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Cliff Lyons
Acting
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…
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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
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BODY OF WORK
Cliff Lyons's Filmography
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Chisum
as Wrangler (uncredited)
The Green Berets
as Hugh Parkinson (uncredited)
The War Wagon
as Outrider (uncredited)
Marco the Magnificent
as (uncredited)
Genghis Khan
as (uncredited)
Major Dundee
as Trooper (uncredited)
Two Rode Together
as William McCandless (uncredited)
The Alamo
as Bowie's Man (uncredited)
Spartacus
as Soldier (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
as Sam Beecher (uncredited)
Ben-Hur
as The Lubian (uncredited)
The Horse Soldiers
as Union Sergeant (uncredited)
The Young Land
as Reynolds - Jury Foreman (uncredited)
The Young Land
as Jury Foreman
The Abductors
as Secret Service Agent
Apache Warrior
as Trooper (uncredited)
The Wings of Eagles
as Officer in Brawl (uncredited)
7 Men from Now
as Henchman
The Prodigal
as Harun (uncredited)
The Sun Shines Bright
Bend of the River
as Willie
The Red Badge of Courage
as Soldier (uncredited)
Rio Grande
as Soldier (uncredited)
Wagon Master
as Marshal of Crystal City
When Willie Comes Marching Home
as Churchgoer (uncredited)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
as Trooper Cliff (uncredited)
3 Godfathers
as Guard at Mojave Tanks (uncredited)
Wagon Tracks West
as Henchman Matt
Colt Comrades
as Rancher
The Silver Bullet
as Stage Driver
The Silver Bullet
as Barfly
Winners of the West
as Indian / Henchman
Renegade Trail
as Henchman
Hollywood Round-Up
as Saloon Set Brawler
Black Aces
as Rider
North of the Rio Grande
as Barfly
Trailin' West
as Gambler (uncredited)
The Lawless Nineties
as Henchman Davis
The Eagle's Brood
as Cowhand
Stormy
as Cowhand (uncredited)
The Last Days of Pompeii
as Ostorius - a Gladiator (uncredited)
The Crimson Trail
as Barroom Cowhand
In Old Santa Fe
as Cowhand (uncredited)
Gordon of Ghost City
as Rider
The Devil Horse
as Cowhand (uncredited)
The Night Rider
as Bert Logan
The Rainbow Trail
as Horseman
Riders of the Purple Sage
as Jed
Three Rogues
as Deputy (uncredited)
The Painted Desert
as Rider
Red Fork Range
as 'Skeeter' Beldon
Under Texas Skies
as Mustang - Henchman (uncredited)
The Last of the Duanes
as Henchman
Canyon Hawks
as Tom Hardy
The Oklahoma Cyclone
as Henchman
The Lone Rider
as Henchman
The Oklahoma Sheriff
Near the Rainbow's End
as Lefty - Henchman
The Canyon of Missing Men
as Brill Lonegran
No Poster
Western Honor
The Cheyenne Kid
as Cowhand (uncredited)
No Poster
The Man from Nowhere
The Hunted Men
as Henchman Red (uncredited)
The Call of the Desert
as Nate Thomas
No Poster
Covered Wagon Trails
Firebrand Jordan
as Pete
No Poster
Breezy Bill
as Bandit
O'Malley Rides Alone
as Henchman
The Voice from the Sky
as Henchman 'Humpy'
Code of the West
as Leary Henchman
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
as Slim Saxon
The Law of the Plains
as Henchman
The Fighting Terror
The Last Roundup
as Jimmy Blyth
No Poster
The Arizona Kid
as Red Hank
No Poster
Bullets and Justice
as Red Barton
Headin' Westward
as Pat Carle
No Poster
The Old Code
as Jacques de Long
Manhattan Cowboy
as Tex Spaulding
Across the Plains
as Chuck Lang
Hell Hounds of the Plains
as Henchman (uncredited)
No Poster
Western Courage
as Henchman Cliff
No Poster
Outlaw's Paradise
as Sheriff
Blue Streak O'Neil
Desert Greed
as Gillis - Henchman (uncredited)
No Poster
The Fighting Ranger
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
as Charioteer (uncredited)
The Road Agent
Wild Horse Canyon
as Ranch Hand