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Cliff Lyons

Cliff Lyons

Actor · 1901 – 1974 · Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota, USA

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

Movies24

  • Movie7.9

    Ben-Hur

    1959 · 3.3K votes

  • Movie7.5

    Spartacus

    1960 · 2.5K votes

  • Movie7.1

    The Alamo

    1960 · 414 votes

  • Movie6.8

    3 Godfathers

    1948 · 217 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Chisum

    1970 · 212 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Major Dundee

    1965 · 182 votes

  • Movie6.9

    She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

    1949 · 421 votes

  • Movie6.8

    The War Wagon

    1967 · 232 votes

  • Movie6.9

    The Horse Soldiers

    1959 · 291 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Rio Grande

    1950 · 409 votes

  • Movie5.7

    The Green Berets

    1968 · 197 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Bend of the River

    1952 · 224 votes

  • Movie6.8

    7 Men from Now

    1956 · 129 votes

  • Movie6.3

    The Wings of Eagles

    1957 · 72 votes

  • Movie5.2

    La Fabuleuse Aventure de Marco Polo

    Marco the Magnificent

    1965 · 13 votes

  • Movie6.4

    The Red Badge of Courage

    1951 · 72 votes

  • Movie7.3
  • Movie5.7

    Genghis Khan

    1965 · 57 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Two Rode Together

    1961 · 161 votes

  • Movie6.6

    The Sun Shines Bright

    1953 · 53 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Wagon Master

    1950 · 167 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Sergeant Rutledge

    1960 · 141 votes

  • Movie9.0

    The Call of the Desert

    1930 · 1 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Winners of the West

    1940 · 1 votes

Series1

  • TV6.6

    Wagon Train

    1957 · 31 votes