Gerald Ayres

Gerald Ayres was an American film studio executive, producer and screenwriter.

Ayres worked in New York in 1957 as a theatre writer and play doctor. Between writing jobs he worked  as a story analyst for the New York office of Columbia Pictures. In 1964 he was brought to Columbia’s Hollywood studio as assistant to new studio chief, Mike Frankovich. When Frankovich left in 1971, Ayres was made creative head of the studio.

Ayres left Columbia with a three-picture deal and formed Acrobat Productions, which produced, among other films, 1973’s The Last Detail. Directed by Hal Ashby, The Last Detail received three Oscar nominations: for best actor (Nicholson), supporting actor (Randy Quaid) and adapted screenplay (Robert Towne). Ayres had brought the production to film in Canada, one of the first Hollywood producers to do that.

His work for television included writing the telefilms Stormy Weathers and Holly Hunter's Crazy in Love, both of which aired in 1992, and 1995's Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story, starring Sherilyn Fenn.

Ayres died April 7, 2018, in Watertown, New York. He was 82.