Cliff Lyons
Acting • Born 1901-07-05 – Died 1974-01-06
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
Filmography
85 credits
Covered Wagon Trails
Movie • 1930
Firebrand Jordan
Movie • 1930
Pete
The Canyon of Missing Men
Movie • 1930
Brill Lonegran
The Cheyenne Kid
Movie • 1930
Cowhand (uncredited)
Stormy
Movie • 1935
Cowhand (uncredited)
7 Men from Now
Movie • 1956
Henchman
Desert Greed
Movie • 1926
Gillis - Henchman (uncredited)
The Arizona Kid
Movie • 1929
Red Hank
Under Texas Skies
Movie • 1930
Mustang - Henchman (uncredited)
The Oklahoma Sheriff
Movie • 1930
The Hunted Men
Movie • 1930
Henchman Red (uncredited)
Breezy Bill
Movie • 1930
Bandit
Western Honor
Movie • 1930
The Man from Nowhere
Movie • 1930
The Law of the Plains
Movie • 1929
Henchman
Wagon Master
Movie • 1950
Marshal of Crystal City
Bullets and Justice
Movie • 1929
Red Barton
Manhattan Cowboy
Movie • 1928
Tex Spaulding
Hell Hounds of the Plains
Movie • 1927
Henchman (uncredited)
The Young Land
Movie • 1959
Reynolds - Jury Foreman (uncredited)
The Last Days of Pompeii
Movie • 1935
Ostorius - a Gladiator (uncredited)
Apache Warrior
Movie • 1957
Trooper (uncredited)
The Lawless Nineties
Movie • 1936
Henchman Davis
The Green Berets
Movie • 1968
Hugh Parkinson (uncredited)
Major Dundee
Movie • 1965
Trooper (uncredited)
The Night Rider
Movie • 1932
Bert Logan
Red Fork Range
Movie • 1931
'Skeeter' Beldon
The Painted Desert
Movie • 1931
Rider
The Rainbow Trail
Movie • 1932
Horseman
The Last of the Duanes
Movie • 1930
Henchman
Chisum
Movie • 1970
Wrangler (uncredited)
Blue Streak O'Neil
Movie • 1926
Canyon Hawks
Movie • 1930
Tom Hardy
The Last Roundup
Movie • 1929
Jimmy Blyth
Code of the West
Movie • 1929
Leary Henchman
Hollywood Round-Up
Movie • 1937
Saloon Set Brawler
Sergeant Rutledge
Movie • 1960
Sam Beecher (uncredited)
The Young Land
Movie • 1959
Jury Foreman
Gordon of Ghost City
Movie • 1933
Rider
Bend of the River
Movie • 1952
Willie
When Willie Comes Marching Home
Movie • 1950
Churchgoer (uncredited)
Wagon Tracks West
Movie • 1943
Henchman Matt
Ben-Hur
Movie • 1959
The Lubian (uncredited)
Riders of the Purple Sage
Movie • 1931
Jed
Spartacus
Movie • 1960
Soldier (uncredited)
Black Aces
Movie • 1937
Rider
The Voice from the Sky
Movie • 1929
Henchman 'Humpy'
Renegade Trail
Movie • 1939
Henchman
The Eagle's Brood
Movie • 1935
Cowhand
Call of the Desert
Movie • 1930
Nate Thomas
North of the Rio Grande
Movie • 1937
Barfly
The Devil Horse
Movie • 1932
Cowhand (uncredited)
Wild Horse Canyon
Movie • 1925
Ranch Hand
The Road Agent
Movie • 1925
Winners of the West
Movie • 1940
Indian / Henchman
Across the Plains
Movie • 1928
Chuck Lang
Rio Grande
Movie • 1950
Soldier (uncredited)
The Red Badge of Courage
Movie • 1951
Soldier (uncredited)
Trailin' West
Movie • 1936
Gambler (uncredited)
Genghis Khan
Movie • 1965
(uncredited)
Two Rode Together
Movie • 1961
William McCandless (uncredited)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Movie • 1949
Trooper Cliff (uncredited)
Headin' Westward
Movie • 1929
Pat Carle
The Crimson Trail
Movie • 1935
Barroom Cowhand
3 Godfathers
Movie • 1948
Guard at Mojave Tanks (uncredited)
The War Wagon
Movie • 1967
Outrider (uncredited)
The Silver Bullet
Movie • 1942
Barfly
The Silver Bullet
Movie • 1942
Stage Driver
Colt Comrades
Movie • 1943
Rancher
Near the Rainbow's End
Movie • 1930
Lefty - Henchman
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
Movie • 1929
Slim Saxon
The Fighting Terror
Movie • 1929
The Fighting Ranger
Movie • 1926
The Abductors
Movie • 1957
Secret Service Agent
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Movie • 1925
Charioteer (uncredited)
The Oklahoma Cyclone
Movie • 1930
Henchman
Outlaw's Paradise
Movie • 1927
Sheriff
O'Malley Rides Alone
Movie • 1930
Henchman
The Horse Soldiers
Movie • 1959
Union Sergeant (uncredited)
Western Courage
Movie • 1927
Henchman Cliff
Three Rogues
Movie • 1931
Deputy (uncredited)
The Alamo
Movie • 1960
Bowie's Man (uncredited)
Marco the Magnificent
Movie • 1965
(uncredited)
The Prodigal
Movie • 1955
Harun (uncredited)
Wagon Train
TV • 1957
Creel Weatherby