Cliff Lyons
Biography
Date of Birth 4 July 1901, near Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota, USA Date of Death 6 January 1974, Los Angeles, California, USA Birth Name Clifford William Lyons Nickname Tex Mini 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). Spouse Beth Marion (1938 - 1955) (divorced) 2 children
The Painted Desert
Rider (uncredited)
Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Henchman (uncredited)
Across the Plains
Chuck Lang
Henchman
Horseman
The Night Rider
Bert Logan
Black Aces
Rider (uncredited)
Trailin' West
Gambler (uncredited)
Oklahoma Badlands
Buggy Henchman (uncredited)
Colt Comrades
Rancher (uncredited)
The Vanishing Legion - 12 Chapter Movie Serial
Deputy O'Brien [Ch. 1] / Wrangler Slim [Ch.1] / Shorty [Ch. 2] / Henchman [Ch. 4] (uncredited)
Footy Legends
Himself
Ben Hur
The Lubian (uncredited)
Chisum
Wrangler (uncredited)
The War Wagon
Outrider (uncredited)
Im Reich des Kublai Khan
(uncredited)
Genghis Khan
(uncredited)
Major Dundee
Trooper (uncredited)
The Long Ships
(uncredited)
McLintock!
Minor Role (uncredited)
Donovan's Reef
Australian Navy officer (uncredited)
Taras Bulba
(uncredited)
Two Rode Together
William McCandless (uncredited)
Gun Fight
Stage Driver (uncredited)
The Alamo
Bowie's Man (uncredited)
Spartacus
Soldier (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
Sam Beecher (uncredited)
Ben-Hur
The Lubian (uncredited)
The Young Land
Reynolds, Jury Foreman (uncredited)
The Wings of Eagles
(uncredited)
Seven Men From Now
Henchman
The Searchers
Col. Greenhill (uncredited)
The Prodigal
Harun (uncredited)
Drums Across the River
Hank (uncredited)
Take Me to Town
Stagecoach Driver (uncredited)
The sun Shines Bright
Deputy (uncredited)
Cow Country
Charlie - Cattleman (uncredited)
The Man Behind the Gun
Henchman Tex (uncredited)
Lone Star
Crayden Man (uncredited)
Bend of the River
Willie
Rio Grande
Soldier (uncredited)
Wagon Master
Marshal of Crystal City
When Willie Comes Marching Home/Up the River
Churchgoer (uncredited)
The Fighting Kentuckian
Kentuckian Driver (uncredited)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Trooper Cliff (uncredited)
3 Godfathers
Guard at Mojave Tanks (uncredited)
Oklahoma Badlands
Buggy Henchman (uncredited)
My Pal Trigger
Croupier (uncredited)
San Antonio
Gunman (uncredited)
Dakota
Bouncer (uncredited)
Frontier Gal
Brawler in Candy Shop (uncredited)
Zorro's Black Whip, Vol. 2
Rock Heavy #3 [Ch. 2] (uncredited)
Song of Russia
Wagon Driver (uncredited)
Colt Comrades
Rancher (uncredited)
Black Aces
Rider (uncredited)
Trailin' West
Gambler (uncredited)
The Phantom Rider
Cowhand (uncredited)
Winds of the Wasteland
Express Rider (uncredited)
The Lawless Nineties
Henchman Davis
The Last Days of Pompeii
Ostorius, a Gladiator (uncredited)
Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Henchman (uncredited)
Dante's Inferno
Stoker (uncredited)
The Roaring West
Guard
Miracle Rider (Alpha Video/ Chapters 1 - 15)
Indian (uncredited)
Gordon of Ghost City
Rider (uncredited)
The Night Rider
Bert Logan
Law and Order
Cowhand (uncredited)
Horseman
Law of the Rio Grande
Deputy (uncredited)
The Painted Desert
Rider (uncredited)
Henchman
The Oklahoma Cyclone
Henchman
Across the Plains
Chuck Lang
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Chariot Driver (uncredited)
