Cliff Lyons
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
Fotos
Películas (130)
The Train Robbers
1973 · Second Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator
Chisum
1970 · Wrangler (uncredited)
The Green Berets
1968 · Hugh Parkinson (uncredited)
The War Wagon
1967 · Outrider (uncredited), Stunts, Second Unit Director
Marco the Magnificent
1965 · (uncredited)
Genghis Khan
1965 · (uncredited), Second Unit Director
Major Dundee
1965 · Trooper (uncredited), Second Unit Director, Stunts
Cheyenne Autumn
1964 · Stunts
McLintock!
1963 · Stunt Coordinator, Technical Advisor
Taras Bulba
1962 · Second Unit Director
How the West Was Won
1962 · Stunts
Two Rode Together
1961 · William McCandless (uncredited), Stunts
The Alamo
1960 · Bowie's Man (uncredited), Second Unit Director, Stunts
Spartacus
1960 · Soldier (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
1960 · Sam Beecher (uncredited), Stunts
Ben-Hur
1959 · The Lubian (uncredited)
The Horse Soldiers
1959 · Union Sergeant (uncredited), Stunts
The Young Land
1959 · Reynolds - Jury Foreman (uncredited), Jury Foreman
The Missouri Traveler
1958 · Stunts
Apache Warrior
1957 · Trooper (uncredited)
The Abductors
1957 · Secret Service Agent
The Wings of Eagles
1957 · Officer in Brawl (uncredited), Stunts
7 Men from Now
1956 · Henchman
The Searchers
1956 · Stunts
The Conqueror
1956 · Second Unit Director, Stunts
The Prodigal
1955 · Harun (uncredited), Stunts
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
Bend of the River
1952 · Willie, Stunts
The Red Badge of Courage
1951 · Soldier (uncredited)
Rio Grande
1950 · Soldier (uncredited), Second Unit Director, Stunts
Wagon Master
1950 · Marshal of Crystal City, Second Unit Director, Stunts
When Willie Comes Marching Home
1950 · Churchgoer (uncredited)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
1949 · Trooper Cliff (uncredited), Second Unit Director, Stunts, Technical Advisor
3 Godfathers
1948 · Guard at Mojave Tanks (uncredited), Stunts
Red River
1948 · Stunts
Fort Apache
1948 · Second Unit Director, Stunts
My Pal Trigger
1946 · Croupier (uncredited)
The Phantom Rider
1946 · Stunts
The Purple Monster Strikes
1945 · Stunts
Death Valley Manhunt
1943 · Stunts
Wagon Tracks West
1943 · Henchman Matt
Colt Comrades
1943 · Rancher
The Old Chisholm Trail
1942 · Stand In
The Silver Bullet
1942 · Stage Driver, Barfly
They Died with Their Boots On
1941 · Stunt Double
How Green Was My Valley
1941 · Stunts
Riders of Death Valley
1941 · Stunts
Winners of the West
1940 · Indian / Henchman, Stunts
The Man from Tumbleweeds
1940 · Stunts
The Light That Failed
1939 · Stunts
Destry Rides Again
1939 · Stunts
Renegade Trail
1939 · Henchman, Stunts
Three Texas Steers
1939 · Stunts
Dodge City
1939 · Stunts
Jesse James
1939 · Stunt Double
Cassidy of Bar 20
1938 · Stunts
Hollywood Round-Up
1937 · Saloon Set Brawler
Black Aces
1937 · Rider
North of the Rio Grande
1937 · Barfly, Stunts
Trailin' West
1936 · Gambler (uncredited)
The Phantom Rider
1936 · Stunts
Three on the Trail
1936 · Stunts
Three Godfathers
1936 · Stunts
The Lawless Nineties
1936 · Henchman Davis
The Singing Vagabond
1935 · Stunts
Bar 20 Rides Again
1935 · Stunts
The Eagle's Brood
1935 · Cowhand
Stormy
1935 · Cowhand (uncredited)
The Last Days of Pompeii
1935 · Ostorius - a Gladiator (uncredited)
The Miracle Rider
1935 · Stunts
The Crimson Trail
1935 · Barroom Cowhand
In Old Santa Fe
1934 · Cowhand (uncredited)
Love Time
1934 · Stunts
The Red Rider
1934 · Stunts
Gordon of Ghost City
1933 · Rider
Robbers' Roost
1932 · Stunt Double
The Devil Horse
1932 · Cowhand (uncredited), Stunts
The Night Rider
1932 · Bert Logan
The Texas Bad Man
1932 · Stunts
Mystery Ranch
1932 · Stunts
The Rainbow Trail
1932 · Horseman
Riders of the Purple Sage
1931 · Jed
The Vanishing Legion
1931 · Stunts
Three Rogues
1931 · Deputy (uncredited)
The Painted Desert
1931 · Rider
Red Fork Range
1931 · 'Skeeter' Beldon
Fighting Thru
1930 · Stunts
Under Texas Skies
1930 · Mustang - Henchman (uncredited)
The Last of the Duanes
1930 · Henchman
Canyon Hawks
1930 · Tom Hardy
The Oklahoma Cyclone
1930 · Henchman
The Lone Rider
1930 · Henchman
The Oklahoma Sheriff
1930
Near the Rainbow's End
1930 · Lefty - Henchman
The Canyon of Missing Men
1930 · Brill Lonegran
Western Honor
1930
The Cheyenne Kid
1930 · Cowhand (uncredited)
The Man from Nowhere
1930
The Hunted Men
1930 · Henchman Red (uncredited)
The Call of the Desert
1930 · Nate Thomas
Covered Wagon Trails
1930
Firebrand Jordan
1930 · Pete
Breezy Bill
1930 · Bandit
O'Malley Rides Alone
1930 · Henchman
Crusaders of the West
1930
West of the Rockies
1929 · Snakey Rogers
The Voice from the Sky
1929 · Henchman 'Humpy'
Code of the West
1929 · Leary Henchman
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
1929 · Slim Saxon
The Law of the Plains
1929 · Henchman
The Fighting Terror
1929
The Last Roundup
1929 · Jimmy Blyth
The Arizona Kid
1929 · Red Hank
Bullets and Justice
1929 · Red Barton
Headin' Westward
1929 · Pat Carle
The Phantom City
1928 · Stunts
The Old Code
1928 · Jacques de Long
Manhattan Cowboy
1928 · Tex Spaulding
Across the Plains
1928 · Chuck Lang
Hell Hounds of the Plains
1927 · Henchman (uncredited)
Western Courage
1927 · Henchman Cliff
Somewhere in Sonora
1927 · Stunts
Outlaw's Paradise
1927 · Sheriff
Blue Streak O'Neil
1926
Desert Greed
1926 · Gillis - Henchman (uncredited)
The Fighting Ranger
1926
The Border Sheriff
1926 · Stunts
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
1925 · Charioteer (uncredited)
The Road Agent
1925
Wild Horse Canyon
1925 · Ranch Hand
