Cliff Lyons
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- July 5, 1901
- Died
- January 6, 1974 (aged 72)
- Birthplace
- Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota, USA
Biography
Cliff Lyons was an American actor, stuntman and second-unit director, primarily of Westerns, particularly the films of John Ford and John Wayne. Lyons, the son of Garrett Thomas Lyons and Wilhamena Johnson Lyons, was raised on a South Dakota farm, though his family lived for a time in Memphis, TN, where he attended business school. An expert horseman, he gave up the notion of a business career and opted for the rodeo arena instead, touring the country;y and eventually reaching Los Angeles at the age of 21. With accomplished cowboys in great demand, Lyons quickly became involved in movies, working both as a stuntman and an actor. After only a couple of bit parts, he was signed by producer Bud Barsky to do seven inexpensive Westerns directed by Paul Hurst, with Lyons and Al Hoxie alternating as the hero and the heavy. Lyons and Hoxie alternated in another Western series produced by Morris R. Schlank, and, as Cliff 'Tex' Lyons, he seemed headed for minor stardom as a B-Western lead. However, Lyons' voice was not well-suited for sound and the talkie revolution confined him to small roles. As his small shot at stardom faded, however, his career as a stunt double for stars big and small was on the rise. He doubled such cowboy stars as Tom Mix, Ken Maynard, Buck Jones and Johnny Mack Brown. In 1936 he worked with John Wayne for the first and struck up a personal and business relationship that would remain strong for three decades. Wayne was influential in getting Lyons his first work as a second-unit director and in introducing Lyons to John Ford, for whom Lyons would do some of his finest work. Lyons' reputation as a stunt coordinator is comparable to that of acknowledged master Yakima Canutt, with whom Lyons partnered on numerous occasions. Perhaps Lyons' most impressive work was the massive and dynamic battle sequences of Wayne's The Alamo (1960). He was married from 1938 to 1955 to actress Beth Marion, with whom he had two sons. Cliff Lyons died in 1974 at 72, not long after coordinating stunts for Wayne's The Train Robbers (1973). Date of Birth 4 July 1901, near Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota Date of Death 6 January 1974, Los Angeles, California
Known For
Filmography
Chisum
Movie · as Wrangler (uncredited)
The Green Berets
Movie · as Hugh Parkinson (uncredited)
The War Wagon
Movie · as Outrider (uncredited)
Major Dundee
Movie · as Trooper (uncredited)
Genghis Khan
Movie · as (uncredited)
Marco the Magnificent
Movie · as (uncredited)
Two Rode Together
Movie · as William McCandless (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
Movie · as Sam Beecher (uncredited)
Spartacus
Movie · as Soldier (uncredited)
The Alamo
Movie · as Bowie's Man (uncredited)
The Young Land
Movie · as Reynolds - Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Ben-Hur
Movie · as The Lubian (uncredited)
The Horse Soldiers
Movie · as Union Sergeant (uncredited)
Apache Warrior
Movie · as Trooper (uncredited)
The Abductors
Movie · as Secret Service Agent
The Wings of Eagles
Movie · as Officer in Brawl (uncredited)
Wagon Train
TV · as Creel Weatherby · 1 ep
7 Men from Now
Movie · as Henchman
The Prodigal
Movie · as Harun (uncredited)
The Sun Shines Bright
Movie
Bend of the River
Movie · as Willie
The Red Badge of Courage
Movie · as Soldier (uncredited)
Wagon Master
Movie · as Marshal of Crystal City
When Willie Comes Marching Home
Movie · as Churchgoer (uncredited)
Rio Grande
Movie · as Soldier (uncredited)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Movie · as Trooper Cliff (uncredited)
3 Godfathers
Movie · as Guard at Mojave Tanks (uncredited)
My Pal Trigger
Movie · as Croupier (uncredited)
Wagon Tracks West
Movie · as Henchman Matt
Colt Comrades
Movie · as Rancher
The Silver Bullet
Movie · as Barfly, Stage Driver
Winners of the West
Movie · as Indian / Henchman
Renegade Trail
Movie · as Henchman
Hollywood Round-Up
Movie · as Saloon Set Brawler
Black Aces
Movie · as Rider
North of the Rio Grande
Movie · as Barfly
The Lawless Nineties
Movie · as Henchman Davis
Trailin' West
Movie · as Gambler (uncredited)
Stormy
Movie · as Cowhand (uncredited)
The Last Days of Pompeii
Movie · as Ostorius - a Gladiator (uncredited)
The Eagle's Brood
Movie · as Cowhand
The Crimson Trail
Movie · as Barroom Cowhand
In Old Santa Fe
Movie · as Cowhand (uncredited)
Gordon of Ghost City
Movie · as Rider
The Night Rider
Movie · as Bert Logan
The Rainbow Trail
Movie · as Horseman
The Devil Horse
Movie · as Cowhand (uncredited)
Red Fork Range
Movie · as 'Skeeter' Beldon
The Painted Desert
Movie · as Rider
Riders of the Purple Sage
Movie · as Jed
Three Rogues
Movie · as Deputy (uncredited)
Covered Wagon Trails
Movie
Firebrand Jordan
Movie · as Pete
The Canyon of Missing Men
Movie · as Brill Lonegran
The Cheyenne Kid
Movie · as Cowhand (uncredited)
Under Texas Skies
Movie · as Mustang - Henchman (uncredited)
The Oklahoma Sheriff
Movie
The Hunted Men
Movie · as Henchman Red (uncredited)
Breezy Bill
Movie · as Bandit
Western Honor
Movie
The Man from Nowhere
Movie
The Last of the Duanes
Movie · as Henchman
Canyon Hawks
Movie · as Tom Hardy
The Call of the Desert
Movie · as Nate Thomas
Near the Rainbow's End
Movie · as Lefty - Henchman
The Oklahoma Cyclone
Movie · as Henchman
O'Malley Rides Alone
Movie · as Henchman
The Lone Rider
Movie · as Henchman
Crusaders of the West
Movie
The Arizona Kid
Movie · as Red Hank
The Law of the Plains
Movie · as Henchman
Bullets and Justice
Movie · as Red Barton
The Last Roundup
Movie · as Jimmy Blyth
Code of the West
Movie · as Leary Henchman
The Voice from the Sky
Movie · as Henchman 'Humpy'
Headin' Westward
Movie · as Pat Carle
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
Movie · as Slim Saxon
The Fighting Terror
Movie
West of the Rockies
Movie · as Snakey Rogers
An Oklahoma Cowboy
Movie
Manhattan Cowboy
Movie · as Tex Spaulding
Across the Plains
Movie · as Chuck Lang
The Old Code
Movie · as Jacques de Long
Hell Hounds of the Plains
Movie · as Henchman (uncredited)
Outlaw's Paradise
Movie · as Sheriff
Western Courage
Movie · as Henchman Cliff
Desert Greed
Movie · as Gillis - Henchman (uncredited)
Blue Streak O'Neil
Movie
The Fighting Ranger
Movie
Wild Horse Canyon
Movie · as Ranch Hand
The Road Agent
Movie
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Movie · as Charioteer (uncredited)