis is the success that universal predicts of him, a great deal will be written about him. not many people will understand him for hollywood has little time or patience for people that are hard to know. he will be called “high-hat,” of course. he will have few friends because not many people will take the time to batter down that wall which he has built around himself. And he will be unhappy most of the time, the usual reward for people who build such a wall. But he will be one of the most interesting young male stars in pictures. At least he will have the courage to be himself.1 Lew was an interesting case in Hollywood: a boy who had been driven since childhood by the desire to become a star and yet, upon becoming one, seemed to publicly discourage fame and celebrity. Profile after profile of the rising young star noted that he was uncomfortable at the glamorous Hollywood parties and preferred to be alone in his home, sculpting, and learning his newest passion, astronomy, and listening to and playing music. He even told one reporter, “I couldn’t live with anyone . It would worry me. I like to play for hours at a time, and that would probably drive another person crazy.”2 Although, in Lew’s case, there were none of the standard romantic and sexual scandals to cause the studio concern, they did begin the usual publicity manufacturing of Lew’s early life. Though the studio press machine didn’t ignore Lew’s earlier musical career, they did make claims that their thoughtful and serious new star had not only completed high school, but was even a pre-med student at the University of Arizona, where he was on the track and basketball teams before he began pursuing music and the arts.3 The notion that he could have completed such extensive schooling while having worked since the age of seventeen rendered the press regarding his work experience utterly confusing. A new kInd oF stAr 26 Additionally, no mention was ever made of his parents’ divorce. Some publications stated that Lew’s “family” lived in either Minnesota or San Diego but they never referred to the other side of the family or stepparents. As Lew’s income grew steady, he began supporting both his mother and father financially, especially when his father started to suffer from diabetes and developed an early form of dementia, which would today likely have been described as early onset Alzheimer’s.4 Lew remained closest to his grandmother and wrote her constantly. She returned his affection by keeping scrapbook after scrapbook dedicated to her grandson’s accomplishments. When interviewed for a fan magazine, Anna Ayres told them, “Lewis always has had exceptional ability. It was a matter of time before he became a star. He loved his work and has made the most of his opportunities. He hasn’t lagged behind, waiting for chances, but has gone after them.”5 Fig. 4.1. new star Lew Ayres, called an amateur astronomer. photofest. A new kInd oF stAr 27 Lew may have gone after the opportunities he had been offered but he had never planned or dreamed of anything beyond becoming a star and had no idea how to navigate his career as Hollywood’s newest golden boy. Aware that he was Universal’s newest leading man, Lew attempted to exercise his stature and asked the studio for the role of John Harker in their upcoming monster movie, Dracula. Ultimately, David Manners was cast in the role because Universal, specifically All Quiet on the Western Front producer and head of the studio Carl Laemmle Jr., believed the role would not fit Lew’s image of a dramatic leading man. After wrapping All Quiet on the Western Front, Universal initially purchased an unpublished novel for Lew to star called Saint฀John, but it never came to fruition.6 Instead, Lew was loaned out to the Fox Corporation for its adaptation of the play Common฀Clay, opposite Constance Bennett. Although Fox insisted on casting Lew as the sexually amoral playboy who impregnates and leaves his maid, director Victor Fleming didn’t like the casting...