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Cliff Lyons is a Actor, Second Unit Director and Stunts American born on 5 july 1901 at Lake County (USA)
Clifford William Lyons (born near Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota 1 July 1901 - died Los Angeles, California 6 January 1974) was an American motion picture actor, stuntman and second unit director, primarily of Westerns and 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, Tennessee, where he attended business school. An expert horseman, Lyons gave up the notion of a business career and opted for the rodeo arena instead, touring nationwide and eventually reaching Los Angeles at the age of 21. Accomplished cowboys were in great demand for western films, and Lyons found a home in that genre, 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. Unfortunately, Lyons' voice was not well-suited for sound and the talkie revolution confined him to small roles. However, as his small shot at stardom faded, his career as a stunt double for big stars and small was on the rise. Lyons 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 time and began 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 him 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. Lyons' most noted work was the massive and dynamic battle sequences of Wayne's The Alamo.
Lyons was married from 1938 to 1955 to actress Beth Marion, with whom he had two sons. He died in 1974 at 72, not long after coordinating stunts for Wayne's The Train Robbers.
(1962)
(Stunts)
(1963)
(Stunt Coordinator)
(1956)
(Stunts)
(1948)
(Stunts)
(1949)
(Second Unit Director)
(1962)
(Second Unit Director)
Source : Wikidata
Cliff Lyons
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Birth name Clifford William Lyons
Nationality USA
Birth 5 july 1901 at Lake County (USA)
Death 6 january 1974 (at 72 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
Nationality USA
Birth 5 july 1901 at Lake County (USA)
Death 6 january 1974 (at 72 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
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, Tennessee, where he attended business school. An expert horseman, Lyons gave up the notion of a business career and opted for the rodeo arena instead, touring nationwide and eventually reaching Los Angeles at the age of 21. Accomplished cowboys were in great demand for western films, and Lyons found a home in that genre, 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. Unfortunately, Lyons' voice was not well-suited for sound and the talkie revolution confined him to small roles. However, as his small shot at stardom faded, his career as a stunt double for big stars and small was on the rise. Lyons 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 time and began 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 him 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. Lyons' most noted work was the massive and dynamic battle sequences of Wayne's The Alamo.
Lyons was married from 1938 to 1955 to actress Beth Marion, with whom he had two sons. He died in 1974 at 72, not long after coordinating stunts for Wayne's The Train Robbers.
Best films
(1962)(Stunts)
(1963)(Stunt Coordinator)
(1956)(Stunts)
(1948)(Stunts)
(1949)(Second Unit Director)
(1962)(Second Unit Director)
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Filmography of Cliff Lyons (72 films)
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Chisum (1970)
, 1h51Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Origin USA
Genres Action, Western
Actors John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Ben Johnson, Geoffrey Deuel, Glenn Corbett, Bruce Cabot
Roles Wrangler (uncredited)
Rating67%
John Chisum (John Wayne), a virtuous, patriarchal land baron, locks horns with greedy Lawrence Murphy (Forrest Tucker), who will stop at nothing to get control of the trade and even the law in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
The Green Berets (1968)
, 2h22Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, John Wayne, Edgar Ray Kellogg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Politique, Political films
Actors David Janssen, John Wayne, Jim Hutton, Aldo Ray, George Takei, Luke Askew
Roles Hugh Parkinson (uncredited)
Rating56%
At Fort Bragg, cynical newspaper reporter George Beckworth (David Janssen) is at a Special Forces briefing about the American military involvement in the war in Vietnam. The briefing at Gabriel Demonstration Area (named for SGT Jimmy Gabriel, the first "Green Beret" soldier killed in Vietnam), includes a demonstration and explanation of the whys and wherefores of participating in the Vietnam War.
The War Wagon (1967)
, 1h41Directed by Bruce Cabot, Bruce Dern, Kirk Douglas, Gene Evans, Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr., John Wayne, Keenan Wynn, Joanna Barnes, Burt Kennedy, Clair Huffaker
Origin USA
Genres Action, Crime, Western
Themes Heist films
Actors John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr., Keenan Wynn, Bruce Dern
Roles Outrider (uncredited)
Rating68%
Rancher Taw Jackson (John Wayne) returns to his hometown to settle a score. Three years earlier, he was framed by corrupt businessman Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot) and wrongfully imprisoned. Pierce did this to confiscate Jackson's land, where he had discovered gold. After his prison sentence was cut short for good behavior, Jackson returns to steal a shipment of gold from Pierce. He hires Lomax (Kirk Douglas) to assist him, even though he had worked as a hired gun for Pierce and was instrumental in sending him to prison. Jackson needs Lomax not only because of his marksmanship, but also because he is a safe-cracker. The gold shipment is being transported in a "war wagon," a heavily armored stagecoach armed with a deadly Gatling gun in a top-mounted steerable turret. Jackson and Lomax assemble a gang and plan to rob the war wagon at the weakest point in the route it travels.
