Cast

Cliff Lyons

Acting

Cast

Cliff Lyons

Known for

Acting

Born

1901-07-05

From

Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota, USA

Died

1974-01-06

Also known as Clifford William Lyons, Tex, Cliff "Tex" Lyons

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

Cliff Lyons

Cliff Lyons

Biography

Ben-Hur

Spartacus

Chisum

3 Godfathers

The Alamo

The War Wagon

The Green Berets

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

The Horse Soldiers

Major Dundee

Rio Grande

Bend of the River

Two Rode Together

7 Men from Now

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

The Wings of Eagles

Sergeant Rutledge

The Red Badge of Courage

The Prodigal

Genghis Khan

Bullets and Justice

The Sun Shines Bright

The Old Code

Marco the Magnificent

Wagon Master

The Oklahoma Sheriff

Desert Greed

The Crimson Trail

The Arizona Kid

When Willie Comes Marching Home

Western Courage

The Lawless Nineties

The Young Land

The Young Land

Call of the Desert

The Night Rider

Three Rogues

Hell Hounds of the Plains

The Abductors

Wagon Tracks West

The Hunted Men

The Last Days of Pompeii

The Painted Desert

North of the Rio Grande

Winners of the West

The Law of the Plains

Covered Wagon Trails

The Devil Horse

Gordon of Ghost City

Hollywood Round-Up

The Last of the Duanes

Colt Comrades

Apache Warrior

The Eagle's Brood

Renegade Trail

Trailin' West

Wild Horse Canyon

Black Aces

Stormy

Near the Rainbow's End

The Canyon of Missing Men

The Silver Bullet

The Silver Bullet

Riders of the Purple Sage

Across the Plains

The Rainbow Trail

The Oklahoma Cyclone

Red Fork Range

Canyon Hawks

The Fighting Terror

The Fighting Ranger

The Cowboy and the Outlaw

The Last Roundup

Under Texas Skies

Western Honor

The Man from Nowhere

Code of the West