Agnes Ayres

Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Henkel; April 4, 1892Ankerich, Michael G. (2010). Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen. Duncan, OK: BearManor Media. – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the period of silent films. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in The Sheik opposite Rudolph Valentino.

Career Ayres began her career in 1914 when she was noticed by an Essanay Studios staff director and cast as an extra in a crowd scene. After moving to Manhattan with her mother to pursue a career in acting, Ayres was spotted by actress Alice Joyce. Joyce noticed the physical resemblance the two shared which eventually led to Ayres being cast in Richard the Brazen (1917), as Joyce's character's sister. Ayres' career began to gain momentum when Paramount Pictures founder Jesse Lasky began to take an interest in her. Lasky gave her a starring role in the drama Held by the Enemy (1920), and he lobbied for parts for her in several productions by Cecil B. DeMille. During this period Ayres began a romance with Lasky.

In 1921, Ayres shot to stardom when she was cast as Lady Diana Mayo, an English heiress, with "Latin lover" Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik. Ayres later reprised her role as Lady Diana in the 1926 sequel The Son of the Sheik. Following the release of The Sheik, she had major roles in many other films, including The Affairs of Anatol (1921) starring Wallace Reid, Forbidden Fruit (1921), and Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923).

By 1923, Ayres' career began to wane following the end of her relationship with Jesse Lasky. She married Mexican diplomat S. Manuel Reachi in 1924. The couple had a daughter, then divorced in 1927.

Ayres lost her fortune and real estate holdings in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. That same year, she also appeared in her last major role in The Donovan Affair, starring Jack Holt. To earn money, she left acting and played the vaudeville circuit. She returned to acting in 1936, confident that she could make a comeback — but, unable to secure starring roles, and somewhat overweight, Ayres appeared in mostly uncredited parts and finally retired from acting in 1937.

Later years and death After her retirement, Ayres became despondent and was eventually committed to a sanatorium. In 1939, she also lost custody of her daughter, Maria Ayres, to Reachi.

She died from a cerebral hemorrhage on December 25, 1940, at her home in Hollywood, California at the age of 48; she had been ill for several weeks. She is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In 1960, Ayres was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry.

Her daughter Maria Reachi had a small part in the movie East Side, West Side (1949).Kevin Sweeney, James Mason: A Bio-bibliography (Greenwood Publishing, 1999), p. 118

Selected filmography

+ Year Title Role Notes 1914 Uncredited 1915 His New Job Extra, Secretary Alternative title: Charlie's New Job1917 Motherhood The Mother Credited as Agnes EyreLost film The Debt Countess Ann Credited as Agnes EyreLost film Mrs. Balfame Alys Crumley Credited as Agnes Eyre Hedda Gabler Credited as Agnes Eyre The Mirror undetermined Credited as Agnes EyreLost film The Dazzling Miss Davison Lillian, Miss Davison's sister Credited as Agnes EyreLost film Alicia Van Der Pool Credited as Agnes Eyre The Bottom of the Well Alice Buckingham Lost film1918 Maida *short Ida Bates Sisters of the Golden Circle Mrs. James Williams One Thousand Dollars Margarett Hayden 1919 Helen Reeves Lela Trevor In Honor's Web CarsonLost film Sacred Silence Lost film Isabel Merson1920 A Modern Salome Helen Torrence Lost film BarbaraSurvives; Library of Congress, Cineteca Nazionale Go and Get It Helen AllenSurvives; Cineteca Nazionale Held by the Enemy Rachel Hayne Lost film1921 The Love Special Laura GageSurvives Forbidden Fruit Mary Maddock Survives Too Much Speed Virginia MacMurran Unknown/presumably Lost Cappy Ricks Florrie Ricks Incomplete film The Affairs of Anatol Annie Elliott Survives Lady Diana MayoSurvives1922 Madelinette Lost film Bought and Paid For Virginia Blaine Lost film The Ordeal Sybil Bruce Lost film A Daughter of Luxury Mary FentonLost film Clarence Violet Pinney Lost film1923 The Heart Raider Muriel Gray (a speed girl) Racing Hearts Virginia Kent Lost film The Ten Commandments The OutcastSurvives The Marriage Maker Alexandra Vancy Lost film Don't Call It Love Alice Meldrum Lost film Hollywood Herself (cameo)Lost film1924 When a Girl Loves Sasha Boroff Survives Bluff Betty Hallowell Survives The Guilty One Irene Short Lost Detained Short film Survives The Story Without a Name Mary Walsworth Lost film1925 Tomorrow's Love Judith Stanley Lost film Her Market Value Nancy Dumont Survives The Awful Truth Lucy Satterlee Survives Morals for Men Bessie HayesSurvives 1926 Lady Diana Survives 1927 Eve's Love Letters The Wife Survives; *short 1928 Into the Night Billie Mardon Lost film1929 The Donovan Affair Lydia Rankin ? Survives Bye, Bye, Buddy Glad O'Brien Lost film 1936 Small Town Girl Catherine Uncredited1937 Maid of Salem Bit Part Uncredited Midnight Taxi Society woman Uncredited Souls at Sea Bit Role Uncredited Morning Judge Mrs. Kennedy

Agnes Ayres

Bron en licentie