Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Henkel; April 4, 1892 – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the period of

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in '' The Sheik'' opposite

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...

Career

Ayres began her career in 1914 when she was noticed by an

Essanay Studios Essanay Studios, officially the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago by George Kirke Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufactu ...

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 Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

founder

Jesse Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer Film producer, motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life ...

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 Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

. During this period Ayres began a romance with Lasky. Agnes Ayres 002

In 1921, Ayres shot to stardom when she was cast as Lady Diana Mayo, an English heiress, with " Latin lover"

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 William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Lou ...

, ''

Forbidden Fruit In Abrahamic religions, forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden that God commands mankind Taboo#In religion and mythology, not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the know ...

'' (1921), and Cecil B. DeMille's '' The Ten Commandments'' (1923). Agnes Ayres

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 Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

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 Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

. In 1960, Ayres was inducted into the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

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
/ref>

Selected filmography

References

External links

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Photographs and literature at Virtual History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, Agnes Actresses from Illinois American silent film actresses American film actresses Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery People from Carbondale, Illinois American vaudeville performers 1892 births 1940 deaths 20th-century American actresses

Career

Later years and death

Selected filmography

Further reading

References

External links