Cliff Lyons

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

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota, USA

Birthday: July 05, 1901

Deathday: January 06, 1974

Adult: No

Gender: Male

Popularity:

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Known For:

Covered Wagon Trails
Firebrand Jordan
The Canyon of Missing Men
The Cheyenne Kid
Stormy
7 Men from Now
Desert Greed
The Arizona Kid
Under Texas Skies
The Oklahoma Sheriff
The Hunted Men
Breezy Bill
Western Honor
The Man from Nowhere
Law of the Plains
Wagon Master
Bullets and Justice
Manhattan Cowboy
Hell Hounds of the Plains
The Young Land
The Last Days of Pompeii
Apache Warrior
The Lawless Nineties
The Green Berets
Major Dundee
The Night Rider
Red Fork Range
The Painted Desert
The Rainbow Trail
The Last of the Duanes
Chisum
Blue Streak O'Neil
Canyon Hawks
The Last Roundup
Code of the West
Hollywood Round-Up
Sergeant Rutledge
The Young Land
Gordon of Ghost City
Bend of the River
When Willie Comes Marching Home
Wagon Tracks West
Ben-Hur
Riders of the Purple Sage
Spartacus
Black Aces
The Voice from the Sky
Renegade Trail
The Eagle's Brood
Call of the Desert
North of the Rio Grande
The Devil Horse
Wild Horse Canyon
The Road Agent
Winners of the West
Across the Plains
Rio Grande
The Red Badge of Courage
Trailin' West
Genghis Khan
Two Rode Together
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Headin' Westward
The Crimson Trail
3 Godfathers
The War Wagon
The Silver Bullet
The Silver Bullet
Colt Comrades
Near the Rainbow's End
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
The Fighting Terror
The Fighting Ranger
The Abductors
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
The Oklahoma Cyclone
Outlaw's Paradise
O'Malley Rides Alone
The Horse Soldiers