Ann Ayars

Ann Ayars

Born: July 23, 1918
Died: February 27, 1995
in Beverly Hills, California, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ann Ayars (23 July 1918 – 27 February 1995) was an American soprano and actress. Early in her career she acted in several TV series and non musical films. Later, she sang with the New York City Opera (NYCO), and became known worldwide when she sang and acted the part of Antonia in the 1951 British film The Tales of Hoffmann.

From 1968 to 1987 she taught voice and piano and staged 19 full-length opera productions at Mt. San Jacinto College in California, where she was made a professor emerita.

Ann Ayars was born on 23 July 1918 in Beverly Hills, California. She began as a singer in the late 1930s and started acting in the early 1940s. She had parts in several television series, including Batman, Hazel, Mission: Impossible, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Perry Mason, The Virginian and The Monroes.

She starred as Cholita in the 1941 film Fiesta and in 1942 she was Cynthia Cookie Charles in Dr. Kildare's Victory. Also in 1942, she appeared as Constance Selden in Apache Trail, Kaaren de Relle in Nazi Agent and Juliette in Reunion in France. In 1943 she was Mrs Sandoval in The Human Comedy and Susan Thayer in The Youngest Profession.

She left Hollywood in 1943 to join the newly formed New York City Opera, becoming its leading lyric soprano. Her operatic roles included Monica in The Medium, Mimi in La bohème and Violetta in La traviata. Her friend, mezzo-soprano Frances Bible, said "Her work with the opera has inspired many young singers, many of whom went on to professional careers."

She had a star part as Antonia in the 1951 Powell and Pressburger film The Tales of Hoffmann, which was based on the opéra fantastique by Jacques Offenbach. Although all the parts in the film are sung, only Robert Rounseville (Hoffmann) and Ayars sung their own parts, the others being dubbed.

In 1968 she returned to California and took a post teaching voice and piano at Mt. San Jacinto College in San Jacinto, California, where she staged 19 full-length opera productions.

She retired in 1987. On 27 February 1995 she died at her home in Hemet in Riverside County following complications from diabetes .

Movies for Ann Ayars...

Title: Mission: Impossible
Character: Señora Del Barra
Released: September 17, 1966
Type: TV
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.
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Title: Batman
Character: Madame Soleil
Released: January 12, 1966
Type: TV
Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.
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Title: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Character: Lucy Barrington
Released: September 20, 1962
Type: TV
A continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of suspense and featuring thrillers and mysteries.
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Title: Perry Mason
Character: Woman Reporter
Released: September 21, 1957
Type: TV
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
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The Tales of Hoffmann
Title: The Tales of Hoffmann
Character: Antonia
Released: April 4, 1951
Type: Movie
A young poet named Hoffman broods over his failed romances. First, his affair with the beautiful Olympia is shattered when he realizes that she is really a mechanical woman designed by a scientist. Next, he believes that a striking prostitute loves him, only to find out she was hired to fake her affections by the dastardly Dapertutto. Lastly, a magic spell claims the life of his final lover.
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The Human Comedy
Title: The Human Comedy
Character: Mrs. Sandoval
Released: March 2, 1943
Type: Movie
Teenager Homer Macauley stays at home in the small town of Ithaca, California to support his family while his older brother Marcus prepares to go to war.
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The Youngest Profession
Title: The Youngest Profession
Character: Susan Thayer
Released: February 26, 1943
Type: Movie
Joan Lyons and her friend Patricia Drew are autograph hounds spending most of their day bumping into, and having tea, with the likes of Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Based on misinformation from a meddling old-maid governess, Miss Featherstone, Joan also devotes some time to working on the no-problem marriage of her parents to the extent of hiring Dr. Hercules, the strong man from a side show to pay attention to her mother in order to make her father jealous, despite the good advice received from Walter Pidgeon.
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Reunion in France
Title: Reunion in France
Character: Juliette
Released: December 25, 1942
Type: Movie
Frenchwoman Michele de la Becque, an opponent of the Nazis in German-occupied Paris, hides a downed American flyer, Pat Talbot, and attempts to get him safely out of the country.
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Apache Trail
Title: Apache Trail
Character: Constance Selden
Released: September 1, 1942
Type: Movie
The brother of a notorious outlaw is put in a charge of a stagecoach line way station in dangerous Apache territory. A stagecoach arrives at the station with a valuable box of cargo, and the outlaw brother soon shows up, though denying that he's planning to take the cargo box. Soon, however, rampaging Apaches attack the station, and the station manager, his brother and a disparate group of passengers and employees must fight them off.
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Nazi Agent
Title: Nazi Agent
Character: Kaaren De Relle
Released: March 1, 1942
Type: Movie
Humble stamp dealer Otto Becker has little to do with international politics, so when he receives a surprise visit from his estranged twin brother and Nazi spy, Baron Hugo von Detner, his world is thrown into turmoil. Threatening Becker with deportation, Hugo forces him to use his shop as a front for espionage.
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Dr. Kildare's Victory
Title: Dr. Kildare's Victory
Character: Cynthia 'Cookie' Charles
Released: February 4, 1942
Type: Movie
Dr. Gillespie supports Kildare's crusade against their hospital's deal with a rival hospital.
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Fiesta
Title: Fiesta
Character: Cholita
Released: November 28, 1941
Type: Movie
Cholita, after a long absence in Mexico City, is returning home to take up her duties as head of the rancho and, as everyone expects, to marry her childhood sweetheart José. Expectations are somewhat dashed as she shows up with Fernando to whom she is engaged. This makes José and Cholita's uncle more than a little bit put out as Fernando is not only not a Mexican, he is also a city slicker afraid of the country.