The Myth of the Hollywood War Hero: Lew Ayres, Conscience, and World War II

Lew Ayres is best remembered for All Quiet on the Western Front, but his life and career extended far beyond the role that made him famous. Film scholar Lesley L. Coffin explores Ayres’s Hollywood career, his controversial decision to become a conscientious objector during World War II, his intellectual and spiritual pursuits, and what his story reveals about celebrity, public perception, and the persistence of Hollywood myths.

Key Topics

• Lew Ayres and All Quiet on the Western Front
• His career within Hollywood’s studio system
• Becoming a conscientious objector during World War II
• Misconceptions surrounding his wartime service
• Ayres’s letters, unpublished writings, and intellectual interests
• His return to Hollywood and later career
• Celebrity, public image, and the creation of Hollywood myths

Guest Bio

Lesley L. Coffin is a film scholar, journalist, interviewer, and critic with a master’s degree in star studies from New York University. She is the author of Hitchcock’s Stars: Alfred Hitchcock and the Hollywood Studio System and Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector, published by University Press of Mississippi.

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Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector: University Press of Mississippi | Bookshop Ebook

Books Mentioned: The Stars Appear by Richard Dyer Maccann Bookshop

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