Agnes Ayres

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

Agnes Ayres
Ayres, 1921
Born
Agnes Eyre Henkel

(1892-04-04)April 4, 1892
DiedDecember 25, 1940(1940-12-25) (aged 48)
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Other namesAgnes Eyre
OccupationActress
Years active1914–1929, 1936–1937
Spouse(s)
Frank P. Schuker
(m. 1921; div. 1921)

S. Manuel Reachi
(m. 1924; div. 1927)
Children1

Early life and career

Agnes Eyre Henkel was born on April 4, 1892, in Carbondale, Illinois, to Solon Augustus Henkel and Emma Slack Rendleman. She had an elder brother, Solon William Henkel. After her father's death, her mother married Frank Rendleman, a farmer, in 1900.[3] She was of English and German descent.

The family moved to Chicago when Ayres was a teenager. She had ambitions to study law, and in 1910 she was working as a bookkeeper.

She began her career in 1914 when she was noticed by an Essanay Studios staff director and cast as an extra in a crowd scene.[2]

After moving to Manhattan, New York City, 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 Civil War drama Held by the Enemy (1920), and also lobbied for parts for her in several Cecil B. DeMille productions.[4] During this period Ayres married, and quickly divorced, Captain Frank P. Schuker, an army officer whom she had wed during World War I. She also 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, opposite "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 went on to have 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] before divorcing in 1927.[8]

Ayres lost her fortune and real estate holdings in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.[2] 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 bit parts and finally retired from acting for good 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 42; she had been ill for several weeks.[2][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 Buckingham
1918The Purple DressMaida
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 WebCarson
Sacred Silence
The GamblersIsabel Merson
1920 A Modern SalomeHelen TorrenceLost film
The Inner VoiceBarbara
Go and Get ItHelen Allen
Held by the EnemyRachel HayneLost film
1921 The Love SpecialLaura Gage
Forbidden FruitMary Maddock
Too Much SpeedVirginia MacMurranUnknown/presumably lost
Cappy RicksFlorrie RicksIncomplete film
The Affairs of AnatolAnnie Elliott
The SheikLady Diana Mayo
1922 The Lane That Had No TurningMadelinetteLost film
Bought and Paid ForVirginia BlaineLost film
The OrdealSybil BruceLost film
A Daughter of LuxuryMary Fenton
ClarenceViolet PinneyLost film
1923The Heart RaiderMuriel Gray (a speed girl)
Racing HeartsVirginia KentLost film
The Ten CommandmentsThe Outcast
The Marriage MakerAlexandra VancyLost film
Don't Call It LoveAlice Meldrum
HollywoodHerself (cameo)Lost film
1924When a Girl LovesSasha Boroff
BluffBetty Hallowell
The Guilty OneIrene Short
DetainedShort film
The Story Without a NameMary WalsworthLost film
1925Tomorrow's LoveJudith Stanley
Her Market ValueNancy Dumont
The Awful TruthLucy Satterlee
Morals for MenBessie Hayes
1926The Son of the SheikLady Diana
1927Eve's Love LettersThe Wife
1928Into the NightBillie Mardon
1929The Donovan AffairLydia Rankin
Bye, Bye, BuddyGlad O'Brien
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 1-59393-605-2.

References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=7I5NDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT17&dq=agnes+ayres+1892&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwju_tO3xYbtAhUhrVkKHf2eDGcQ6AEwAXoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=agnes%20ayres%201892&f=false
  2. "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.
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=7I5NDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT40&dq=agnes+ayres&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzssHGwobtAhVLuVkKHeK9DFYQ6AEwAXoECAgQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
  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. 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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