Agnes Ayres

Infobox actor
name = Agnes Ayres


imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Agnes Hinkle
birthdate = birth date|1898|4|4
location = Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.
deathdate = Death date and age|1940|12|25|1898|4|4
deathplace = Los Angeles, California
spouse = S. Manuel Reachi (July 13, 1924 - June 10, 1927)

Agnes Ayres (April 4, 1898 – December 25, 1940) was a silent film star in the 1920s.

Biography

Born Agnes Hinkle in Carbondale, Illinois, she had planned to have a career in law, but in 1915 at the age of 17 she made her film debut at Essanay Studios in Chicago, and was signed by Fox Studios in 1919. Moving to New York, Ayres gained popularity after being cast in "Richard the Brazen" (1917), and was signed by Paramount Pictures in 1920.

In 1921, she shot to stardom when she was cast in what is probably her best know role opposite Rudolph Valentino in "The Sheik". Ayres played the role for all it was worth, and became the envy of every woman alive as the love interest to the cinema's sexiest new idol. Advertisements and lobby posters showed Ayres' name was top-billed above Valentino's. She went on to have major roles in many other films including "The Affairs of Anatol" (1921), "Forbidden Fruit" (1921), and "The Ten Commandments" (1923), but soon afterward, Agnes' stardom began to decline. In 1926 she reprised her role as Diana in Valentino's "Son of the Sheik".

In 1929, Ayres lost her fortune in Crash of ’29, and her career ended with the beginning of talking pictures. Her voice was, according to trade journal reports, improperly pitched for sound pictures. Ayres went successfully into real estate after her film career was over and handled prime Beverly Hills properties.

Personal life

During World War I she married Captain Frank P. Schuker. The marriage ended in Summer 1921.

In October 1924, Ayres revealed that, on July 13, 1924, she had married Mexican diplomat S. Manuel Reachi. Their daughter, Maria Eugenia, was born on March 25, 1926, in Los Angeles. On June 10, 1927, she and Reachi divorced on the grounds of desertion and failure to provide. Ayres never remarried.

Death

Ayres died of a cerebral hemorrhage on December 25, 1940, at the age of 42.

For her contribution to motion pictures, she was given star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

External links

*imdb name|id=0043969|name=Agnes Ayres
*amg name|2:3043
*findagrave|5465
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=8881 Photographs and literature]

Persondata
NAME= Ayres, Agnes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hinkle, Agnes
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= April 4, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH= Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH= December 25, 1940
PLACE OF DEATH= Los Angeles, California