Major Dundee (1965)
, 1h56Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Origin USA
Genres War, Action, Adventure, Western
Themes Political films
Actors Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, James Coburn, Senta Berger, Michael Pate
Roles Trooper (uncredited)
Rating66%
During the American Civil War, Union cavalry officer Major Amos Dundee (Charlton Heston) is relieved of his command for an unspecified tactical error (though it is implied that he showed too much initiative) at the Battle of Gettysburg and sent to head a prisoner-of-war camp in the New Mexico Territory. After a family of ranchers and a relief column of cavalry are massacred by an Apache war chief named Sierra Charriba (Michael Pate), Dundee seizes the opportunity for glory, raising his own private army of Union troops (black and white), Confederate prisoners led by his former friend and rival from their days at West Point, Captain Tyreen (Richard Harris), several Indian scouts, and a gang of civilian mercenaries to illegally pursue Charriba into Mexico. Tyreen bears a grudge against Dundee. Before the war, Dundee cast the deciding vote in Tyreen's court-martial from the U.S. Army for participating in a duel. However, having given his word of honor, the chivalrous Tyreen binds himself and his men to serve loyally, but only until Charriba has been dispatched.
The Long Ships (1964)
, 2h6Directed by Jack Cardiff
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Documentary, Action, Adventure
Themes Films set in Africa, Seafaring films, Transport films, Films set in the Viking Age
Actors Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Russ Tamblyn, Oskar Homolka, Gordon Jackson, Colin Blakely
Rating60%
The story centres on an immense golden bell named The Mother of Voices, which may or may not exist. Moorish king Aly Mansuh (Sidney Poitier) is convinced that it does. Having collected all the legendary material about it that he can, he plans to mount an expedition to search for it. When the shipwrecked Norseman, Rolfe (Richard Widmark), repeats the story of the bell in the marketplace, and hints that he knows its location, he is seized by Mansuh's men and brought in for questioning. Rolfe insists that he does not know and that the bell is only a myth. He manages to escape before the questioning continues under torture.
McLintock! (1963)
, 2h7Directed by John Wayne, Yvonne De Carlo, Maureen O'Hara, Andrew V. McLaglen, Patrick Wayne, James Edward Grant
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Romance, Western
Themes Films based on plays, Films based on works by William Shakespeare
Actors John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Yvonne De Carlo, Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Edgar Buchanan
Rating70%
Cattle baron George Washington "G.W." McLintock (John Wayne) is living the single life on his ranch. He is estranged from wife Katherine (Maureen O'Hara), who left him two years before, suspecting him of adultery.
Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
, 1h51Directed by John Ford
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Crime, Western
Themes Films about racism
Actors Woody Strode, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Billie Burke, Juano Hernández, Willis Bouchey
Roles Sam Beecher (uncredited)
Rating73%
The film revolves around the court-martial of 1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge (Strode), a "Buffalo Soldier" of the 9th U.S. Cavalry. His defense is handled by Lt. Tom Cantrell (Hunter), Rutledge's troop officer. The story is told through a series of flashbacks, expanding the testimony of witnesses as they describe the events following the murder of Rutledge's Commanding Officer, Major Dabney, and the rape and murder of Dabney's daughter, for which Rutledge is the accused.
Spartacus (1960)
, 3h4Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical, Peplum
Themes Films about slavery, Films about sexuality, Sports films, Bisexuality-related films, LGBT-related films, Political films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin
Roles Soldier (uncredited)
Rating78%
In the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic has slid into corruption, its menial work done by armies of slaves. One of these, a proud and gifted man named Spartacus, is so uncooperative in his servitude that he is sentenced to fight as a gladiator. He is trained at a school run by the unctuous Roman businessman Lentulus Batiatus, who instructs Spartacus's trainer Marcellus to bully the slave mercilessly and break his spirit. Amid the abuse, Spartacus forms a quiet relationship with a serving woman named Varinia, whom he refuses to rape when she is sent to "entertain" him in his cell.
