Pierce W. Lyden (January 8, 1908 – October 10, 1998) was an American stage, film, television and stunt actor best known for his work in Westerns.

Early life and education Lyden was born in a sod house on a ranch near Hildreth, Nebraska on January 8, 1908. The son of a horse buyer for the U.S. Army cavalry, he acquired riding skills as a youngster that later made it possible for him to do his own stunts as an actor in Hollywood westerns.

He graduated high school in Naponee, Nebraska, and acted in several plays there. He graduated from the University of Nebraska School of Music and Fine Arts in 1927 and later studied at the Emerson College of Oratory in Boston.

Career Early years Lyden supported himself in these early years by playing romantic leads in stock company productions at Lincoln's Liberty Theater and on the road, and appeared in a few Chautauqua presentations. Soon after graduating from the University of Nebraska, he joined the United Chautauqua System, taking the leading role in its production of The Family Upstairs.

Hollywood

When talking movies eclipsed live theater presentations in small towns, Pierce Lyden went on to Hollywood in 1932 and appeared in his first Western film in 1933. He played villains' roles in B Western films, quickly becoming typecast as a "bad guy." Due to his excellence in horsemanship, he also performed stunts, and specialized in fight scenes. He appeared in Saturday serials called cliffhangers as well as in feature films and television series.

The number of his feature film roles has been estimated at between 300 and 400, many as "uncredited" since actors who did not have major parts were not listed in film credits. Some twenty-five of these film appearances were for Republic Pictures between 1940 and 1951.

Lyden made about a hundred episode appearances on television series such as The Cisco Kid, Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson, and The Lone Ranger.

He worked with some of the most famous Western movie actors, including Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, and John Wayne, portraying Campbell, the Colonel's wagon train scout in Red River (1948). He was Photo Press Fan Poll's "Villain of the Year" in 1944.

Retirement In 1962, as the popularity of Westerns lessened, Lyden retired in Orange, California, where he had lived throughout his acting career. He wrote "Action Shots" about film personalities for the Orange County, California, Register, and the film industry magazine Classic Images. He published five books about his career and the making of films in his era. In his later years he was regularly invited to film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.

Awards Honors awarded him included membership in the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Heritage Foundation (1979) and the Golden Boot Award (1992).

In 1989 Naponee, Nebraska, named a street for him and held a Pierce Lyden film festival. In 1996, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. In 1997 he received Nebraska's Buffalo Bill Award.

Personal life and death Lyden had one son, Donald Pierce Lyden, an attorney who had three children with his wife Kathleen. Lyden was married January 29, 1929, but received an annulment March 18, 1931, alleging that he had not seen his wife, Margerie Ann, since two hours after the wedding.

Lyden died at his Orange, California home on October 10, 1998, aged 90, and was buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California.

Filmography

Film

1941: The Get-Away – Gangster 1941: King of Dodge City – Reynolds 1942: Undercover Man – Burt 1942: Baby Face Morgan – Gap 1942: They Raid by Night – Braun 1942: One Thrilling Night – Duke Keesler 1943: California Joe – Harper 1943: Canyon City – Mac 1943: The Blocked Trail – Rankin 1943: False Colors – Lefty 1943: The Black Hills Express – Carl 1943: Border Patrol – Loren 1943: Dead Man's Gulch – Curley Welch 1943: Death Valley Manhunt – Clayton 1943: Fugitive from Sonora – Bill Slade 1944: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves – Guard 1944: Firebrands of Arizona – Gopher 1944: Trigger Law – Ace 1944: Texas Masquerade – Al 1944: Mystery Man – Red 1945: Trail to Vengeance – Sam 1945: The Cherokee Flash – Clint Hawkins 1945: Bad Men of the Border – Joe (uncredited) 1945: Code of the Lawless – Pete 1946: Magnificent Doll – Watch leader 1946: Rainbow Over Texas – Iverson 1946: Shadows on the Range – Ed 1946: Wild Beauty – Roy 1946: Roll on Texas Moon – Stuhler 1946: Trigger Fingers – Red 1946: Alias Billy the Kid – Sam 1947: The Fabulous Texan – Captain 1947: Raiders of the South – Marshal Jim Farley 1947: Song of the Wasteland – Forrester 1947: Rustlers of Devil's Canyon – Matt 1947: The Adventures of Don Coyote – Jeff 1947: Valley of Fear – Sheriff Wheeler 1947: Six-Gun Serenade – Buck 1948: Blazing Across the Pecos – Jason 1948: Crossed Trails – Whitfield 1948: Six-Gun Law – Marshal Jack Reed 1948: Back Trail – Frank Gilmore 1948: The Rangers Ride – Hamen 1948: Dead Man's Gold – Sliver 1948: Silver Trails– Ramsay 1948: Red River – Campbell (uncredited) 1949: The Gal Who Took the West – O'Hara Cowhand with Lee (uncredited) 1949: The Big Sombrero – Farmer 1949: Shadows of the West – Jordon 1950: The Gunfighter – Barfly (uncredited) 1950: Twilight in the Sierras – Blake 1950: Pygmy Island – Lucas 1950: Covered Wagon Raid – Brag 1951: Stagecoach Driver – Larry Edwards 1951: Whistling Hills – Cassidy, horse thief 1951: Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion – Armstrong 1951: Man from Sonora – Creel 1951: Nevada Badmen – Sheriff Connelly 1952: Texas City – Marshal George Markham 1952: Canyon Ambush – Rancher John Brackett 1952: Kansas Territory – Dr. Stanley Johnson 1952: Waco – Farley 1952: Carson City – Guard 1952: Montana Belle – Deputy 1953: Calamity Jane – Citizen (uncredited) 1955: The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues – Andy, Janitor 1956: The Women of Pitcairn Island – Dan Scruggs 1956: The First Traveling Saleslady – Outlaw (uncredited) 1958: Gunman's Walk – Townsman 1962: The Wild Westerners – Jake (uncredited, final film role)

Television

+ Year Title Role Notes 1951–1956 The Cisco Kid Vic / Dana / Carl Barton 4 episodes 1951–1956 Wild Bill Hickok Clint Morgan / Henchman Powers / Judge Morton 3 episodes 1952–1956 The Roy Rogers Show Vallon / Craig Ormond / Carl Posing as Carter & Graham 3 episodes 1953–1954 The Gene Autry Show Red, Lead Robber / Henchman with Mustache / Henchman Vince Keys / Bank Teller 4 episodes 1956–1957 Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Jiffy Tyler / Larry Bates / Prospector / Sam Jackson 4 episodes 1957 The Lone Ranger Gil Ryan / Earl Bennett / Reese Talman 3 episodes 1957–1959 Tales of Wells Fargo Blacksmith / Doc Mills / Cold Creek Sheriff 3 episodes 1958, 1960 The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Markum / Saloon Owner 2 episodes 1959 Bat Masterson Blacksmith 1 episode 1962 Cheyenne Marshal Holland 1 episode

References

External links

Pierce Lyden publications at the Nebraska State Historical Society