Pierce Lyden

{{short description|American actor}} {{Infobox person | image = | alt = | caption = | other_names = Pierce Lydon | birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|1|2}} | birth_place = Hildreth, Nebraska | death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|10|10|1908|1|2}} | death_place = Orange, California | education = Emerson College of Oratory | alma_mater = University of Nebraska | occupation = {{flatlist| * Actor * Stuntman * Writer * Author}} | years_active = 1933–1962 | awards = Golden Boot Award }} '''Pierce W. Lyden''' (January 8, 1908 – October 10, 1998)<ref name="PLpub" /> 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<ref name="HwBadGuy" /> 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.<ref name="PLpub" />

He graduated high school in Naponee, Nebraska,<ref name="HwBadGuy">{{cite news|title=Hollywood bad guy finally leads parade|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5527632/the_indexjournal/|work=The Index-Journal|agency=Associated Press|date=May 31, 1989|location=South Carolina, Greenwood|page=10|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 8, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> and acted in several plays there. He graduated from the University of Nebraska School of Music<ref name="ls">{{cite news|title=Nebraska in Chautauqua Play|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5527076/the_lincoln_star/|work=The Lincoln Star|date=May 22, 1927|location=Nebraska, Lincoln|page=31|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 8, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> and Fine Arts in 1927 and later studied at the Emerson College of Oratory in Boston.<ref name="PLpub" />

==Career== ===Early years=== Lyden supported himself in these early years by playing romantic leads in stock company productions at Lincoln's ''Liberty Theater'' <ref name="PLpub" /> 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''.<ref name=ls/>

===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.<ref name="PLpub" /> 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.<ref name="PLpub" /> 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.<ref name="PLpub" />

Lyden made about a hundred<ref name="PLpub" /> 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).<ref name="DukeGTK" /> He was Photo Press Fan Poll's "Villain of the Year" in 1944.<ref name="PLpub" />

===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.<ref name="PLpub" /> In his later years he was regularly invited to film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.<ref name="PLpub" />

==Awards== Honors awarded him included membership in the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Heritage Foundation (1979) and the Golden Boot Award (1992).<ref name="PLpub" />

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.<ref name="Palm">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20121013165655/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated]}}</ref> In 1997 he received Nebraska's Buffalo Bill Award.<ref name="PLpub" />

==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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pierce Lyden Is Given Annulment|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5527188/lincoln_evening_journal|work=Lincoln Evening Journal|agency=United Press|date=March 18, 1931|location=Nebraska, Lincoln|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=June 8, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>

Lyden died at his Orange, California home on October 10, 1998,<ref name="PLpub">{{cite web | title=Pierce Lyden publications | website=Nebraska State Historical Society | publisher=Official Nebraska Government Website | url=https://history.nebraska.gov/publications_section/pierce-lyden/ | access-date=5 April 2026}}</ref> aged 90, and was buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California.