Ben-Hur (1959)
, 3h34Directed by William Wyler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Historical, Peplum
Themes Films set in Africa, Seafaring films, Christmas films, Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Transport films, Films based on the Bible, Films about Jews and Judaism, Road movies, Portrayals of Jesus in film, Chase films, Films about virginity
Actors Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott
Roles The Lubian (uncredited)
Rating80%
In AD 26, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy prince and merchant in Jerusalem, who lives with his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott); his sister, Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell); their loyal slave, Simonides (Sam Jaffe); and his daughter, Esther (Haya Harareet), who loves Ben-Hur but is betrothed to another. His childhood friend, the Roman citizen Messala (Stephen Boyd), is now a tribune. After several years away from Jerusalem, Messala returns as the new commander of the Roman garrison. Messala believes in the glory of Rome and its imperial power, while Ben-Hur is devoted to his faith and the freedom of the Jewish people.
The Young Land (1959)
, 1h29Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Western
Actors Patrick Wayne, Dennis Hopper, Yvonne Craig, Dan O'Herlihy, Ken Curtis, Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez
Roles Reynolds - Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Rating54%
In 1848, after the end of the Mexican–American War and with the advent of California statehood, an American gunslinger named Hatfield Carnes (Dennis Hopper) kills a Mexican man in California. He is arrested for the murder by Jim Ellison (Patrick Wayne), a former United States marine and now sheriff with neither a gun nor a badge. Appointed by prominent local businessman and politico Don Roberto de la Madrid (Roberto De La Madrid), Ellison has designs on de la Madrid's spoiled daughter, Elena (Yvonne Craig). By the book Judge Millard Isham (Dan O'Herlihy) arrives in town with Deputy Marshal Ben Stroud (Cliff Ketchum) to conduct the trial. Wanted tough guy Lee Hearn (Ken Curtis) has problems of his own with the law, but is willing to help Ellison as a deputy. Carnes is then placed on trial in the new Mexican Cession territory with the Hispanic populace waiting to learn if American justice will convict Carnes.
The Abductors (1957)
, 1h20Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Actors Victor McLaglen, Gavin Muir, George Macready, Fay Spain, George Cisar, Cliff Lyons
Roles Secret Service Agent
Rating58%
Apache Warrior (1957)
, 1h14Directed by Elmo Williams
Origin USA
Genres Western
Actors Keith Larsen, Jim Davis, Rodolfo Acosta, John Miljan, Damian O'Flynn, George Keymas
Roles Trooper (uncredited)
Rating52%
7 Men from Now (1956)
, 1h18Directed by Budd Boetticher
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Western
Actors Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed, Stuart Whitman, John Phillips
Roles Henchman
Rating73%
Ben Stride (Randolph Scott) walks into a desert cave encampment during a nighttime rainstorm. He encounters two men taking shelter next to a fire and asks to join them. Stride tells the men he's from the town of Silver Springs, which provokes a mysterious reaction from the two men. They discuss a robbery and murder that recently occurred there. The men become suspicious of Stride, and when they realize his intentions, he guns them down.
Bend of the River (1952)
, 1h31Directed by Anthony Mann
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Western
Actors James Stewart, John Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Jay C. Flippen, Lori Nelson
Roles Willie
Rating71%
In 1866, remorseful former border raider Glyn McLyntock (James Stewart) is scouting for a wagon train of settlers to Oregon. While he is checking the trail ahead, he rescues Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy) from being lynched for stealing a horse. Cole, who says the horse is "not exactly stolen," thinks he's heard of McLyntock, but doesn't pursue the subject. One of the pioneers in the wagon train is the eligible Laurie Baile (Julie Adams). That night, they are attacked by five Shoshone Indians and Laurie is wounded by an arrow. McLyntock and Cole go out to deal with the Shoshones and Cole saves McLyntock's life in the process. McLyntock welcomes Cole, but Jeremy Baile (Jay C. Flippen), the leader of the settlers, does not trust Cole and does not believe that a man can change from bad to good.
Rio Grande (1950)
, 1h45Directed by John Ford
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Western
Actors John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson, Claude Jarman Jr., Harry Carey, Jr., Victor McLaglen
Rating69%
In Rio Grande, Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke (John Wayne) is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against depredations of marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress between the Apaches using Mexico as a sanctuary from pursuit and by a serious shortage of troops of his command. The action of the movie is set in the summer of 1879 ("fifteen years after the Shenandoah").