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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
July 5, 1901
Died
January 6, 1974
Place of Birth
Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota, USA
Also Known As
- Clifford William Lyons
- Tex
- Cliff "Tex" Lyons
Cliff Lyons
0.3 Popularity
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
Known For
6.7
Wrangler (uncredited)
Chisum
1970
5.7
Hugh Parkinson (uncredited)
The Green Berets
1968
6.8
Outrider (uncredited)
The War Wagon
1967
4.7
(uncredited)
Marco the Magnificent
1965
5.8
(uncredited)
Genghis Khan
1965
6.6
Trooper (uncredited)
Major Dundee
1965
6.4
William McCandless (uncredited)
Two Rode Together
1961
7.1
Bowie's Man (uncredited)
The Alamo
1960
7.5
Soldier (uncredited)
Spartacus
1960
7.1
Sam Beecher (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
1960
Credits
Chisum
as Wrangler (uncredited)
1970
6.7
The Green Berets
as Hugh Parkinson (uncredited)
1968
5.7
The War Wagon
as Outrider (uncredited)
1967
6.8
Marco the Magnificent
as (uncredited)
1965
4.7
Genghis Khan
as (uncredited)
1965
5.8
Major Dundee
as Trooper (uncredited)
1965
6.6
Two Rode Together
as William McCandless (uncredited)
1961
6.4
The Alamo
as Bowie's Man (uncredited)
1960
7.1
Spartacus
as Soldier (uncredited)
1960
7.5
Sergeant Rutledge
as Sam Beecher (uncredited)
1960
7.1
Ben-Hur
as The Lubian (uncredited)
1959
7.9
The Horse Soldiers
as Union Sergeant (uncredited)
1959
7.0
The Young Land
as Reynolds - Jury Foreman (uncredited)
1959
6.4
The Young Land
as Jury Foreman
1959
6.4
Wagon Train
as Creel Weatherby
1957
6.6
The Abductors
as Secret Service Agent
1957
0.0
Apache Warrior
as Trooper (uncredited)
1957
4.6
Seven Men from Now
as Henchman
1956
6.8
Bend of the River
as Willie
1952
6.9
The Red Badge of Courage
as Soldier (uncredited)
1951
6.4
Rio Grande
as Soldier (uncredited)
1950
6.8
Wagon Master
as Marshal of Crystal City
1950
6.6
When Willie Comes Marching Home
as Churchgoer (uncredited)
1950
6.8
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
as Trooper Cliff (uncredited)
1949
6.9
3 Godfathers
as Guard at Mojave Tanks (uncredited)
1948
6.7
Wagon Tracks West
as Henchman Matt
1943
0.0
Colt Comrades
as Rancher
1943
5.3
The Silver Bullet
as Barfly
1942
4.0
The Silver Bullet
as Stage Driver
1942
4.0
Winners of the West
as Indian / Henchman
1940
0.0
Renegade Trail
as Henchman
1939
4.0
Hollywood Round-Up
as Saloon Set Brawler
1937
4.4
Black Aces
as Rider
1937
5.2
North of the Rio Grande
as Barfly
1937
5.5
Trailin' West
as Gambler (uncredited)
1936
0.0
The Lawless Nineties
as Henchman Davis
1936
5.2
The Eagle's Brood
as Cowhand
1935
4.7
Stormy
as Cowhand (uncredited)
1935
0.0
The Last Days of Pompeii
as Ostorius - a Gladiator (uncredited)
1935
5.6
The Crimson Trail
as Barroom Cowhand
1935
0.0
Gordon of Ghost City
as Rider
1933
4.0
The Devil Horse
as Cowhand (uncredited)
1932
4.0
The Night Rider
as Bert Logan
1932
0.0
The Rainbow Trail
as Horseman
1932
0.0
Riders of the Purple Sage
as Jed
1931
0.0
Three Rogues
as Deputy (uncredited)
1931
0.0
The Painted Desert
as Rider
1931
4.7
Red Fork Range
as 'Skeeter' Beldon
1931
0.0
Under Texas Skies
as Mustang - Henchman (uncredited)
1930
4.0
The Last of the Duanes
as Henchman
1930
3.0
Canyon Hawks
as Tom Hardy
1930
1.0
The Oklahoma Cyclone
as Henchman
1930
4.2
The Oklahoma Sheriff
1930
0.0
Near the Rainbow's End
as Lefty - Henchman
1930
1.0
The Canyon of Missing Men
as Brill Lonegran
1930
0.0
🎬
Western Honor
1930
0.0
The Cheyenne Kid
as Cowhand (uncredited)
1930
0.0
🎬
The Man from Nowhere
1930
0.0
The Hunted Men
as Henchman Red (uncredited)
1930
0.0
🎬
Call of the Desert
as Nate Thomas
1930
0.0
🎬
Covered Wagon Trails
1930
0.0
Firebrand Jordan
as Pete
1930
0.0
🎬
Breezy Bill
as Bandit
1930
0.0
O'Malley Rides Alone
as Henchman
1930
0.0
The Voice from the Sky
as Henchman 'Humpy'
1929
0.0
Code of the West
as Leary Henchman
1929
0.0
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
as Slim Saxon
1929
0.0
The Law of the Plains
as Henchman
1929
0.0
The Fighting Terror
1929
0.0
The Last Roundup
as Jimmy Blyth
1929
0.0
🎬
The Arizona Kid
as Red Hank
1929
0.0
🎬
Bullets and Justice
as Red Barton
1929
0.0
Headin' Westward
as Pat Carle
1929
0.0
Manhattan Cowboy
as Tex Spaulding
1928
0.0
Across the Plains
as Chuck Lang
1928
0.0
Hell Hounds of the Plains
as Henchman (uncredited)
1927
0.0
🎬
Western Courage
as Henchman Cliff
1927
0.0
🎬
Outlaw's Paradise
as Sheriff
1927
0.0
Blue Streak O'Neil
1926
0.0
Desert Greed
as Gillis - Henchman (uncredited)
1926
0.0
🎬
The Fighting Ranger
1926
0.0
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
as Charioteer (uncredited)
1925
7.3
The Road Agent
1925
0.0
Wild Horse Canyon
as Ranch Hand
1925
0.0