Agnes Ayres
Ayres, c.1920
Born
Agnes Henkel

(1892-04-04)April 4, 1892
DiedDecember 25, 1940(1940-12-25) (aged 48)
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Other namesAgnes Eyre
Agnes Rendleman
OccupationActress
Years active1914–1929, 1936–1937
Spouses
Frank Schuker
(m. 1918; div. 1921)
    S. Manuel Reachi
    (m. 1924; div. 1927)
    Children1

    Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Henkel; April 4, 1892[1] – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the period of silent films.[2] She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in The Sheik opposite Rudolph Valentino.[3]

    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.[3] 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.[4] During this period Ayres began a romance with Lasky.[5]

    Agnes Ayres as Helen Allen in the 1920 film Go and Get It - Munsey's Magazine, 1920

    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).

    Ayres, c. 1921

    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.[6] The couple had a daughter,[7] then divorced in 1927.[8]

    Ayres lost her fortune and real estate holdings in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.[3] 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.[6]

    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 to Reachi.[6]

    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.[3][9] 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.[10]

    Her daughter Maria Reachi had a small part in the movie East Side, West Side (1949).[11]

    Selected filmography

    Ayres on a lobby card for The Sheik
    Year Title Role Notes
    1914The Masked WrestlerUncredited
    1915His New JobExtra, SecretaryAlternative title: Charlie's New Job
    1917MotherhoodThe MotherCredited as Agnes Eyre
    Lost film
    The DebtCountess AnnCredited as Agnes Eyre
    Lost film
    Mrs. BalfameAlys CrumleyCredited as Agnes Eyre
    Hedda GablerCredited as Agnes Eyre
    The MirrorundeterminedCredited as Agnes Eyre
    Lost film
    The Dazzling Miss DavisonLillian, Miss Davison's sisterCredited as Agnes Eyre
    Lost film
    The Defeat of the CityAlicia Van Der PoolCredited as Agnes Eyre
    The Bottom of the WellAlice BuckinghamLost
    1918The Purple DressMaida*short
    The Enchanted ProfileIda Bates
    Sisters of the Golden CircleMrs. James Williams
    One Thousand DollarsMargarett Hayden
    1919The Girl ProblemHelen Reeves
    A Stitch in TimeLela Trevor
    In Honor's WebCarsonLost
    Sacred SilenceLost
    The GamblersIsabel Merson
    1920 A Modern SalomeHelen TorrenceLost film
    The Inner VoiceBarbaraSurvives; Library of Congress, Cineteca Nazionale
    Go and Get ItHelen AllenLost
    Held by the EnemyRachel HayneLost film
    1921 The Love SpecialLaura GageSurvives
    Forbidden FruitMary MaddockSurvives
    Too Much SpeedVirginia MacMurranUnknown/presumably Lost
    Cappy RicksFlorrie RicksIncomplete film
    The Affairs of AnatolAnnie ElliottSurvives
    The SheikLady Diana MayoSurvives
    1922 The Lane That Had No TurningMadelinetteLost film
    Bought and Paid ForVirginia BlaineLost film
    The OrdealSybil BruceLost film
    A Daughter of LuxuryMary FentonLost
    ClarenceViolet PinneyLost film
    1923The Heart RaiderMuriel Gray (a speed girl)
    Racing HeartsVirginia KentLost film
    The Ten CommandmentsThe OutcastSurvives
    The Marriage MakerAlexandra VancyLost film
    Don't Call It LoveAlice MeldrumLost
    HollywoodHerself (cameo)Lost film
    1924When a Girl LovesSasha BoroffSurvives
    BluffBetty HallowellSurvives
    The Guilty OneIrene ShortLost
    DetainedShort film Survives
    The Story Without a NameMary WalsworthLost film
    1925Tomorrow's LoveJudith StanleyLost
    Her Market ValueNancy DumontSurvives
    The Awful TruthLucy SatterleeSurvives
    Morals for MenBessie HayesSurvives
    1926The Son of the SheikLady DianaSurvives
    1927Eve's Love LettersThe WifeSurvives; *short
    1928Into the NightBillie MardonLost
    1929The Donovan AffairLydia Rankin? Survives
    Bye, Bye, BuddyGlad O'BrienLost
    1936Small Town GirlCatherineUncredited
    1937Maid of SalemBit PartUncredited
    Midnight TaxiSociety womanUncredited
    Souls at SeaBit RoleUncredited
    Morning JudgeMrs. Kennedy

    Further reading

    • Michael G. Ankerich (2010). Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen. BearManor. ISBN 978-1-59393-605-1.

    References

    1. Ankerich, 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. ISBN 978-1-59393-605-1
    2. "Agnes Ayres - Hollywood Forever %". Archived from the original on October 1, 2020.
    3. 1 2 3 4 "Agnes Ayres, Star Of Silent Pictures. Actress Who Played Opposite Rudolph Valentino in 'Sheik' Dies in Hollywood, Calif. Lost Her Fortune In 1929. Tried to Make Comeback in the Talkies. Had Small Role in Cooper-Raft Film in '37". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 26, 1940.
    4. Brettell, Andrew; King, Noel; Kennedy, Damien; Imwold, Denise (2005). Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies. Leonard, Warren Hsu; von Rohr, Heather. Barrons Educational Series. p. 23. ISBN 0-7641-5858-9.
    5. Parish, James Robert (2002). The Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More Than 125 American Movie and TV Idols (3 ed.). Contemporary Books. p. 93. ISBN 0-8092-2227-2.
    6. 1 2 3 Parish, James Robert (2002). The Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More Than 125 American Movie and TV Idols (3 ed.). Contemporary Books. p. 94. ISBN 0-8092-2227-2.
    7. "Agnes Ayres Has a Daughter". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 27, 1926.
    8. "Agnes Ayres Gets Divorce". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 25, 1927.
    9. Katz, Ephraim (1994). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. HarperCollins. pp. 68. ISBN 0-06-273089-4.
    10. "Hollywood Walk of Fame – Agnes Ayres". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
    11. Kevin Sweeney, James Mason: A Bio-bibliography (Greenwood Publishing, 1999), p. 118
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