==Filmography==

===Film=== {{Inc-film|date=April 2026}}  {{Div col|colwidth=22em}} * 1941: ''The Get-Away'' – Gangster{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf">{{cite web | title=Pierce Lyden | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Person/125415-Pierce-Lyden | access-date=5 April 2026 | website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films | publisher=American Film Institute}}</ref> * 1941: ''King of Dodge City'' – Reynolds{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1942: ''Undercover Man'' – Burt{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1942: ''Baby Face Morgan'' – Gap{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1942: ''They Raid by Night'' – Braun{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1942: ''One Thrilling Night'' – Duke Keesler{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''California Joe'' – Harper{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''Canyon City'' – Mac{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''The Blocked Trail'' – Rankin{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''False Colors'' – Lefty{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''The Black Hills Express'' – Carl{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''Border Patrol'' – Loren{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''Dead Man's Gulch'' – Curley Welch{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''Death Valley Manhunt'' – Clayton{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1943: ''Fugitive from Sonora'' – Bill Slade{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1944: ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' – Guard{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1944: ''Firebrands of Arizona'' – Gopher{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1944: ''Trigger Law'' – Ace{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1944: ''Texas Masquerade'' – Al{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1944: ''Mystery Man'' – Red{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1945: ''Trail to Vengeance'' – Sam{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1945: ''The Cherokee Flash'' – Clint Hawkins{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1945: ''Bad Men of the Border'' – Joe (uncredited){{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1945: ''Code of the Lawless'' – Pete{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1946: ''Magnificent Doll'' – Watch leader{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1946: ''Rainbow Over Texas'' – Iverson{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1946: ''Shadows on the Range'' – Ed{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1946: ''Wild Beauty'' – Roy{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1946: ''Roll on Texas Moon'' – Stuhler * 1946: ''Trigger Fingers'' – Red{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1946: ''Alias Billy the Kid'' – Sam{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1947: ''The Fabulous Texan'' – Captain{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1947: ''Raiders of the South'' – Marshal Jim Farley{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1947: ''Song of the Wasteland'' – Forrester{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1947: ''Rustlers of Devil's Canyon'' – Matt{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1947: ''The Adventures of Don Coyote'' – Jeff{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1947: ''Valley of Fear'' – Sheriff Wheeler{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1947: ''Six-Gun Serenade'' – Buck{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''Blazing Across the Pecos'' – Jason{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''Crossed Trails'' – Whitfield{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''Six-Gun Law'' – Marshal Jack Reed{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''Back Trail'' – Frank Gilmore{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''The Rangers Ride'' – Hamen{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''Dead Man's Gold'' – Sliver{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''Silver Trails''– Ramsay{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1948: ''Red River'' – Campbell (uncredited){{nbsp|thin}}<ref name="DukeGTK">{{cite book | last1=Fagen | first1=Herb | title=Duke, We're Glad We Knew You: John Wayne's Friends and Colleagues Remember His Remarkable Life | publisher=Kensington Publishing Corporation | isbn=9780806520568 | date=November 2000 | page=70 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHcXb9V_2kMC | access-date=5 April 2026}}</ref> * 1949: ''The Gal Who Took the West'' – O'Hara Cowhand with Lee (uncredited){{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1949: ''The Big Sombrero'' – Farmer{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1949: ''Shadows of the West'' – Jordon{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1950: ''The Gunfighter'' – Barfly (uncredited){{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1950: ''Twilight in the Sierras'' – Blake{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1950: ''Pygmy Island'' – Lucas{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1950: ''Covered Wagon Raid'' – Brag{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1951: ''Stagecoach Driver'' – Larry Edwards * 1951: ''Whistling Hills'' – Cassidy, horse thief{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf">{{cite web | title=Pierce Lyden | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/pierce_lyden | access-date=5 April 2026 | website=Rotten Tomatoes | publisher=Fandango Media / NBCUniversal}}</ref> * 1951: ''Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion'' – Armstrong{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf" /> * 1951: ''Man from Sonora'' – Creel{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf" /> * 1951: ''Nevada Badmen'' – Sheriff Connelly{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf" /> * 1952: ''Texas City'' – Marshal George Markham{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf" /> * 1952: ''Canyon Ambush'' – Rancher John Brackett{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf" /> * 1952: ''Kansas Territory'' – Dr. Stanley Johnson * 1952: ''Waco'' – Farley{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf" /> * 1952: ''Carson City'' – Guard{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1952: ''Montana Belle'' – Deputy{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1953: ''Calamity Jane'' – Citizen (uncredited){{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1955: ''The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues'' – Andy, Janitor{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="RTf" /> * 1956: ''The Women of Pitcairn Island'' – Dan Scruggs * 1956: ''The First Traveling Saleslady'' – Outlaw (uncredited){{nbsp|thin}}{{Citation needed|date=April 2026|reason="Uncredited" - "All [Role] names should be referred to as Credited, or...supported by a Reliable Source" as per MOS:FILMCAST & WP:FILMOGRAPHY}} * 1958: ''Gunman's Walk'' – Townsman{{nbs|thin}}<ref name="AFIf" /> * 1962: ''The Wild Westerners'' – Jake (uncredited, final film role){{nbs|thin}}<ref name="PLpub" />

===Television=== {{Inc-tv|date=April 2026}}  {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ {{Screen reader-only|Pierce Lyden television credits}} ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |- | 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 || <ref name="RTf" /> |- | 1953–1954 || ''The Gene Autry Show'' || Red, Lead Robber / Henchman with Mustache / Henchman Vince Keys / Bank Teller || 4 episodes || <ref name="RTf" /> |- | 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 || <ref name="RTf" /> |- | 1957–1959 || ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' || Blacksmith / Doc Mills / Cold Creek Sheriff || 3 episodes || <ref name="RTf" /> |- | 1958, 1960 || ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' || Markum / Saloon Owner || 2 episodes || <ref name="RTf" /> |- | 1959 || ''Bat Masterson'' || Blacksmith || 1 episode || <ref name="RTf" /> |- | 1962 || ''Cheyenne'' || Marshal Holland || 1 episode || <ref name="RTf" /> |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{AFI person|125415-Pierce-Lyden}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes person|pierce_lyden}} * {{IMDb name|0527973}} * [https://history.nebraska.gov/publications_section/pierce-lyden/ Pierce Lyden publications] at the Nebraska State Historical Society

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyden, Pierce}} Category:1908 births Category:1998 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Male Western (genre) film actors Category:Male film serial actors Category:People from Franklin County, Nebraska Category:Male actors from Nebraska Category:University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Category:Emerson College alumni